'I'm Not Welcome!' Maxi Kleber OUT After Dennis Schroder Germany Criticism
For years, we heard that Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki didn't necessarily think fondly of fellow German NBA player Dennis Schroder. Now, another Mavs player from Germany, Maxi Kleber, is giving us a look at why that might be.
As national teams prepare for the FIBA World Cup, which begins on August 25, Schroder went on the "Got Nexxt" podcast and took some unnecessary shots at Kleber since he decided to sit out last summer with Germany to recover from injuries.
"Maxi wasn't there last year. If you didn't commit – that was actually the message for all of us – then you won't be there next year either," Schroder said.
"If [Maxi] 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. But if you say to [Germany 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."
As a result of Schroder's statements, Kleber is now going to be absent from the German national team for a second straight summer.
"I started this summer with full intention and motivation to join the national team in the World Cup," Kleber said in a public statement. "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."
If Schroder spent more time trying to be a good teammate, building players up instead of trying to tear them down, then perhaps he wouldn't be an NBA journeyman at 29 years old. Schroder received a two-year, $26 million contract from the Toronto Raptors this summer. It will be his sixth team change since the 2019-20 season.
It's unfortunate that we won't get to see Kleber suit up at the World Cup, as his fellow Mavericks Luka Doncic and Josh Green will be playing for the Slovenian and Australian national teams respectively. However, this could be a blessing in disguise for the 31-year-old versatile forward, as he's still less than a year removed from a hamstring tear that forced him to miss two months last season. A little extra rest and rehab should help Kleber ahead of Mavs training camp in September.
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