How Max Strus Is Running Out of Time for a Return to Cavaliers This Season

With the postseason right around the corner, it's time for the Cleveland Cavaliers to make a decision on Max Strus.

May 9, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Max Strus (1) celebrates a made basket during game three of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

During the offseason, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Max Strus suffered a fracture in his left foot just a few weeks before training camp.

Since then, it’s been all speculation on when Strus will be able to return. With the Cavaliers needing to figure out their late season rotation, the puzzle is complicated.

Strus is running out of time to make a comeback this season, and at this point, the Cavaliers may just want to shut him down.

Strus' injury status

Strus suffered a Jones fracture, a break of the bone that connects the pinkie toe to the rest of the foot. He initially had surgery to fix it a few weeks before the season began and was expected to miss 3-4 months.

That should have gotten him ready right around All-Star break and the trade deadline. In fact, rumors began to grow that he was nearing a return around that time and Cleveland may be waiting to activate him until they find a trade partner.

Obviously that didn’t happen. Sturs reportedly suffered a setback during that time and never got cleared for contact practices.

Now the timeline is still fuzzy for Strus. Head coach Kenny Atkinson even said he wasn’t sure when they’d be able to get Strus back recently.

#Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson on Max Strus: "Progressing. Really did a pretty high-level workout today. No contact still, but he's starting to ramp up. It's like, don't get too excited, but he's doing a lot more, so that's good news."

— Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) February 18, 2026

The problem with a comeback now

Now the Cavaliers have completely revamped the roster from the last time Strus has played. He’s never played alongside James Harden, Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis or even a guy like Jaylon Tyson, who barely saw minutes last season.

That’ll make Strus' comeback even more difficult if he does get cleared in the next month. He’ll have to find his own rhythm shooting the ball at game speed again, something he hasn’t done in a year, and he’ll have to figure out how to play with his new teammates.

Trying to do that so close to playoff time is bad for everyone involved. That’ll cut into guys like Tyson, Ellis, Dean Wade and Sam Merrill’s minutes, who all should be ramping up for the postseason on their own.

No disrespect to Strus, but when someone comes back after a long period of missed time, they don’t typically play well right away. Strus will struggle in his first few games back, meaning you can’t give him serious playing time anyways. 

Cleveland may be fighting for playoff positioning that could be the difference between the second seed and the fifth seed. They can’t afford to lose games because Strus played too much.

When Strus is able to play at full strength, he's an electric shooter who can give you 10 points per night. As of right now, guys like Tyson and Merrill have done a great job giving Cleveland that value without him.

Time is running out for Strus to make his season debut, and if he realistically can’t do it in the next few weeks, the timing of trying to get him adjusted again may be too costly so close to the postseason. Cleveland should be considering shutting Strus down for the remainder of the year.

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