Raptors’ Dennis Schroder ends beef with Mavs’ Maxi Kleber

One personality trait that everyone has said new Toronto Raptors point guard Dennis Schroder has is a blunt personality. No matter what the situation, or who may be offended by what he says, he will speak his truth and say whatever is on his mind.

Dallas Mavericks forward Maxi Kleber found out just how rash Schroder can be, as the new Raptors guard put forth some fairly venomous comments on a podcast that implied Kleber “didn’t have a game.” Schroder referred to Kleber as nothing more than a “pick and roll” player.

As a result, Kleber withdrew his participation from the German National Team ahead of the FIBA World Cup. On a German team that could use NBA talent to help set themselves apart in what could be a relatively challenging group, this likely came as a shock to coach Gordon Herbert.

Schroder appears to have realized that going against Kleber in such a public forum with that level of honesty was the wrong move. He has since issued an apology aimed at mending fences between himself and his countryman.

“I would like to apologize to Maxi Kleber and his family for my statements and the resulting inconvenience,” Schroder said via a statement. “It was never my intention to bring someone into an unpleasant situation or unrest in the team. My intention was just to make myself strong for my team and to make it clear that I would do everything for my team.”

Raptors’ Dennis Schroder apologizes to Maxi Kleber.

Schroder will join a German team that will take on Lauri Markkanen’s Finland, an Australian squad that will have a few NBA players roaming around, and an upstart Japan team. Schroder’s skills will be needed if the Germans want to make some noise in this tournament.

The German team has four current NBA players without Kleber, as Schroder will join the Wagner brothers (Franz and Moritz) and Pacers center Daniel Theis. Former Raptors point guard Isaac Bonga is also on the team.

Schroder will be able to show off many of the traits Toronto fell in love with in free agency, as he will likely be one of the team’s two leading scorers alongside Wagner.

Hopefully, no one on the Raptors performs so poorly that Schroder is willing to rip them apart on various German podcasts. This will go to show that Schroder is not going to tolerate any prolonged struggles.