Pacers Solve Big Problem With Clippers Powerhouse Ivica Zubac

Zubac has spent his entire career in Los Angeles. The Lakers selected him in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft. They traded him to the Clippers in 2019.

Zubac has developed into a reliable role player over the past few seasons. He grew significantly as a post scorer and rim-running threat alongside Harden. With Harden now gone, the Clippers are smartly selling high on Zubac.

His stock rose even further after his breakout season last year. He earned second-team All-Defensive honors for the first time while also averaging a career-high 17 points and 13 rebounds. Zubac finished sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Zubac is averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds this season across 43 games. He is shooting 61.3 percent from the field and is a double-double threat every night. His contract runs through the 2027–28 season and will earn around $21 million in the final year of the deal.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported earlier Thursday that the Clippers wanted a return of “similar value to the Anthony Davis trade.” The Pacers met that asking price with multiple first-round picks.

Pacers Bet Big on Zubac

This trade ends Bennedict Mathurin’s promising tenure on the Pacers. The soon-to-be 24-year-old has enjoyed a career year during a season derailed by injuries. He averages 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists, all career highs.

Jackson is a rim-protecting, high-motor, undersized big. He is coming off a season lost to a torn Achilles. His per-36 numbers of 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 3.1 stocks suggest real upside. He and Mathurin now join a youth movement in Los Angeles. The Clippers appear to be closing the curtain on the Kawhi Leonard era.