Lakers New Center Maxi Kleber May Not Return This Season

The Los Angeles Lakers blew the minds of pretty much everybody in somehow extracting five-time All-NBA superstar point guard Luka Doncic, who has still perhaps yet to reach his prime at age 25, from the Dallas Mavericks for just one first round draft pick, 10-time All-Star center Anthony Davis, and 3-and-D starting shooting guard Max Christie.

L.A. and Dallas each sacrificed one 2025 second round pick in the deal, and the Lakers shipped little-used reserve point guard Jalen Hood-Schifino to the Utah Jazz in the offing.

Doncic has been sidelined with a calf sprain since Christmas, but is expected to return potentially as soon as this weekend.

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But Doncic isn't the only ex-Dallas player who's now playing in Tinseltown.

Veteran power forward/center Maxi Kleber and journeyman power forward Markieff Morris — who suited up for the Lakers as a key role player during their 2019-20 championship season and in 2020-21 — are both also now Lakers.

Morris, now 35, is a fringe rotation player at this point in his career. Kleber, however, was a critical bench cog for the Mavericks this season, although he was mostly a big body head coach Jason Kidd threw in off the bench.

Kleber broke his foot in January, and has been on the shelf indefinitely following a surgery. At an introductory press conference on Tuesday, the 6-foot-10 big man revealed a timeline for his return to reporters, per Jovan Buha of The Athletic.

Maxi Kleber says that he’ll be re-evaluated in eight weeks, which will determine if he’s able to return this season.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) February 4, 2025

Kleber is expected to be reassessed after another eight weeks of recovery. At that point, Los Angeles will get a sense of a timeline for his return this season.

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Conversely, according to the latest league injury report, Morris is available to suit up for his new team on Tuesday night, in a clash with the L.A. Clippers.

Big picture, it appears that team president Rob Pelinka hopes to add more center depth in time for this season's Thursday trade deadline, though he cautioned on Tuesday that the market for the position is "dry."

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It remains to be seen if head coach JJ Redick, whose frontcourt depth is now stretched rail-thin with Davis gone and Christian Wood and Kleber hurt, will opt to utilize Morris.

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