The 2024-25 NBA playoffs are finally here now that the regular season is in the books. The Los Angeles Lakers will enter the postseason as the Western Conference's No. 3 seed with a 50-32 record, positioning them in an opening-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers officially announced their postseason roster earlier this week, letting fans know who will be tasked with bringing another title to L.A. While certain players are more than ready to compete for the Larry O'Brien Trophy, one member of head coach JJ Redick's playoff roster is clearly wasting space.
Maxi Kleber is Wasting Space on Lakers' Playoff Roster
One player who Lakers fans likely don't want to see much of this postseason is Maxi Kleber. The veteran forward made his way to Los Angeles as a part of February's Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap with the Dallas Mavericks.
Even though that trade happened over two months ago, Kleber has yet to make his Lakers debut due to a foot injury. The German big man has since returned to practice earlier this week, opening the door to potential postseason availability.
Having said that, it'd be wise for the Lakers to either limit Kleber's minutes or leave him off the floor altogether this spring.
It's hard to imagine what positives Kleber would bring to the Lakers' lineup at this point in the year. He hasn't played meaningful basketball since January and hasn't had any opportunities to mesh with his new teammates outside of practice. That combination could make him a huge risk if he's tasked with any significant playoff minutes.
It also doesn't make sense to play Kleber considering how he wasn't performing well before the Doncic-Davis trade happened.
The seven-year NBA veteran was only averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds with a career-worst .385/.265/.762 shooting splits in 34 games (4 starts) with the Mavericks, continuing a regression that's been happening for the last few seasons. It's hard to look at those numbers and believe that Kleber can help the Lakers win their first championship since 2020.
With the Timberwolves series beginning on Saturday, the Lakers need to decide on Kleber soon. As much as it might hurt him to be left on the outside looking in, Los Angeles can't afford to fumble a potentially deep playoff run because Redick wanted to give minutes to his former teammate.
In the meantime, the Lakers are heading into the postseason with the fourth-best 2025 NBA Finals odds (+1500) on FanDuel Sportsbook.
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