Lakers are quickly heading down a costly path Mavericks fans know all too well

Everything changed for the Dallas Mavericks and their fans on the night of February 1 this past season. Not only would Nico Harrison trade Dallas' franchise superstar, Luka Doncic, with little to no warning beforehand, but Harrison would also package Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber in this deal, who became fan favorites throughout their time spent with the Mavericks.

While Morris was seen as more of a salary matcher, there's no doubt that fans were alarmed to see both Doncic and Kleber in a trade. The Mavericks would net Anthony Davis and Max Christie as well as a first-round pick, but nothing could have emotionally prepared any fan for what happened in early February.

As the Los Angeles Lakers look to the future, they still have Kleber on their roster, and with little to no depth at the power forward and center spots, there's a real likelihood that Kleber could have a chance at cracking JJ Reddick's rotation. With this in mind, the Lakers are planning on taking Kleber into training camp and seeing what he can do before deciding on his future, which is something that Mavericks fans know all too well.

Lakers are falling into a Kleber injury trap that Mavs fans have seen before

In a recent Clutch Points article by Brett Siegel, it was reported that the Lakers are expected to take their roster into training camp, which means that they would be holding off on any trades for Kleber or Gabe Vincent.

“The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to take their current roster into training camp and give this group a chance to prove themselves before charting possible trades and changes," Siegel wrote. "Specifically, the Lakers are interested in seeing what value Gabe Vincent and Maxi Kleber can provide.”

While this does make perfect sense considering the Lakers' current roster situation, having to rely on Kleber to see what value he can bring to your rotation has been a proven formula for disaster for the Mavericks. There's no doubt that Kleber has the skills to impact any winning rotation with his ability to stretch the floor and be an above-average defender at the rim, but health has been a major concern over the last few seasons.

Since Dallas' run to the Western Conference Finals in 2022, Kleber's career has been struck by freak injury after freak injury, which has resulted in him becoming unplayable at times throughout his career. In the three seasons following the Mavericks' run to the conference finals, Kleber only combined for 114 regular-season games played, with only having played over half of the 82-game season in one of those three years.

Not only would Kleber's health fall off a cliff, but his production would taper in the years following. In those three seasons spent battling the injury bug, Kleber would only average a high of 5.9 points per game in the 2022-23 NBA season and would slowly decline from there, with him averaging a career low of three points per game on 38.5 percent shooting from the field in the year he was traded.

Outside of a shocking game five appearance in the first round of the 2024 playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers, where Kleber would shoot 5-7 from behind the 3-point line, Kleber has been unreliable.

Although it's not uncommon for a team to take its roster into training camp this late into the offseason, if Kleber begins to raise some eyebrows on the Lakers' coaching staff, they could very well fall into a trap that the Mavericks were in for three years. Relying on an aging forward is never a good sign for a team's championship hopes, and the Lakers would soon find that out with Kleber.

After being traded to Los Angeles, Kleber would fail to make an appearance in the regular season as he was battling a broken right foot that he suffered early in the year with the Mavericks. He would eventually suit up for one of Los Angeles's playoff games against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but failed to raise any eyebrows.