Lakers' risky Maxi Kleber approach is one Mavericks fans know to be disastrous

Jared A’Latorre

Rob Pelinka, Markieff Morris, Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber, JJ Redick / PATRICK T. FALLON/GettyImages

After what's known as possibly the worst trade in NBA history, Luka Doncic has been thriving with LeBron James with the new look Los Angeles Lakers.

One report confirms Dallas Mavericks fans' biggest nightmare. Doncic is loving his time in Los Angeles and is already committed to showing loyalty with Los Angeles unlike the way Nico Harrison shipped him off in the middle of the night. Since then, the Mavs haven't been the same, and probably won't be the same in the future.

Also included in the trade was Markieff Morris and Maxi Kleber, with Kleber not playing a single game yet as a Laker. According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha of The Athletic, the Lakers have some optimism that Kleber will make his Laker debut before the end of the regular season. It won't be long before Mavs fans can point out another familiar storyline they know too well.

Lakers shouldn't be optimistic about Kleber considering his injury history

When Kleber was traded to the Lakers, it wasn't too surprising given Kleber's increasingly inconsistent play on the offensive side of the ball. It came to the point where Kleber unfortunately became unplayable.

It was sad to watch. As someone who was Dirk Nowitzki's teammate for two seasons, as well as coming in from Nowitzki's same hometown, Kleber quickly became a fan favorite for his perimeter shooting and his defense in the paint. Since the 2022-23 season, Kleber has been through many long-term injuries, and they became a liability keeping Kleber on the roster when another spot could open up. His loyalty will never be forgotten, and he will be missed in Dallas.

On the side of the Lakers, it's unfortunately possible that Kleber suffers another lower body injury or a shoulder injury or something else unexpected. At 33-years-old, Kleber just doesn't have the same bag as he once did back five years ago. He's become a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter at best, but he hasn't perfected his shot in the same way as he once did.

The best way Kleber can make an impact is by doing the dirty work against other bigs. The only con is that if he takes a hit and goes down, Lakers fans will be holding their breath given Kleber's injury history. Mavs fans will be looking at the TV not as surprised. Of course, no one is rooting for any injury against anybody, and hopefully Kleber will have a stellar career with Los Angeles, but Mavs fans are too familiar with his injury history.

The Lakers might be trapped with Kleber by being forced to keep him with not as much attraction on any other NBA roster given his age and injury history.

Jared A’Latorre

Jared is the Site Expert of Sport DFW, and oversees Dallas sports all the time. He also spent time as a Senior Contributor to The Smoking Cuban, The Landry Hat and Gig Em' Gazette. His work has been featured on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports and MSN. He also covered various sports at Oklahoma State and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Media from Oklahoma State. He's done play-by-play radio broadcasting in North Central Oklahoma and currently does play-by-play radio broadcasting for high school football in North Texas. Jared is also a co-host for Grizzlies Digest, covering the Memphis Grizzlies. In his free time, Jared loves watching sports, spending time with family and friends and watching anything Billy Bob Thornton related.