06-20-2024, 03:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-20-2024, 04:36 PM by KillerLeft.)
It's tough to pinpoint Kleber's value for a variety of reasons, but count me in the group who thinks he has become underrated around here this year.
Yes, availability is the primary ability. That's a universal, timeless truth that's becoming even more relevant in this age of more dense scheduling, when the league is employing measures intended to discourage load management. And yes, Kleber's injury history and general lack of availability is getting more and more frustrating. I won't argue with any of that. Based on THAT, you could argue his contract is too large, sure.
However, people are starting to act as though his PLAY has slipped, and I don't see it that way, personally. I mean, maybe a little, but mostly, when he's going badly, my take is that it's directly correlated to some injury he's trying to recover from. Like, that thing with his toe was crazy this year! If I remember correctly, he's now having to wear some crude device in his shoe to prevent certain types of slippage. A good solution, but it sounds like something a guy who runs, jumps and changes directions for a living might take a little while to get used to, right? Also, for those who don't realize this, a big part of shooting seems to be about foot-work and balance. It also seems crazy to kill him for shooting when he's playing with an injury TO HIS SHOOTING SHOULDER.
I get the "well he's ALWAYS hurt" argument. Really, I do. But right now, it doesn't seem like anyone is giving him credit for fighting through injuries to be on the floor during the last two rounds of the playoffs (according to some of the estimates I saw when he fell and sustained the injury, I'd guess he pushed the timeline of recovery pretty hard), and instead we're all just focused on the shots he didn't consider/attempt/make. Those things are all worth talking about, don't get me wrong, but it's not like he just forgot how to shoot. He was working through things he couldn't overcome on the timeline the team needed. Frustrating, I know, but HE WAS ON THE FLOOR BECAUSE THEY NEEDED HIM, not to do him any favors.
He was one of the best defenders on the team in the Finals. Much better than Lively or Gafford in the ways that mattered in that matchup, and he did so playing mostly 4, which I believe is out of position for him. Even if you disagree, it's pretty undeniable that he has played more 5 here during his Mavs career than 4, so I hope we can all at least acknowledge that it's another on the list of things that are out of his comfort zone.
Will he ever be healthy again, and if so, will that get him back to his "leading up to 2022" form? I have no earthly idea, but I'm not ready to loudly proclaim it's not possible. And, if he can get back to that, the contract won't be a problem at all. Quite the bargain, actually. I think what people are losing sight of is that what he brings to the table is so rare and so coveted that you almost MUST hope he regains that form because that's a more plausible hope than the hope that you can replace him. I mean, Al Horford has a similar skillset (hasn't been as versatile of a defender as Kleber for years, but similar) and he's going to have a job in the league literally as long as he can muster up the life force to accept it.
My point is this: while the injuries/availability part probably affects Kleber's trade value quite a bit, none of us know to what extent, and I'm pretty confident that some team out there would be open to taking a chance on him. There just aren't many guys who can do what he can do. Ten years from now there will be dozens of them, but right now he's still a pretty unique player. The true question, to my way of thinking, is can the Mavs afford to trade him? I am in favor of it if it's helpful, but my goodness they'd better have a plan for replacing him first.
Yes, availability is the primary ability. That's a universal, timeless truth that's becoming even more relevant in this age of more dense scheduling, when the league is employing measures intended to discourage load management. And yes, Kleber's injury history and general lack of availability is getting more and more frustrating. I won't argue with any of that. Based on THAT, you could argue his contract is too large, sure.
However, people are starting to act as though his PLAY has slipped, and I don't see it that way, personally. I mean, maybe a little, but mostly, when he's going badly, my take is that it's directly correlated to some injury he's trying to recover from. Like, that thing with his toe was crazy this year! If I remember correctly, he's now having to wear some crude device in his shoe to prevent certain types of slippage. A good solution, but it sounds like something a guy who runs, jumps and changes directions for a living might take a little while to get used to, right? Also, for those who don't realize this, a big part of shooting seems to be about foot-work and balance. It also seems crazy to kill him for shooting when he's playing with an injury TO HIS SHOOTING SHOULDER.
I get the "well he's ALWAYS hurt" argument. Really, I do. But right now, it doesn't seem like anyone is giving him credit for fighting through injuries to be on the floor during the last two rounds of the playoffs (according to some of the estimates I saw when he fell and sustained the injury, I'd guess he pushed the timeline of recovery pretty hard), and instead we're all just focused on the shots he didn't consider/attempt/make. Those things are all worth talking about, don't get me wrong, but it's not like he just forgot how to shoot. He was working through things he couldn't overcome on the timeline the team needed. Frustrating, I know, but HE WAS ON THE FLOOR BECAUSE THEY NEEDED HIM, not to do him any favors.
He was one of the best defenders on the team in the Finals. Much better than Lively or Gafford in the ways that mattered in that matchup, and he did so playing mostly 4, which I believe is out of position for him. Even if you disagree, it's pretty undeniable that he has played more 5 here during his Mavs career than 4, so I hope we can all at least acknowledge that it's another on the list of things that are out of his comfort zone.
Will he ever be healthy again, and if so, will that get him back to his "leading up to 2022" form? I have no earthly idea, but I'm not ready to loudly proclaim it's not possible. And, if he can get back to that, the contract won't be a problem at all. Quite the bargain, actually. I think what people are losing sight of is that what he brings to the table is so rare and so coveted that you almost MUST hope he regains that form because that's a more plausible hope than the hope that you can replace him. I mean, Al Horford has a similar skillset (hasn't been as versatile of a defender as Kleber for years, but similar) and he's going to have a job in the league literally as long as he can muster up the life force to accept it.
My point is this: while the injuries/availability part probably affects Kleber's trade value quite a bit, none of us know to what extent, and I'm pretty confident that some team out there would be open to taking a chance on him. There just aren't many guys who can do what he can do. Ten years from now there will be dozens of them, but right now he's still a pretty unique player. The true question, to my way of thinking, is can the Mavs afford to trade him? I am in favor of it if it's helpful, but my goodness they'd better have a plan for replacing him first.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)