Last year at the trade deadline, the Dallas Mavericks made headlines by acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets. The Mavericks’ first step toward trying to become a championship contender was to pair Irving with Luka Doncic. However, the Mavs’ second-half collapse and subsequent elimination from postseason contention dampened expectations for the 2017-18 campaign. However, health concerns figured into that decision. For the majority of the second part of the season, the Mavs were without Maxi Kleber due to injuries. According to Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com, now that Kleber is recovered, he has discussed the team’s intention to make amends for the previous campaign.

After last season’s failure, “there’s obviously that chip on your shoulder,” as Kleber put it. But, we’d like to put that behind us. There is a lot for us to justify and rectify. It won’t be a walk in the park. As a result of the high quality of play in the league, competition is fierce. But we have faith in ourselves, and we intend to make amends for last year.

The Mavs would benefit greatly from a healthy Maxi Kleber. Last year, the German native could only play in 37 games due to a hamstring ailment. When healthy, he contributed 5.9 points a game on 45.6% field goal shooting, 3.6% three-point shooting, and 1.4% assists while hitting 71% from the charity stripe.

Kleber gives the Mavs frontcourt depth and a potential starting option.