Clippers’ Injury Trouble Take Another Turn as Max Strus Update Emerges After Warriors Exit

The LA Clippers can't seem to catch a break ever since owner Steve Ballmer and two other team executives were found guilty of circumventing the NBA's salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard illegal money. Ever since the investigation was resolved, the Clippers have traded away Leonard in exchange for Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick. Unfortunately for LA, Ingram's partially torn Achilles will keep him sidelined at least for the start of the season.

There also isn't a timetable for when BI could possibly return. To make matters worse, another key Clippers player got injured during the team's preseason opener against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Clippers reporter Farbod Esnaashari revealed that Max Strus suffered a right foot injury.

"Clippers say Max Strus has a right foot injury and will be OUT against the Warriors," Esnaashari wrote on X while Sunday's game was still ongoing.

Strus tweaked his right foot five minutes into the first quarter. The injury took place when he made a sharp cut off an off-ball screen. Strus was limping after the play, which forced Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue to send him back to the locker room for a checkup. Shortly after, the team announced that he was ruled out for the rest of the game against the Warriors.

While the injury has yet to be specified, looking at how Strus hurt himself, it could be a simple sprain. After Sunday's game, Strus is set to go through further medical evaluation.

If it turns out to be a regular sprain, then the Clippers don't have anything to worry about. All fans can do for now is wait and hope for the best.

Clippers Win Preseason Opener Despite Max Strus' Abrupt Exit

The 2026 NBA Preseason is underway, and as always, it's a good time for teams to test their new rotations and lineups. The LA Clippers have officially transitioned into a new era after trading Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors.

The question now is: can they still keep up competitively with their new lineup?

Apparently, the Clippers showed a lot of promise on Sunday against the Golden State Warriors. Despite losing a key player in Max Strus to a right foot injury in the first quarter, Rui Hachimura and Darius Garland proved to be an effective duo.

Hachimura, who was a key player for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, had a promising start after putting up 21 points and five rebounds in only 15 minutes of play.

Rui was also feeling himself on Sunday after shooting an accurate 72.7% from the field.

Meanwhile, the Clippers' current poster boy, Garland, also had an efficient performance in only 15 minutes of play. Garland added 15 points, six assists, and three rebounds, while knocking down all of his shot attempts. The only time he missed was on the charity stripe, making four out of five free throws.

While the preseason doesn't have any bearing, it's still good to see that the Clippers aren't totally hopeless, especially after the whole Kawhi incident.

Hopefully, despite losing notable names in the team's front office, this won't affect the Clippers' on-court performance moving forward.