The Cleveland Cavaliers, one of the heavy favorites in the Eastern Conference, will be without a key guard to start the 2025-26 NBA season.
The Cavaliers announced Tuesday, Aug. 26 that shooting guard Max Strus underwent surgery to repair a small fracture in his left foot that was the result of a recent offseason workout. He will miss three to four months.
The injury is a Jones fracture, which affects the fifth metatarsal, or a bone that connects the pinkie toe to the base of the foot.
The Cavaliers said that the surgery took place at Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics in Indianapolis.
With training camps set to open in late September, and with the Cavaliers playing their first game of the regular season Wednesday, Oct. 22, Strus is expected to miss at least the first month of the season.
Cleveland Cavaliers 2025-26 season outlook
Strus, 29, started 37 of the 50 games he played last season and averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game on 44.2% shooting from the floor and 38.6% shooting from beyond the arc.
Cleveland, which went 64-18 last year to claim the top seed in the East lost to the eventual conference champion Indiana Pacers in five games.
The Cavaliers are one of the deeper teams in the Eastern Conference, and last year’s mid-season trade acquisition, forward De’Andre Hunter, could fill in nicely for Strus.
In 27 games with Cleveland, Hunter averaged 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
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