The Dallas Mavericks supporters are eagerly awaiting the schedule’s announcement later this month, as the NBA regular season approaches.
There have been rumors that Dallas will play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Christmas Day. Regardless of who they finish up playing against, their opening night battle should be entertaining.
The Olympics in Paris have temporarily tempered the excitement of basketball enthusiasts awaiting the NBA season. Two Mavericks athletes are competing in the Olympics: Dwight Powell, who is representing Canada, and Dante Exum, who is representing Australia.
Maxi Kleber was disqualified from the Olympics due to the controversy of last summer.
Although Powell and Exum have both performed admirably, one Maverick was completely excluded from competing in the Olympics. The rationale behind this choice is unclear, and it appears that a series of unfortunate circumstances have led up to it.
As per NBA insider Marc Stein (subscription required), Maxi Kleber expressed his desire to represent Germany, but since he declined to compete in the FIBA World Cup, which Germany ultimately won, “there was little chance (he) would be invited to play on the Olympic squad.”
Kleber was healthy going into the previous offseason, although he did injure his hamstring in the middle of the campaign. Though Kleber was healing from injuries the previous summer, a German teammate chose to publicly criticize him for not playing in the World Cup, even though it’s possible that he could have and wanted to.
After Dennis Schroder made some disparaging remarks about Kleber, the player decided not to represent Germany in the World Cup. Kleber missed the World Cup last summer, which is one of the main reasons he wasn’t able to participate in the Olympics this year. If Schroder hadn’t intervened, Kleber probably would have been playing for his country in Paris right now.
It’s amazing to imagine that the German team could have performed even better in these Olympics with Kleber on it, and Schroder’s needless public remarks about the player would have probably created difficulties in the locker room as well.
While it is unfortunate that Kleber won’t be competing for the Mavericks in the Olympics, his absence from action does allow him more time to train and improve.
After sustaining a severe shoulder injury in the playoffs, Kleber didn’t seem like himself when he got back. Kleber needs to come back to his previous level for the Mavs; otherwise, he might be traded before the trade deadline.
For years, Kleber has been a valuable veteran player for the Mavs both on and off the court. It must frustrate him that he isn’t allowed to represent his country in the Olympics because of Schroder’s dramatization of him.
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