Cavaliers get brutal injury news on key starter

The Cleveland Cavaliers are going through déjà vu with Max Strus this offseason.

The veteran sharpshooter has reportedly undergone surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Strus sustained the injury during a recent offseason workout. He is expected to be back on the court in “approximately 3 to 4 months.”

It’s the second season in a row that Strus will start the regular season on the sidelines after getting injured during a private workout. The 29-year-old missed the Cavs’ first 27 games of the 2024-25 season after suffering a serious ankle sprain during an individual workout last October.

Strus has turned into the vital fifth man that rounds out Cleveland’s deep starting five. He’s started in 107 of the 120 games he’s played in a Cavaliers uniform over the last two seasons, averaging 11.0 points and 4.6 points while shooting at a 36.4% clip from beyond the arc. He has also been relied upon as a secondary playmaker, averaging 3.7 assists with the team.

Strus may have been working hard to erase his rough final game last season. He sent a fiery message to his Cavaliers teammates ahead of their do-or-die Game 5 against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, then proceeded to have arguably the worst game of his career in the elimination game.