Grades for every Dallas Mavericks player ahead of the trade deadline

9. Maxi Kleber

Maxi Kleber is easily having the worst NBA season of his career by a pretty decent margin. To Kleber's credit, it definitely isn't entirely his fault as he missed 31 consecutive games earlier this season with a toe injury. Since returning from injury, Kleber has been on a minutes restriction and it seems like Dallas has been reluctant to play him on back-to-backs as well.

Kleber has been a positive contributor from a defensive perspective since returning to the lineup for Dallas, as he's been able to come in during spurts to guard opposing teams' bigger offensive wings. However, Kleber's defense typically regresses the more he plays, as he's still working to sustain a full workload in a game after his toe injury.

Kleber has posted abysmal shooting numbers compared to prior seasons in Dallas, granted he has only played in 12 contests so far this season. Nonetheless, Kleber is shooting a career-low 34.1 percent from the field this season and a career-low 26.1 percent from beyond the arc. It's not just Kleber's shooting that looks bad on offense though, as he often looks extremely hesistant and indecisive when working off of the catch.

Kleber isn't asked to do much in this Mavericks' offense, so he'll need to turn his shooting numbers around soon if he doesn't want to get played off the court, because right now teams are arguably better off leaving him open.

Kleber has showcased his defensive versatility since returning from injury, but he wasn't good on either side of the ball in the few games he played pre-injury this season. He's barely played this season and is still finding a way to contribute so we'll give him some leniency, but he gets a C- at the halfway mark.