CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers will begin the 2019-2020 regular season without one of their highly touted rookies.
Just days ahead of the start of training camp, the Cavaliers reported that first-year guard Dylan Windler will miss the start of the season “after experiencing discomfort” in his lower left leg following a recent series of team workouts.
After undergoing tests at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, it was discovered that Windler was experiencing a tibial stress reaction. Windler will go through treatment and rehabilitation and it is estimated that he will miss between four and six weeks of action.
The Cavaliers selected Windler out of Belmont University with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
In four years at Belmont, the 6-foot-8, 200-pound Windler, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, totaled 1,687 points and 251 assists against 210 turnovers, along with 128 steals, 98 blocked shots and 999 rebounds, including 209 on the offensive end of the floor.
Over 128 games, 97 of which were starts, Windler averaged 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 66.9 percent from the field, 40.6 percent from three-point range and 76.1 percent at the free-throw line.
During his final collegiate season, Windler averaged 21.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 65.9 percent from the field and setting single-season career highs for three-point and free-throw percentages (.429/.847, respectively).
In three NBA Summer League games for the Cavaliers, Windler averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 40 percent from the field.
The Cavaliers open the 2019-2020 season at the Orlando Magic on Wednesday, October 23 and the home portion of the schedule against Windler’s hometown team, the Indiana Pacers, at the newly renovated Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday, October 26.