In one of the recent episodes of Podcast P with Paul George, PG13 had his current teammate, Ivica Zubac as a guest. Zubac touched upon how he felt when the Los Angeles Clippers traded for Paul George and then went on to sign Kawhi Leonard in free agency and how that made him fearful for his own contract.
Advertisement
Ivica Zubac had just signed a contract extension worth $28 million with the Los Angeles Clippers for four years, back in 2019. But within two days of Zubac’s signing, the Clippers traded for Paul George with the Thunder, which was then followed by Los Angeles signing Kawhi Leonard.
While on the podcast, Zubac revealed all the things that went through his head when the news broke out, “We go to the store and we’re shopping in the store and my phone just starts blowing up in my pocket. I’m like, ‘What is it?’ I look it up and it’s like a bunch of alerts and then I see first, we traded for PG and we signing Kawhi.”
As per him, the Center was worried about his contract and did not see it coming, “And at first, I was messed up because I signed my contract like two days before. And they never published it, like Clippers or Woj or anyone, no one tweeted about it. So, I’m like, ‘Is my sh*t still on?’ So, I called my agent, ‘Is my contract still good? What’s going on.’”
However, Zubac’s agent calmed him down finally and assured him that his deal was still on, “He was like, ‘No, you’re good.”
Zubac was worried whether his contract was nullified given how no one tweeted about it. Moreover, he was also worried that he might’ve gotten traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a package for Paul George. But eventually, he found out that he was safe and was not getting traded.
Finally, the news started hitting all the media chains and Zubac found out that no one from the main core of players was getting traded. Happy with the core and adding two All-Stars, Zubac believed that the Clippers now had a chance to win it all.
Ivica Zubac’s journey in Los Angeles
Ivica Zubac started off his career playing for the Lakers, and in a few years, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Zubac even revealed what went through his head when he heard that he was getting traded to the Clippers.
“It was tough. I mean, I kind of knew. All the young guys, two or three weeks before that, everyone was…we were all young, second, third year in the league. Everyone was so worried about the deadline, no one knew what was going to happen. And they knew something was gonna happen. And then it ended up just being me.”
Zubac narrated the rest of the story, as he got a call from Rob Pelinka and Magic Johnson, only to find out he was being traded to the Clippers. Since his arrival, Ivica Zubac has been the team’s starting center who can give a little bit of everything on the floor. His point production has certainly gone up but it’s the other things he does that help the team get over the hump.
Zubac is a reliable defender and rebounder. He excels in grabbing loose balls and even though he isn’t one of the leading shot blockers in the league, his seven-foot frame sure helps in protecting the paint. Hopefully, Zubac along with the Clippers big four, go on to win it all this season.
