Comments on: 2026 Clippers Exit Interview: Ivica Zubac

By: osamu6238

osamu6238 — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:41:56 +0000

With the Lakers, I remember thinking he was a great prospect, but still had a lot left to prove. He showed great touch around the rim, but was a little “Mr. Flippy” when it came to scoring the ball. I think he learned with the Clippers a lot about playing with force with the Clippers. Especially during his time when he was playing with Trez, I felt like Trez rubbed off on him a bit and he made an emphasis on finishing strong (2020-2021 40% of his FGA were dunks, no other season is over 30%).

Again the biggest thing to me what the night and day difference in defense from Gortat to Zu. I don’t think i’ve seen a center give up more easy baskets at the rim than Gortat. It was crazy just how bad Gortat was at keeping track of his man. Even as a work in progress, Zu immediately fixed the horrible rim defense that season.

But yes, was one of the more immediate bad trades in recent memory. Obviously not on the level of the Luka trade, but once in a while there are trades where it immediately is clear who is the winner. Zu for Muscala was one of them.

By: Oodypkt

Oodypkt — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 04:31:53 +0000

This^
Zu, T-Mann, Luke & Coffey really look like a good young core for a while.
I wish the best for all of them. Well maybe not so much for Luke this year. 🙂
But Zu is such a beast. Dude make us a solid team for so long. And I won’t be surprised if he takes more jump shot or even a 3 here or there. He has a nice touch and a good enough FT shooter.
…
But the value we’ve got from him is totally worth it.
And if the ’26 pick don’t convey, we might end up with 2 unprotected FRPs in ’29 & ’31. It will be extremely valuable since anything could happen in 3 or 5 years. We know that all too well. 🙂
…
So good luck to Zu and wish him to get another big pay-day after this current one.

By: Robert Flom

Robert Flom — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 02:35:14 +0000

I think the issue is he was not that level of defender this year. That was much more concerning (and damaging) then the offense. For his sake, I hope he regains that 2025 level of defense in Indiana

By: Robert Flom

Robert Flom — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 02:34:15 +0000

Yeah the Bubble was just so brutal in retrospect

By: John Maclean

John Maclean — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:06:46 +0000

I remember ogling Zu when he was on the Lakers with his breathtaking rim running, put-backs and rim protection. “Where the hell did they find this guy?!” I couldn’t believe they handed him to us for Muscala and knew it was a coup. Then he went through that stretch where he kept fumbling passes and other brain farts and I lowered expectations. Evidently he had been dealing with several fractures and other injury issues in his hands and this was why he was struggling. He kind of got played off the court in that classic 2019 series against the Warriors which took him into the wilderness a bit further to where Doc and then Ty wouldn’t lean into him. The fact that he kept his head down, worked hard, and ultimately forced himself into a major role was incredible and speaks volumes about his character. He was a top five center last season and many of us knew he was better than for example Sabonis and Sengun, who have both been exposed as meh of late.

If he were a couple years younger I would have joined the chorus of fans bemoaning this trade. But he will be in his early 30s when we are ready to contend again and we were desperate for rebuilding assets. I’m actually happy for him that he got traded to what should be a top 2 team in the east and Halliburton will find him the same way Harden did. They should really be a juggernaut.

Let’s hope we can retain Benn on a reasonable contract and if that draft pick conveys it will have been a fantastic deal for all concerned.

By: osamu6238

osamu6238 — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:47:26 +0000

I said it at the time of the trade, I’m so torn on the trade and Zubac’s value. On one hand, I do feel like the rise in PPG was almost all on Harden. If he drops back down to 11-12 ppg like he was pre-Harden, would he have been worth Mathurin + 2 FRP? I doubt it. So I do feel like the Clippers sold high on him and got peak value.

On the other hand, I think defense is still hard to quantify, and I would put Zubac as a top-3 rim protector in the league. Outside of guys that have won DPOY awards, it’s still feels like defense is not rewarded in contacts or trade value. Just look at DJJ and Dunn and their value on the market. So can Zu’s value still be underappreciated, even though they traded him at the very top of the market?

I think in the end, he’ll be a solid but unspectacular center for the Pacers, and probably the Clippers got the better end of the deal. Maybe if the Pacers put the defensive system and other pieces around Zu, where they’re a top defense in the league, Zu may garner some DPOY buzz, and at least the narrative around the trade would be much different.

Regardless of the value they got in return, Clips are left with the task of replacing that rim protection. At least YKN is showing some flashes of being a solid prospect, but obviously he has a ways to go to show if he can be the starting center of the future. Given the rise in talent at the center position over the past 5 years, I think the days of “getting away” with just having some minimum level center (Zaza Pachulia, Kevon Looney, Javale McGee, Mozgov, Tiago Splitter, Joel Anthony) on a championship team might be over.

By: Morty CA

Morty CA — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 03:05:40 +0000

I do hope Zu comes back to the clippers in 3-4 years or so as a backup and finishes his career here.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 19:47:23 +0000

For me, the most painful part of Zu being gone is this – I am convinced that we would’ve won the bubble championship if Doc just played Zu over Trez against Jokic. Regardless, losing Zu is such a bummer, man – I was convinced Nard, Mann, and Zu were going to carry the team into the next era as Kawhi and Paul George started to slow down. I’m reasonably satisfied with the return for him (and will be ecstatic if we somehow get Indy’s pick), but Zu is as close to a “homegrown” All-Star (effectively, not officially) that this team has had since the Lob City days, so seeing him shipped out was always gonna sting. I hope he balls out next season for the Pacers, and I hope he left on good enough terms for him to not hate the franchise in the late stages of his career unlike the situations with Blake and CP3…