The Dallas Mavericks and veteran forward Maxi Kleber have agreed to a new contract before the team opens training camp.
Per team policy, terms of contracts are not disclosed. However, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the deal is a three-year, $33 million extension that will keep Kleber in Dallas through the 2025-26 season.
Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber is finalizing a three-year, $33 million contract extension, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Kleber was entering the final year of his deal, now under contract through 2025-26.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 8, 2022
Kleber has spent his entire NBA career with the Mavericks since signing with the team in July 2017 after playing professionally in Germany and Spain for six seasons.
Since arriving in Dallas, the native of Wurzburg, Germany, has established himself as a key role player, primarily off the bench.
Beginning with the 2018-19 campaign, Kleber has averaged more than 20 minutes per game in each of the past four seasons. Over his entire NBA career with the Mavericks, Kleber has averaged 7.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.9 blocks in 326 games (136 starts).
Most recently, Kleber was a key contributor for Dallas as they made a run to the Western Conference Finals this year.
Kleber played in all of the Mavericks’ 18 playoff games, averaging 8.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 25.4 minutes per contest. He made history in Game 2 of the first round against the Utah Jazz when he connected on eight three-pointers to tie for the second-most by a Maverick in a postseason game.
This marks the second extension Kleber has received from Dallas. The 6’10” power forward resigned with the team as a free agent in July 2019, with a four-year, $35 million deal that included a team option which the Mavericks picked up for this season.
There is some risk for Dallas with this deal. Since playing a career-high 74 games in 2019-20, Kleber has missed 45 regular-season games over the past two seasons because of injuries.
The injuries may have contributed to an inconsistent showing last season. Kleber averaged 7.0 points per game and set career lows in field-goal percentage (39.8) and free-throw percentage (70.8) last season.
Still, the Mavericks are clearly optimistic that Kleber will turn things around. He averaged 8.3 points per game and made 38.8 percent of his three-point attempts in 124 games from 2019-21.
Dallas faces high expectations after reaching the conference finals and with established superstar Luka Doncic in the fold. Role players like Kleber will need to play at a high level to match the expectations, especially since the team lost starting point guard Jalen Brunson to the New York Knicks in free agency.
