Lakers will soon meet Maxi Kleber crossroads that Mavericks fans warned them about

When the Dallas Mavericks traded Maxi Kleber to the Los Angeles Lakers as part of the Luka Doncic trade last season, it caused a mixed reaction from the Mavs' fan base. While some fans were heartbroken to lose Kleber due to his unique play style and role as one of the Mavs' glue guys for nearly eight years, others were ready to see him go, as he was constantly getting injured and proved to be unreliable.

Now, according to NBA insider Marc Stein, Kleber is healthier now (subscription required) than he was during the entire 2024-25 season during his time in Dallas and Los Angeles. This is great news for Lakers fans, but they may soon have to make a tough realization about Kleber and his potential impact on the floor moving forward.

As aforementioned, Kleber is excellent when he is on the floor, as his versatile defense combined with his 3-point shooting makes him a deadly weapon when he is locked in from three, but he cannot be relied upon consistently.

Maxi Kleber's health breakthrough could be short-lived

Over Kleber's eight-year NBA career, he has only played in 440 games, meaning he has averaged 55 games played per season. This is a recipe for disaster if the Lakers are looking to heavily rely upon him in the rotation, and considering he has only played in 114 games over the last three seasons, Lakers fans should prepare themselves for him to miss time next season.

Kleber missing games is just inevitable at this point, as he has suffered countless injuries in his career, and Lakers fans are going to have to come to the crossroads of being appreciative of him when he is on the floor, but not expecting him to stay healthy all year long.

Even though Kleber is reportedly fully healthy and ready to roll in Los Angeles, this doesn't mean that he will remain healthy for the entire season, and Mavericks fans learned this the hard way. Multiple times, Kleber would recover from an injury just to reinjure himself or suffer a different injury, and ultimately, the Mavs couldn't afford to rely upon him anymore and shipped him to the Lakers on February 1 along with Doncic and Markieff Morris.

On January 25, exactly one week before he was traded, Kleber broke his right foot, and he didn't return until Game 5 of the Lakers' first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

These Kleber injuries would often happen at the worst times, even during his time with the Mavericks, as he got injured right as the 2023-24 season began, and even got hurt in the Mavs' first-round series against the LA Clippers and didn't return until the Western Conference Finals. Kleber never looked like himself after he came back during the Mavs' run to the 2024 NBA Finals, and Lakers fans must be cautious before assuming he is going to be a key piece of their rotation next season.

Kleber will be great for the Lakers when he is playing with confidence and doesn't have to worry about a nagging injury, but as soon as he suffers any sort of injury, it becomes a major risk to spiral into other injuries, while also potentially derailing his season.