The Los Angeles Clippers are signing incumbent starting center Ivica Zubac to a fresh three-season, $58.6 million contract extension, his agents Mike Lindeman and Jeff Schwartz of Excel informed ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will now keep him under team control through 2027-28.
Zubac, 27, enjoyed the most prolific scoring run of his career for the 51-31 Clippers last season. Across his 68 healthy contests (all starts), Zubac notched averages of 11.7 points on 64.9 percent shooting from the field and 72.3 percent shooting from the charity stripe, 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 dimes, and 1.2 blocks a night.
After a brief pro stint with Serbian club KK Mega Basket, the Los Angeles Lakers selected the 7-footer with the No. 32 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft — the final season of former team president Mitch Kupchak’s tenure.
The rim-rolling big man survived for parts of three tumultuous seasons with the Purple and Gold, before he and veteran forward Michael Beasley were dealt to the rival Clippers in a stunningly lopsided deal. The Lakers only received stretch big Mike Muscala back in return, who subsequently walked in free agency.
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Zubac carved out a great role for himself during his tenure with the Clippers. Outside of the 2020-21 season (when former All-Defensive First Teamer Serge Ibaka was brought into the fold midway through the year), Zubac has been the Clippers’ full-time starter at the five-spot.
In Zubac, the team is now set to hold onto one of its core pieces for most of the 2020s. It’s a shame the club couldn’t figure things out with a much more important figure in Paul George before he jetted for Philadelphia.
As Wojnarowski notes, Zubac was one of the league’s elite rim protectors in 2023-24. He limited his covers to just 49.6 percent shooting at the rim, which was tops in the NBA for players guarding 200 or more shots.
Nine-time All-Star combo forward Paul George inked a four-year, $211.6 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent, ditching the Clippers after a fairly disappointing five-year run. Armed with George, All-NBA forward Kawhi Leonard, and eventually All-Star guard James Harden, L.A. never broke through to make an NBA Finals, and only got out of the first round of the playoffs twice.
Read more: Paul George Felt Insulted by Clippers in Contract Negotiations
George revealed after the season that Clippers management had tried to lowball him during in-season contract extension negotiation efforts. The team initially attempted to pay George significantly less than the three-season, $152.4 million extension it gave Leonard, before ultimately offering him a comparable amount. When George requested a no-trade clause, L.A. balked, compelling him to ultimately ask for a four-year maximum deal.
Although the Clippers apparently slow-walked their negotiations with George, they were eager to pay past-his-prime former MVP point guard James Harden a generous two-season contract worth $70 million.
Read more: Clippers Agree To Massive Multi-Year Deal To Retain Star James Harden: Report
When George walked, Clippers team president Lawrence Frank pivoted, inking former Dallas Mavericks starting small forward Derrick Jones Jr. and reuniting with combo forward Nicolas Batum, who had been traded away to the 76ers as part of L.A.’s deal to acquire James Harden earlier this season.
Read more: Clippers Head Coach Can’t Wait to Prove People Wrong After Losing Paul George