Blink and you missed it; the Los Angeles Lakers are already eliminated from the 2024-25 NBA playoffs.
The Lakers' postseason run ended with a whimper in Game 5 on Wednesday night, falling 103-96 to the Minnesota Timberwolves in front of a disappointed Crypto.com Arena crowd. It's abundantly clear that Los Angeles' roster is good enough to compete for a championship, let alone make it out of the first round, highlighting general manager Rob Pelinka's need to make serious offseason upgrades.
As exciting as it'd be to see fresh blood injected into head coach JJ Redick's lineup, the Lakers' salary cap situation means players must be traded to bring in help. With that in mind, one regressing forward is an obvious trade candidate this offseason.
Lakers Must Trade Maxi Kleber This Offseason After Early Playoff Exit
The Lakers currently roster several trade-worthy veterans, especially Maxi Kleber. It wouldn't be shocking to learn that L.A. is ready to move on from the veteran forward whose presence was practically non-existent after being acquired in the Luka Doncic trade deadline deal.
An eight-year NBA veteran, Kleber was popular during his time with the Dallas Mavericks due to his floor-stretching abilities and leadership. Unfortunately, the 33-year-old German's performance has been declining recently, and a lot of that has to do with injuries that have limited him to an average of 44.6 games across the last five seasons.
Kleber only played 34 games with the Mavericks before undergoing foot surgery in January, averaging only 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds with abysmal .385/.265/.762 shooting splits. His recovery prevented him from joining the Lakers during the regular season, leaving the coaching staff and fans hopeful that he'd eventually be healthy enough to contribute in the playoffs.
After missing the opening round's first four games, Kleber was finally healthy enough to play in Game 5. He didn't make much of an impact, though, only sinking two free throws while being limited to five minutes of work. In other words, the 6-foot-10 big man did little to prove his value to the Lakers.
Now that the offseason is here, the Lakers must work on cutting ties with Kleber. He's no longer the reliable two-way player who averaged 7.0 points and 5.9 rebounds en route to finishing 11th in the 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year voting. He now has one more year at $11 million remaining on his contract, which is a cap hit the Lakers can use as a part of a bigger trade to bring in a third star or to replace Kleber with a healthier forward option.
Although Doncic likely wouldn't be thrilled to see his long-time teammate and friend go, trading Kleber is a necessary move to help the Lakers win now. Holding onto the regressing vet would be another frontcourt mistake, and that's the last thing L.A. needs after this season's blunders.