According to Jason Lloyd at the Akron Beacon Journal, the Cavs announced that Shumpert will have surgery this week and he could miss 3-4 months recovering from the injury.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers season hasn’t even started yet and already the team is looking at the real possibility of starting the season without three of it’s major cogs.
Shumpert is scheduled to have surgery on the wrist on Wednesday and the initial timetable being reported is 12-14 weeks which would get him back on the court in late December or sometime in January. The injury is a ruptured muscle on the outside (forearm) of Shumpert’s wrist, connecting to the shooting guard’s elbow.
The 25-year-old Shumpert averaged 7.2 points in 38 regular-season games with the Cavs in 2015 after he was acquired from the New York Knicks. The loss of Shumpert is obviously a huge blow for Cleveland, which will likely be without Kyrie Irving for at least the first month or two of the season.
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This injury news makes the signing of J.R. Smith that much bigger for the Cavaliers as he will now likely take over the starting role. It is unclear when the injury happened, but it appears Shumpert underwent an MRI on Tuesday to diagnose the issue. The Cavaliers remain the easy favorite to win the Eastern Conference playoffs and reach the Finals, but this could impact their win total.
