Report: Max Strus was in line to be in Cavs starting lineup before injury

Some unfortunate news surfaced recently regarding Cleveland Cavaliers sharpshooter Max Strus ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season. The Cavaliers revealed earlier this week that Strus underwent surgery to fix a Jones fracture in his left foot and will be sidelined for approximately three to four months.

Per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, Strus was in line to begin the season in the starting lineup prior to the development. Strus started all but 13 of the 50 games he appeared in with the Cavs last season.

“He was going to be in the starting lineup from everything that I had heard,” Fedor said.

Strus was plagued by injury to begin the 2024-25 campaign as well. He sat out the opening 27 games of the season thanks to ankle issues and didn’t make his season debut until the Cavaliers took on the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 20.

The 29-year-old has proven to be a talented all-around player when healthy enough to take the court. Last season, he averaged 9.4 points per contest (helped by 38.6 percent shooting from 3-point range) to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. He ranked in the top six on the Cavaliers in points, rebounds and assists per contest among players who appeared in at least 50 games with the team.

It should be exciting to find out who the Cavaliers will opt to start at the small forward position in place of Strus until he makes his return to the court. Veteran Dean Wade appears to be a real candidate to hold down the fort in the opening lineup sans Strus, as he has started 122 games for Cleveland over the course of his NBA career.

At the very least, this current core for the Cavaliers knows how to get off to a hot start to a campaign without Strus in the lineup. After all, Cleveland won its first 15 games to open last season and 23 of its opening 27 games leading up to his return. Hopefully, the Cavaliers will be similarly dominant to begin the coming campaign without Strus, but whether that’s in the cards remains to be seen.