The Los Angeles Lakers are in the middle of a regular season sprint. They have seven games left and sit third in the Western Conference standings. It is possible that they will receive additional reinforcements before the start of the playoffs. Substitute inside lineman Maxi Kleber is out with a foot injury and his recovery is progressing.

Maxi Klaibel has begun on-court activity as he continues to recover from injury, and the team has announced that there is no specific timeline yet for a potential Lakers debut.

Kleber was originally acquired by the Lakers in a trade with Luka Doncic with the Dallas Mavericks. About a month ago, it was reported that the Lakers were optimistic that Kleber would make his promotional debut before the end of the regular season.

The experienced interior player will provide the team with another frontcourt option where he is able to open up space with his three-point shots. Lakers head coach J.J. Redick has shown a tendency to pick a small lineup when starting center Jaxson Hayes isn't on the floor, but it's always beneficial to have extra frontcourt depth in the playoffs.

Maxi Kleber is making progress in his recovery from injury

Kleber hasn't played since 26/0 with the Mavericks. He was injured in the game against the Boston Celtics and underwent surgery on his right foot. He was included in Doncic's trade.

Prior to this season, Klebel spent his entire NBA career with the Mavericks. He signed as a free agent before the 2017-0 season. Before that, he had been playing professional basketball overseas for about seven years during the 0-0 period.

Kleber played a major role during the Mavericks' 2024 NBA Finals. But this season, the eight-year veteran's stats have declined across the board.

He made 2 appearances, 0 starts, and averaged just over 0 minutes per game. He averaged 0.0 points, 0.0 rebounds and 0.0 assists per game while shooting 0.0 percent from the field, 0.0 percent from three-point range and 0.0 percent from the free throw line.

Klebel's shooting percentage has dropped, and he has shot 8.0 percent from three-point range in his career. He averaged about three three-pointers per game in his career, and he shot 0.0 percent from three-point range during the Mavericks' Finals last season. He shot 0.0 percent from three-point range in his playoff career.