Kenny Atkinson Names Cavaliers Who Can Replace Max Strus' Scrappiness

Max Strus is gone, and Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson said Friday that Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, and Peyton Watson can cover the scrappiness he brought.

Strus went to the LA Clippers on Aug. 19 as part of the five-team sign-and-trade that landed Watson from the Denver Nuggets. He had signed a four-year, $62.3 million contract with Cleveland in July 2023 and started all 70 of his regular-season appearances in his first season with the team.

In 2024-25, the last season before the foot injury, Strus averaged 9.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists over 50 games, 37 of them starts, for a team that finished atop the Eastern Conference.

A Jones fracture in his left foot kept Strus out of the first 67 games last season. He had surgery on Aug. 26, 2025, and did not debut until March 15.

That night against the Dallas Mavericks, Strus scored 24 points with eight rebounds in 22 minutes. He appeared in 12 regular-season games and shot 40.2% from 3-point range.

In 18 playoff games, Strus averaged 9.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 26.8 minutes.

Tyson is the name Atkinson came back to twice at the team's start-of-season press conference.

"We have a lot of scrappy players: Sam Merrill, Peyton Watson, Jaylon Tyson," Atkinson said. "Jaylon Tyson is extremely scrappy. We pivot to the next man up, and we have those people in our building. We're cultivating that in our player development program, helping them understand their roles, what scrappiness, resiliency, and toughness look like. That's part of our program."

Tyson made 66 appearances with 42 starts last season, his second in the league. He averaged 13.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while making 104 of his 219 3-point attempts.

He scored a career-high 39 points in a January win over the Philadelphia 76ers. A toe injury cost him a stretch of games late in the regular season.

Cleveland selected Tyson 20th overall in 2024 out of Cal and kept him out of the Watson trade.

Merrill signed a four-year, $38 million contract last July. He appeared in 52 games and averaged 12.8 points and 3.0 made 3-pointers in 26.5 minutes.

Watson averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds for Denver last season. He signed a four-year, $88 million deal in the sign-and-trade.

Developing the next player in line is part of the job, Atkinson said.

"When you lose someone, the talent has to [be] behind that, but you also have to develop it," Atkinson explained. "People leave, but there are people in-house who can step up and fill that role."

Strus was not the only departure. Dean Wade signed with Philadelphia. Dennis Schröder went to the Charlotte Hornets for Tre Mann, whom Cleveland then sent to the Washington Wizards in the Watson trade. Keon Ellis also left in free agency.

Schröder arrived from the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deadline trade on Feb. 1.

Atkinson said he expects to keep his relationships with all of them as their careers go on.

"I'm going to miss them all," Atkinson said. "I was close with all those guys, so it's hard to say one. I love coaching them all and will continue to have great relationships with them as their careers advance. Things change; we change our roster. We had a great run with those guys. They added a lot to this culture and our run."

"I'm very thankful for Max, Dean Wade, and Dennis, who helped us win a couple of big games in the playoffs," Atkinson continued. "Those guys contributed immensely to what [we] were about. We've thanked them profusely and wish them nothing but the best. They were part of our run and they'll be missed for sure."

Wade and the 76ers host Cleveland in the season opener Oct. 22. Before that, the Boston Celtics visit Rocket Arena for the preseason opener on Oct. 8.