Mavericks' lone positive from Luka Doncic trade should have the Lakers worried

Even after getting Cooper Flagg and building an entirely new infrastructure after reaching the NBA Finals in 2024, the Dallas Mavericks and Nico Harrison are still endlessly bearing the negative press from the Luka Doncic trade on February 1.

Unless the Mavericks truly follow Harrison's vision of winning a championship in the next three seasons or so, the Doncic trade will forever be lauded as an all-time blunder, and it probably will still be even if the Mavericks see success in the short-term, as Doncic has the potential to win multiple championships with the Los Angeles Lakers if he continues to stay in elite shape.

However, Mavericks fans who are still aboard the bandwagon are doing their best to shift focus to a new season, as the Mavericks have a very intriguing roster heading into next season despite Harrison's terrible value proposition. One aspect of the Doncic trade Harrison undoubtedly nailed, though, is none other than the fact that he was able to get Maxi Kleber off Dallas' books in the Doncic trade.

Maxi Kleber could become a burden for the Lakers next season

By no means does this mean Dallas will come close to winning the Doncic trade overall, but all signs are pointing to them having gotten off Kleber at the perfect time, as he'll be turning 34 years old next January and had been steadily declining on both sides of the ball for the Mavericks ever since his electric 2022 playoff run, even though he seems to have had his healthiest offseason in quite some time this year.

Kleber notoriously caught fire from deep in Dallas' first and second round matchups in the 2022 playoffs, but he had been struggling from outside through 59 regular season games up to that point, and his inability to stay healthy has plagued his consistency on offense ever since, while it's been readily apparent that a lot of the lower body injuries he's had are starting to catch up to him athletically and defensively as well.

Kleber didn't play all regular season for the Lakers after being traded from Dallas, as he sustained a right foot fracture versus the Boston Celtics on January 25 (his last game as a Maverick). Despite this, Lakers head coach JJ Redick threw Kleber into the fire for five minutes during a crucial win-or-go-home Game 5 versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs this past season, as Kleber somehow managed to return right before the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs.

Kleber looked unplayable during his short stint in the contest, as he was getting out-rebounded and was mauled on defense trying to guard Rudy Gobert. While Gobert had a career night offensively in that contest, the Lakers' lack of rim protection was a huge factor in that happening, and even Jaxson Hayes or Alex Len would've been a better option to get the only five minutes of big-man play that Redick spared in the contest.

While the Lakers brought in Deandre Ayton this offseason to help address their lack of size, their big men coming off the bench for next season, as of right now, are Kleber, Hayes, and potentially Christian Koloko. Needless to say, the Lakers don't have the ability to match size-for-size with some of the rosters in the West that have loaded frontcourts (like Dallas), and Redick could have an over-reliance on someone like Kleber, given he was a beloved teammate of his and has respect for his veteran acumen.

This could especially be the case if the Lakers are forced to play more small if Ayton underwhelms in Los Angeles, as Kleber wasn't a bad 3-and-D five-man in his hay day in Dallas, but appears to have lost his consistency in his jumper and his ability to guard quicker-footed players on the perimeter, which are two essential factors in him being able to operate as a small-ball five. The Mavericks have their own problems to deal with next season without a doubt, and they'll be compared to Doncic and the Lakers all season long, but fans can at least give Harrison credit for getting Kleber off the books when he did, as he had become unplayable in Dallas and this could be the case next season in Los Angeles as well.