Report: ‘Everybody’ within Cavs feels for Max Strus after how hard he worked

Cleveland Cavaliers small forward Max Strus is in line to miss an extended period of time to start a campaign for the second year in a row. After he missed the Cavaliers’ opening 27 games in the 2024-25 campaign due to an ankle injury, Strus recently got surgery on a Jones fracture in his left foot and is expected to be sidelined for roughly three to four months.

Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor shared that “everybody” within the Cavaliers organization feels for Strus after all of the work he put in during the offseason ahead of his third campaign in a Cleveland uniform.

“I think when you talk about injuries, injuries are unfortunate, and everybody inside this organization is feeling for Max right now,” Fedor said. “They know how hard he worked this offseason. They wanted him to have an opportunity to showcase that and be part of this team on the court, especially given the fact that he missed so much time at the beginning of last year. And he talked about how he had to shake off the rust and get in rhythm and find his way with the team and all that kind of stuff.

“So, you never want to downplay that. You feel for Max, the person, and everybody inside this organization does. But the truth is, in today’s NBA, sometimes some of these guys that are on the outside of the rotation, they need something like this to create an opportunity for them.

“And injuries often create that opportunity. They create the opportunity for playing time for some of these guys. And they create a unique opportunity for Kenny Atkinson to tinker with things and experiment with things and maybe use some lineups that he otherwise wouldn’t be able to get to or he wouldn’t get to just organically.”

Ever since Strus started 70 games with the Cavaliers in his maiden season with the team back in the 2023-24 campaign, he has battled some availability woes.

His ability to stretch the floor is very valuable to Cleveland’s offensive attack, and the team will feel his absence in that regard. He shot 38.6 percent from 3-point range a season ago, and his outside shooting chops open up driving lanes for the likes of guards Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland to attack the basket.

Cleveland will miss his presence on the offensive end in more ways than one, however. On top of his excellent perimeter shooting ability, Strus has been a sneaky good secondary playmaker in his Cavs stint, and that skill would have come in handy with Garland expected to miss some time to start the season.

Strus has averaged 3.7 assists per game across 120 regular-season contests with the Cavaliers. Strus didn’t start his pro career out as a super effective passer but has shown a lot of growth in that area over the years.

However, as Fedor mentioned, maybe there will be a positive spin to Strus’ injury, as it could open the door for a player who’s not in the rotation to make a statement and earn a bigger role. Hopefully, the Cavs will be able to get by for a little while without the sharpshooter, who was likely going to start for them.