The Dallas Mavericks will keep one of their most important players around Luka Doncic on their roster for the next few years. German forward Maxi Kleber, who was slated to enter unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the 2022-23 NBA season, will sign a new contract extension that is going to keep him around through the 2025-26 campaign.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Kleber and the Mavericks agreed to a 3-year contract extension that will pay him $33 million. It’s a nice raise for Kleber, whose current deal pays him an average of just under $9 million a year.
Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber is finalizing a three-year, $33 million contract extension, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Kleber was entering the final year of his deal, now under contract through 2025-26.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 8, 2022
Kleber has turned into Dallas’ most important players off of the bench due to his ability to knock down looks that Doncic generates and his willingness and ability to switch onto perimeter players on the defensive end of the floor. He was instrumental to the Mavericks’ run to the Western Conference Finals last year, as Kleber averaged 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game, all off the bench, while connecting on 43.6 percent of his threes. This included a playoff career-high 25 points in a win over Utah and knocking down a little more than 46 percent of his triples during the team’s upset of the Phoenix Suns.
After going undrafted in 2014, Kleber spent time with Bayern Munich before joining the Mavericks as a free agent during the 2017 offseason.