Cavaliers wing Max Strus underwent surgery in late August to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot. While he has been able to do some individual on-court work, including testing his foot by cutting and moving while shooting, he still isn’t practicing yet and there’s no timetable for the 29-year-old to make his season debut, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
“The timeline is what it is,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said. “There’s no earlier or later.”
As Fedor writes, the Cavaliers have a busy schedule over the next few weeks — they’re playing every other day from December 29 to January 16. A full contact practice will be an important milestone for Strus before he’s cleared to resume playing, but the team may not have a scheduled practice until January 18, the day before the Cavs host the Thunder.
While Strus’ return doesn’t appear imminent, he could still have a significant role for Cleveland this season. According to Fedor, Strus’ minutes will be carefully managed when he starts playing again, but he’s eventually expected to be the team’s starting small forward, the same position he held most of the past two seasons.
Strus is earning about $15.94MM this season and will make $16.66MM in 2026/27 before hitting free agency.