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After injury-plagued preseason, Mavs nearing full strength with Maxi Kleber returning

Kleber suffered an ankle sprain the day before camp opened, when he stepped on a teammate’s foot while scrimmaging.

For the second time in three days, the Mavericks experienced a welcome sight in their Design District training facility.

Center Maxi Kleber, who sprained his left ankle a day before training camp opened on Oct. 1, returned to practice on Friday. He took part in five-on-five scrimmaging and then stayed after practice, running hard and sinking 3-pointer after 3-pointer.

“It feels great being back on the court, being back with the team,” he said.

Kleber’s return didn’t earn as much fanfare as when Luka Doncic (left calf contusion) practiced Wednesday, but with Thursday’s season opener against San Antonio looming, this is as close to full strength as Dallas has been since the start of training camp.

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Kleber said he suffered his ankle sprain the day before camp opened, when he stepped on a teammate’s foot while scrimmaging.

“It was minor, so nothing bad, but obviously it just took a little bit of time,” Kleber said.

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Injuries to Doncic, Kleber, Dante Exum (right wrist), P.J. Washington (hip) prevented the Mavericks from fielding anything close to a regular rotation in their four preseason games, so much so that Kidd said prior to Thursday’s preseason finale win over Milwaukee:

“I don’t care who shoots it or who throws it in the stands. This is about health, because we have been unhealthy up to this point.”

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This is Wurzburg, Germany, native Kleber’s eighth NBA season, all with the Mavericks. He turns 33 on Jan. 29.

In his first three seasons he played 72, 71 and 74 games. Since then he’s played 50, 59, 37 and 43 games.

After playing 22 or more minutes in Dallas’ first three games last season, Kleber suffered a right small toe fracture in the fourth game.

What initially wasn’t considered a significant injury – Kleber returned four games later and played 15 minutes – ultimately caused him to miss 34 of the next 35 games.

Last season’s trade deadline acquisitions of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington shored the Mavericks’ center and power forward positions, but 6-foot-11 Kleber’s defense and 3-point shooting are commodities that Kidd covets.

As a backup at both center and power forward, Kleber adds versatility to the playing rotation, the ability to go small when he plays center or big when he’s at power forward alongside Gafford and Dereck Lively II.

When Kleber suffered a scary fall and dislocation of his right shoulder AC joint in the first round against the Clippers, the Mavericks were less versatile until he returned late in the Western Conference finals against Minnesota.

During media day on the eve of training camp, Kleber declared himself fully healthy. Later that day, before the Mavericks departed for the start of camp in Las Vegas, Kleber suffered the ankle injury.

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Kleber looked good on Friday, albeit during an abbreviated practice and individual work afterward. Now, he’s looking forward to blending with new teammates such as Klay Thompson, Naji Marshall and Quentin Grimes.

“Very talented, a lot of energy,” Kleber said of the newcomers. “We have a lot of threats with Naji, Grimes and everybody else coming in. They do a great job, even adjusting on the defensive end.

“Obviously there’s sometimes miscommunication because things are new, but overall, great character guys bringing good energy to practices. Unfortunately I was watching most of them, but the intensity was very high and the level of basketball was fun to watch.”

Now the mix includes Kleber and, of course, Doncic, who also practiced in full on Friday. The Mavericks can only hope their improved health keeps trending in that direction.

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ROSTER MOVES

The Mavericks on Friday morning waived guard A.J. Lawson, forward Emanuel Miller and center Jamarion Sharp. Later in the day they signed guards Jamir Chaplin and Jaron Lucas.

It’s the second time in eight days that Lawson has been waived. Two days after his Oct. 10 waiving, the Mavericks, as expected, re-signed Lawson to a 10-day contract.

Friday’s waiving of Lawson also paved the way to the team’s decision to convert emerging guard Jazian Gortman to a two-way contract. Gortman averaged 10.3 points on 51% shooting and played eyebrow-raising defense in four preseason appearances. The 6-2 guard out of Overtime Elite was originally signed by the Mavericks in July.

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The Mavericks’ season-opening allotment 15 roster players and three players on two-way contracts must be finalized by Monday afternoon.

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