By Mathieu Seguin | Sports editor
As the transfer deadline approaches, certain trajectories are becoming clearer without ever being officially announced. In Los Angeles, future movements can be guessed as much in the silences as in the persistent rumors. And for some players, time suddenly seems to be counting down faster than expected.
In a franchise where each season is judged by title ambitions, mid-season adjustments are rarely trivial. Decisions made in the shadows of the calendar can redefine a locker room, sometimes to the detriment of profiles who, a few months earlier, still seemed useful to the project. And like almost every year, we will be watching the Angelinos.
The Lakers know that they will probably no longer look quite like this current version once the February 5 trade deadline passes. The organization has several exchangeable contracts and sufficient room to maneuver to attempt a targeted rebalancing of its workforce. In this logic, certain names are beginning to emerge with insistence.
A profile that no longer corresponds to current needs
According to analyst Svyatoslav Rovenchuk of Lake Show Life, one player in particular stands out as an obvious candidate to start. In his analysis, he explains that “Golden State showed last season that it can be beneficial to take a gamble early, then quickly redirect if the experiment fails”. In this scenario applied to Los Angeles, “one member of the squad clearly stands out as a potential outgoing piece: Maxi Kleber”.
The argument is as much about context as it is about performance. Recently injured in the lower back, Kleber has not yet returned to the field, while the Lakers are struggling to fill several glaring gaps. Rovenchuk points out that “with obvious needs in defense, athleticism, outside skill and scoring coming from the bench, any of these criteria can justify his departure even before his return”.
However, there was a time when Maxi Kleber represented a sure value in a very specific role. In Dallas, he established himself as an interior capable of stretching the game, effective in pick-and-pop alongside Luka Dončić. His defensive intelligence and his ability to penalize three points made him a appreciated complement in an ambitious rotation.
But the 2025-2026 season tells a very different story. Included in the major trade of February 2 that sent Dončić to Los Angeles, Kleber is struggling to establish himself in JJ Redick’s rotation. Its overall impact remains limited, despite a correct external address on paper. At 33, the German interior sees his margin for progress shrinking, while the pressure for results intensifies around him. In a franchise where every spot in the rotation must be justified, simple veteran status no longer guarantees anything.
