The options for the Dallas Mavericks if Maxi Kleber is ruled out for the season

The News broke mid-day Wednesday that Maxi Kleber will be out for an extended period after suffering a tear to his right hamstring at team practice on Tuesday. There is currently no timetable for his return. Maxi's missing significant time is a massive blow for the Dallas Mavericks. The timeframe for Maxi has varied based on reports. I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. But, with the help of CBA Mavs, we wanted to break down the options if Maxi Kleber was ruled out for the season due to his torn hamstring.

If an NBA team loses a player for the season due to injury, they're limited in how they can replace that player. Teams must request the NBA to be granted a Disabled Player Exception or a DPE. It's not an automatic thing when a player is injured. A team must apply to the NBA for a DPE.

A team may use the Disabled Player Exception to replace a player that suffered a season-ending injury with one player making the lesser of (i) 50% of the disabled player's current salary or (ii) the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Salary Exception. Contracts signed using this exception must be for 1 season, or if the exception is used to acquire a player by trade, that player must be in the final season of his contract. In addition, if the replacement player is caught in a business, the team is granted another $100,000 in wiggle room to help use this exception.

A team can apply for this exception from July 1 through January 15, regardless of when the injury occurred, as long as the damage makes it substantially more likely than not that the disabled player is unable to play through the following June 15. The exception expires on March 10 after it is granted.

What are the Mavericks' options if granted a disabled player exception?

A.) Sign a free agent for up to 4.5 million, which is 50% of Maxi's current salary.

B.) Absorb a player in the last year of their contract up to 4.6 million without sending out any salary. This would be less likely of options to happen. The players that can be absorbed with a DPE are recent first-round players such as Tre Man, Kevin Knox, and Shaddiq Bey.

C.) Claim a waived player up to 4.5 million that only had this season left on their waived contract.

The Mavericks are limited on their options moving forward, but if Maxi is ruled out for the season, It would be in their best interest to pursue this route rather than give up a draft pick in some panic move.