Lakers officially cut ties with underwhelming 6-foot-10 ex-Mavericks sharpshooter

Jan 23, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Los Angeles Lakers logo at midcourt at the Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

An underwhelming 6-foot-10 former Dallas Mavericks sharpshooter’s short stint with the Los Angeles Lakers is reportedly over. 

According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Lakers are cutting ties with the 34-year-old veteran by renouncing his free agent rights.

The Los Angeles Lakers have officially renounced the free agent rights to LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Dion Waiters, Luke Kennard, Marcus Smart, Maxi Kleber, Nick Smith Jr, Jared Dudley, Avery Bradley, Jaxson Hayes, Markieff Morris, and Wayne Ellington. 

Kleber, who joined the Lakers with Luka Doncic on Feb. 2 2025, via a mind-blowing trade with the Mavericks, didn’t appear in a game with Los Angeles due to a right foot fracture. Due to a quad injury suffered during the beginning of training camp, the Wurzburg, Germany native missed the start of the 2025-26 season. 

While Kleber made his Lakers debut on Nov. 8 vs. the Atlanta Hawks, he suffered additional ailments throughout the year and missed 41 contests. Considering Kleber shot 37.3% from three with the Mavericks in 2019-20 and 41.0% the following season, his 23.1% long-range shooting percentage with Los Angeles in Year 9 was well below his potential. 

Scotto's report essentially confirmed what Lakers fans already knew about Kleber: the undrafted forward is primed to spend the 2026-27 season with a different NBA franchise (or potentially the EuroLeague, based on a recent report from BasketNews' Donatas Urbonas).

More NBA news:

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• Spurs predicted to outbid Warriors for $101 million Lakers star, four-time NBA champion

• Luka Doncic sends clear message to Lakers on roster they can't afford to ignore