The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers are being forced to quickly adjust to their new teammates following what’s been arguably the craziest trade deadline week in NBA history. On Saturday night, Dallas traded Maxi Kleber, Luka Doncic, and Markieff Morris to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick, and this was a move that no one expected.
After an awful loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers where the Mavs clearly looked off following the earth-shattering trade to send Doncic to Los Angeles, and a close loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Mavericks have slowly started to find an identity, which will hopefully continue when Anthony Davis can make his first start. It’s been reported that he’s targeting the Houston game on Saturday as the first time we can see him in a Mavericks uniform.
The Lakers also have former Maverick Maxi Kleber, as he came over as part of the Doncic trade. The Lakers already made a realization about him that Mavs fans always knew, and it has quietly defined his career over the last year or so.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and ClutchPoints reporter Anthony Irwin both reported that the Lakers looked to ship out Kleber ahead of yesterday’s trade deadline. Irwin reported that the Lakers were looking to move Kleber’s contract and draft capital to trade for another defensive-minded player.
This means the Lakers already have a problem on their hands, and it’s not just having to do with Kleber’s contract, but also his status. Kleber is making $11 million a year, not something a team wants to have on their back when someone has been injured way too often in his recent history.
Kleber will be re-evaluated in eight weeks, but now with the trade deadline officially out of reach, the Lakers are trapped with a player making $11 million a year and injury-prone. Kleber has been a liability on offense this season, but the Lakers still can use him as a defensive specialist when needed. The biggest question for the Lakers that Mavs fans have long realized is if he can sustain a healthy playoff run, he is extremely effective in the postseason.
As a Maverick, Kleber’s prime came when Doncic started to become the face of the franchise during the 2019-20 season. He shot the ball well enough from deep and defended well in the paint, being a more balanced player that was very playable. Since his unfortunate injuries, his offensive confidence has dipped, and it didn’t take long for Los Angeles to realize that they were stuck by not trading away Kleber.
Kleber can still be a fine catch-and-shoot guy from the corner of the top of the key, but other than that, his defense will be what will keep him relevant for the most part, especially on a now-loaded Lakers squad.
Whether or not we see Kleber in a Laker uniform, these reports from the Lakers organization are pretty telling as to the kind of player they perceive Kleber to be. Mavericks fans know how hard it was for the team to find a suitor for Kleber, and Lakers fans are quickly going to realize how hard he is going to be to trade and how his injuries are becoming a major problem.
