Report: Mavericks, Maxi Kleber finalizing three-year, $33M contract extension

Kleber is set to earn $9M in 2022-2023, the final season of the four-year, $34M deal he signed with Dallas during the 2019 free agent period. His new agreement with the team, which will bump his average annual salary to $11M, will extend his contract through the 2025-2026 season.

An undrafted free agent from Germany, Kleber has spent the last five seasons with the Mavericks. He has appeared in 326 regular season games during that time, starting 136 of them and averaging 7.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG on .446/.359/.796 shooting in 22.7 minutes per contest.

Kleber, 30, saw his shooting percentages drop off noticeably in 2021/22, as he made just 39.8 percent of his shots from the floor, including 32.5 percent of his threes. However, Dallas’ new financial commitment to him suggests the team is confident he’ll bounce back in 2022-2023.

With Spencer Dinwiddie‘s and Reggie Bullock‘s salaries for 2023-2024 not yet fully guaranteed, there might have been a path for the Mavs to create some cap flexibility next summer. However, their deal with Kleber signals they’re fully preparing to operate over the cap again, even with Christian Wood and Dwight Powell still on expiring deals.

Kleber will become one of three Dallas players under contract through at least 2025-2026, joining Luka Doncic and Dorian Finney-Smith.

Because Kleber’s extension will exceed the NBA’s extend-and-trade limits, he’ll be ineligible to be dealt for six months after his signing date. Even if the two sides finalize the agreement shortly, that six-month window will extend into March, well past the 2023 trade deadline, so Dallas won’t be able to move him until next offseason.