Schroder doubles down on Maxi Kleber's criticism: 'It was weird to me' / News - Basketnews.com

Schroder defended his opinion on Maxi Kleber and said that it isn't fair to other players if he comes back to play for Germany after a year of absence.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Dennis Schroder made headlines after a recent interview where he addressed Maxi Kleber and his refusal to play for the German national team last year. The player has now explained his view in greater detail.

Maximilian Kleber

Position:PFAge:31Height:207 cmWeight:92 kgBirth place:GermanyProfileNewsStatistics

In an interview during the Got Nexxt show by basketball insider Andre Voigt, Schroder criticized Kleber and said that he didn't approve of his decision to skip the EuroBasket 2022.

Schroder has now addressed the matter directly in his newest video on his YouTube channel.

"About Maxi Kleber, the only things I said were the things I'd heard - that he was trying to improve his game. I said 'What game?' in the interview. To put things into context, he knows exactly what his strengths are because he's been in the game long enough," the guard doubled down. "I said [that it was] three-pointers, [three-pointers] from the corner, whatever. He can catch alley-oops - for people who don't know, it's when you throw the ball up, he catches the ball and dunks it. When he's defending, he can block and change a lot of plays."

"I was like 'Ok, what game is he trying to improve?' In the NBA, when you're good at something, you stick to it. It wouldn't make sense if a big center started being a ballhandler. That's why I said it. He knows his game and he knows what his role is. Of course, I accepted it because it was his decision but it was a bit difficult to respect it. If he had another reason - a contract or because he wants to play longer - it would've been totally fine with me," Schroder said.

Schroder mentioned that the team had an internal agreement to represent Germany for the upcoming 3-4 years, meaning that if a player commits one summer, he has to come back during the next one as well.

After mentioning the examples of Isaac Bonga, Moritz Wagner, and Niels Giffey, Schroder told that it would not be fair to others if Kleber suddenly came back to play for Germany.

"It was weird to me, that's why I said and that's what I meant. I even told him what my statement meant, I stand by my words and I say what I think. That's the thing a lot of people like about me, there's no beef [between me and Maxi] or anything. I also know the media likes to twist things so they get more attention and views, I understand that, but it wasn't meant in a bad way at all," Schroder said.

"As a captain, it's your job to stand up for your players. I don't think it's fair to other people who spent their summer playing for the national team when you weren't here to not be able to come because someone else decided to play a year after," he explained.

In the end, Schroder apologized if his remarks sounded bad.

"To Maxi, if it came out wrong, you know how I am, I apologize. I mean no offense, you know how the media is."

Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.