The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without forward Max Strus to start the season this fall.
Strus underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a fracture in his left foot, the team announced. Specifics of the injury aren’t known, though Strus went down recently in an offseason workout. Strus is expected to be sidelined for three to four months, meaning he will miss a significant portion of the 2025-26 campaign.
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Strus averaged 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season, his second with the Cavaliers. Strus was limited to 50 games last year after he went down with an ankle injury in the preseason. He shot 44.2% from the field and nearly 39% from behind the arc while helping the Cavaliers to a 64-18 record in the regular season. That was the team’s highest win total since the 2008-09 season, though they were knocked out of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Strus, 29, signed a four-year, $63 million deal with the Cavaliers in 2023 after a three-year run with the Miami Heat. That deal was made in a sign-and-trade between the two franchises that ended up sending Cedi Osman and Lamar Stevens to the San Antonio Spurs.
Though the Cavaliers didn’t provide a specific timeline for Strus’ return, he will likely be out until at least November. Even if he’s only sidelined from basketball activity for three months, he will need time to ramp back up before actually taking the court.
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The Cavaliers will open the 2025-26 campaign against the New York Knicks on Oct. 22. They have the second-best odds, behind the favored Oklahoma City Thunder and alongside the Knicks, Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets, to win the NBA Finals next season on BetMGM and are co-favorites to win the East with the Knicks.