DALLAS — Anyone who has even loosely followed Maxi Kleber’s six-year Mavericks career knows he’s a model teammate, as well a close friend of Dwight Powell, Josh Green and ex-Maverick Jalen Brunson.
Which makes it all the more jolting that Kleber abruptly has withdrawn from Germany’s national team roster for this summer’s FIBA World Cup, saying that it is “100 percent clear that I am not unreservedly welcome,” in the aftermath of stinging comments made by Raptors and Team Germany point guard Dennis Schroder.
Considering the sources of this verbal tiff, it’s natural to side with Kleber. After all, Dirk Nowitzki, the greatest German and European player and Dallas Maverick in history usually chose his words carefully or declined to comment altogether on the subject of Schroder, who has played for five teams in 10 NBA seasons.
Kleber, as MFFLs know, has no such track record.
The Schroder-Kleber spat arose three days ago when Schroder appeared on the “Got Nexxt” podcast, although Schroder’s comments about Kleber’s decision to not play for Germany in last summer’s EuroBasket made it clear that the issue had been festering. In Schroder’s mind, at least.
“Maxi wasn’t there last year,” Schroder said. “If you didn’t commit — that was actually the message for all of us — then you won’t be there next year either.”
Actually, the reason Kleber most cited for not playing in EuroBasket was that he missed 23 games in 2021-22 due to a variety of injuries, including an oblique strain and ankle issues. Unspoken, but certainly a factor, was that Kleber was negotiating a three-year contract extension, which he signed last September. Schroder evidently missed that in his Kleber “research.”
“If he says ‘I will sign my contract this summer and I want to be with the team so that I can earn even more money’, then I understand that,” Schroder said. “But if you say to [German national team coach] Gordon Herbert, ‘I’m Maxi and I want to train ball handling and work on my game in the summer,’ then, sorry Maxi, but you don’t have a game.
“You throw in the corner, you defend. You’re a pick-and-roll player. You’re not a Carmelo Anthony type of player. You don’t have to work on your game.”
On Tuesday, the fallout from Schroder’s comments compelled Kleber and his agent to issue a statement, according to BIG Magazine, though the statement didn’t mention Schroder by name:
“My goals in playing basketball and representing Germany are to be 100 percent healthy and help the team win and be a good teammate.
“The [very tough] decision last summer not to play was due to an injury I played with for the last four months of the 21-22 NBA season. I needed full recovery and rest.
“Had I been healthy, I would have been happy and proud to play for our NT.
“All communication from my side with all relevant people was done in an honest and respectful manner. I enjoyed watching the team’s success and was proud of what they accomplished.
“I started this summer with full intention and motivation to join the national team in the World Cup. However, the recent unfortunate and inappropriate public statements about me have made it 100 percent clear that I am not unreservedly welcome in the NT.
“It is not my goal to destroy the good team chemistry of last summer. Nor do I want to become a source of distraction. Therefore, I have decided that it is best for everyone involved if I do not play.
“Instead, I will cheer on and support the team as a fan. I have no intention of commenting further publicly on this matter.
“I wish the NT every success!”
So instead of watching Kleber join Luka Doncic (Slovenia) and Green (Australia) in competing in the Aug. 25-Sept. 10 World Cup, Mavericks fans and perhaps the franchise itself will exhale a sigh of relief, considering that Kleber played just 37 games last season after returning from a hamstring tear and surgery.
The German Basketball Federation on Wednesday released a statement addressing the controversy, saying that both players had been spoken to, and that Kleber and Schroder had cleared the air among themselves.
“DBB Vice President Armin Andres and national team head coach Gordon Herbert were with the U-23 squad in Toronto, Canada, at the GloblJam event at the time of the comments.
“There they immediately spoke with Maximilian Kleber, who was also in Toronto, and also contacted Dennis Schroder. Co-captain Johannes Voigtmann also spoke with both of them.
“The final discussion then took place directly between Maximilian Kleber and Dennis Schroder. Everything was clarified internally. In the end, Maximilian Kleber made the decision he expressed in his statement. There is nothing to add to that.
“There is nothing we can do about the situation now, but of course, we are looking positively ahead. We will start the training camp in Bonn on July 31, 2023, with a highly motivated team led by team captain Dennis Schroder, and we are really looking forward to the friendly phase in Bonn, Berlin, Hamburg, and Abu Dhabi as well as to the World Cup 2023 in Okinawa, Japan.”
