Maxi Kleber, who underwent surgery after breaking his right foot in late January, has been medically cleared to make his Lakers debut, according to Khobi Price of The Orange County Register (Twitter link). Coach J.J. Redick confirmed Kleber’s status while meeting with reporters before Game 5 against Minnesota.
Kleber was acquired from Dallas in February as part of the massive Luka Doncic trade. He appeared in 34 games with the Mavs before the injury, making four starts and averaging 3.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 18.7 minutes per night with .385/.265/.762 shooting numbers.
Kleber was a standout in Europe before signing with Dallas as a free agent in 2017. He spent seven and a half seasons with the Mavericks, playing in 440 total games before being shipped to L.A.
The 33-year-old big man hasn’t seen any game action since suffering the injury in a January 25 contest against Boston. He has been making steady progress toward a return and was cleared for on-court activities early this month.
Kleber is making $11MM this season and has one year left on his contract at the same amount before becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. He could help provide an answer to the Lakers’ ongoing problem with frontcourt depth if he’s fully healthy for the start of next season.
