Ivica Zubac Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Notes: Harrell, Williams, Zubac, Game 2 Loss

September 6th, 2020 at 12:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Montrezl Harrell‘s late grandmother was on his mind when he accepted the Sixth Man of the Year award, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Harrell left the Disney World campus for nearly a month when she died earlier this summer, returning just in time for the start of the playoffs.

“This is for my grandmother, who is not here with me today and isn’t going to be able to see this,” he said. “She isn’t going to be able to see me do something that she instilled in me as a young child, a game that she brought to my attention as a young man and I fell in love with and worked my tail off at.”

Harrell is the first big man in nearly a decade to capture Sixth Man honors. Heading into unrestricted free agency, he posted career highs this season with 18.6 PPG and 7.1 RPG. He recalls a conversation with coach Doc Rivers shortly after the Rockets traded him to L.A. in 2017.

“From day one, coach told me that this is not one of those things that we kind of just did to package this,” Harrell said. “‘No, we want you here. We’ve seen you play. We know the type of intensity and motor that you bring to the game. This isn’t one of those things that you’re going to be coming here and leaving back out. We want you here.’ To hear the head coach of an organization say you don’t have anything to worry about, you can get comfortable here, and this is a team that wants you, it means a lot.”

There’s more Clippers news to pass along:

The award was presented to Harrell by teammate Lou Williams, who won it the past two seasons, Buha adds in the same story. A three-time winner overall, Williams finished third in this year’s voting. “For him to come out and just hand me the trophy, it was special,” Harrell said. “It was a huge surprise. … To see that trophy come out from the back and actually coming towards me, it was a tremendous honor and just a complete, complete tremendous thank you to my teammates, to Doc and Lou, everybody.”
The Clippers need a strong performance from center Ivica Zubac, who is the only player on the roster who can match up physically with Denver’s Nikola Jokic, observes Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. Zubac had 15 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s loss, but he remained on the bench late in the game as L.A. opted to use a smaller lineup.
Game 2 exposed bad habits that have plagued the Clippers all season, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. L.A. showed little energy to start the game and trailed by 19 points after the first quarter.

Pacific Notes: Zubac, Okobo, Len, Barnes, Holmes

July 27th, 2020 at 8:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Center Ivica Zubac, who has recovered from COVID-19, played 13 minutes in the Clippers’ third Orlando scrimmage on Monday and appears ready for the league restart, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times writes. Zubac, who signed a four-year, $28.5MM contract last summer, contributed two points and six rebounds during his short stint.

“I don’t care how much you work out, a basketball game, an NBA basketball game is different and so you get winded,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said. “But I thought he did what Zub does, he clogged up the paint, he rolled for us, he did a lot of good things.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Suns guard Elie Okobo participated in practice on Monday, Gina Mizell tweets. Okobo’s arrival in Orlando was delayed due to undisclosed reasons. He has extra incentive to perform well in the restart, as his $1.66MM salary for next season is not guaranteed.
Kings center Alex Len‘s status for the team’s opening game at the Orlando campus remains uncertain, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Len rejoined the club approximately 10 days ago after he recovered from his own bout with COVID-19. He has yet to go through a full contact session, Ham adds.
Big man Richaun Holmes and forward Harrison Barnes participated in the Kings’ final scrimmage on Monday, Ham notes. Holmes, who had to serve a 10-day quarantine after violating league protocols, had six points and five rebounds in 18 minutes. Barnes, who overcame a battle with the coronavirus, finished with 12 points and six rebounds in 21 minutes.

Pacific Notes: Rubio, A. Davis, Waiters, Fox

July 25th, 2020 at 4:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns plan to have starting point guard Ricky Rubio active for their second scrimmage Sunday night, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Rubio sat out Thursday’s opener after a positive COVID-19 test delayed his arrival to the Walt Disney World campus.

“He should play,” coach Monty Williams said of Rubio. “He had a good practice (today). It was probably smart to hold him out. We don’t want guys playing when they’re not comfortable, we’re not comfortable. We’ve been going unbelievably hard in our practice. I’m looking forward to seeing him on the floor.”

Phoenix has been short-handed since teams began reporting to Orlando earlier this month. Center Aron Baynes also tested positive for the coronavirus, while Elie Okobo and Jalen Lecque are listed out for “personal reasons.” The Suns expect all those players to eventually join the team.

“You always want your full team out here,” said rookie Ty Jerome, who made his first start at point guard in Thursday’s scrimmage. “All the uncertainty that’s going on right now, the fact that we’re one of the healthier and more full teams out here, it gives us a chance. Gives us a fighting chance.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Anthony Davis is considered day-to-day after being poked in the right eye during today’s scrimmage, Lakers coach Frank Vogel tells Dave McMenamin of ESPN (Twitter link). L.A. has one more scrimmage Monday before starting its seeding games Thursday against the Clippers.
Lakers guard Dion Waiters discussed the difference between playing alongside LeBron James now compared to when they were teammates in Cleveland six years ago, McMenamin tweets. “When you’re young, you’re still trying to find yourself coming into the league,” Waiters said. “I think Bron was trying to help me with that, but I was so stubborn back then. But I understand now. I’m 28. I’ve been through a lot. I’m at peace with myself, though.”
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox declared himself to be completely recovered from an ankle sprain he suffered last week (video link).
Clippers center Ivica Zubac reported to Orlando Friday night and is being quarantined for two days, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Joakim Noah Ready For NBA Return With Clippers

June 11th, 2020 at 8:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Clippers backup center Joakim Noah cannot wait to get back on the court. In an extended conversation with The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, Noah went into detail about how he lobbied for his NBA return, now transpiring more than a year after he last suited up for the Grizzlies.

The article specifically notes that Noah, a two-time All-Star and 2014 Defensive Player of the Year with the Bulls, used his connections to get his shot with the Clippers. In just 16.5 MPG, Noah averaged 7.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG across 42 contests for Memphis during the 2018/19 season.

Noah, who splits his time between homes in Manhattan and Los Angeles, inked a 10-day contract with Los Angeles on March 9, two days before league play was paused due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Buha notes that, at 91 (now 94) days and counting, Noah’s deal has become one of the longest 10-day contracts in NBA history.

Signed for his skills as a limited-minutes defensive attribute, a rim-rolling energetic force and a savvy passer, the 35-year-old can also function as something of a mentor to starting Clippers center Ivica Zubac. Undersized backup big man Montrezl Harrell gets the lions’ share of minutes at center.

The article also mentions that the Clippers will most likely guarantee Noah’s contract for the rest of the season, including the playoffs. The whole piece is well worth a read, but here are some choice quotes:

On concluding his career with a title contender:

“It was about being able to finish my career on a team that has a common goal.”

On waiting for his opportunity with Los Angeles through the coronavirus delay:

“I think it’s just it’s all about perspective and how you look at it… Even though it was a setback, I think it also makes me appreciate the opportunity that much more, you know?”

On his role with the Clippers:

“The way I look at it is I know that I’m in an environment right now with a winning culture and a team that’s really trying to win a championship and there’s not much more I could ask for… Regardless of what my role is, I’m grateful. I know I’m as ready as I can be. So it’s not about comparing myself to past years or even last year, it’s just being the best that I can be physically and using my experience to be there for the guys.”

On being able to mentor Zubac:

“I just want to talk to (Zubac) about some of the things that I’ve been through… I’ve been in situations where we had championship aspirations and then injuries kind of derailed that. So it’s just not taking your opportunities for granted. And just because you’re a young player doesn’t mean that these situations happen all the time. So it’s just like really living in the moment.”

On playing within the Orlando bubble during the pandemic, with a realistic title chance:

“I think that it’s different for teams who don’t have a chance, but for teams who have a chance, these opportunities don’t … I mean, we trust the league and we know that you know (NBA commissioner) Adam (Silver) is — I don’t think he’ll put the players’ health in jeopardy. He’s somebody who has shown time and time again that he’s the best commissioner in sports… There’s nobody I would want to do this with more than with the Clippers.”

Trade Rumors: Iguodala, Clippers, Suns, Pacers

January 2nd, 2020 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As we’ve heard all season long, the Grizzlies remain confident that they can trade Andre Iguodala and won’t need to buy him out of his contract, writes Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report.

“We will trade him, period,” A Grizzlies executive told Pincus. “We’ve gone far enough into the structure of deals with more than one team to say that [confidently].”

Marc Stein of The New York Times reported last month that Dallas isn’t expected to pursue Iguodala, but multiple executives still view the Mavericks as the best potential trade partner for Memphis, according to Pincus. One Western Conference executive speculated that the leak to Stein was “posturing,” suggesting that the Mavs and Grizzlies may be haggling over the Warriors’ 2020 second-rounder that Dallas holds.

Pincus shared a few more trade rumors and tidbits from around the NBA, so let’s round up the highlights…

Aron Baynes is believed to be on the Clippers‘ radar, and Pincus notes that Sam Vecenie of The Athletic recently suggested a Baynes/Ivica Zubac swap between the Suns and Clips. It’s unclear if the two sides have actually discussed such a deal or if it would interest either club, but Pincus suggests that Baynes would be a better complement to Montrezl Harrell.
Speaking of Harrell, the Clippers have had internal discussions about his future, but have yet to make any decisions on that front, per Pincus. Harrell will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
If the Suns remain in the playoff hunt, they’re unlikely to trade Baynes. In fact, they may be more inclined to pursue upgrades, perhaps targeting power forwards like Kevin Love (Cavaliers) or Danilo Gallinari (Thunder). Gallinari is believed to be higher on Phoenix’s wish list, says Pinucs. “Not many teams will have cap space next summer. The Suns probably would be able to re-sign Gallinari at a much better price (than Love’s contract),” one Western Conference exec said. “There’s uncertainty, especially if they give up a first-rounder, but the difference in price would make Gallinari the better target.”
While multiple executives believe the Pacers will eventually trade one of either Domantas Sabonis or Myles Turner, the team itself remains content with its “old-school” frontcourt duo, according to Pincus.

Contract Details: Porzingis, Kleber, Horford, Smailagic, More

July 12th, 2019 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to having no injury protection, Kristaps Porzingis‘ five-year max contract with the Mavericks also features a fifth-year player option, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Elsewhere on the Mavericks’ front, Maxi Kleber‘s new four-year deal with the team has a total base value of $34MM, but only $25MM of that money is guaranteed, according to Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights, who tweets that the fourth year ($9MM) is fully non-guaranteed. The pact also features $475K annually in bonuses, Siegel notes.

Finally, Siegel reports (via Twitter) that Delon Wright‘s three-year contract with the Mavericks has a descending structure, starting at $9.47MM in year one before going down to $8.53MM by year three. The agreement includes a total of $3.15MM in unlikely bonuses in addition to its $27MM base value, per Siegel.

Here are a few more details on recently-signed NBA contracts:

Siegel and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links) provide the interesting details on the fourth year of Al Horford‘s contract with the Sixers. Currently, Horford’s $26.5MM salary for that season is only partially guaranteed for $14.5MM. However, that guarantee jumps to $19.5MM if Philadelphia makes the NBA Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022. It would become fully guaranteed if the 76ers win a title in one of those seasons.
Alen Smailagic‘s rookie contract from the Warriors is a four-year, minimum-salary pact with the first two years guaranteed, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (via Twitter). Despite being over the tax line, Golden State technically has access to the full mid-level exception, which allowed the club to go up to four years for the No. 39 overall pick.
Ivica Zubac‘s four-year deal with the Clippers includes a team option in the final season, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM. As Siegel details (via Twitter), it has a total value of about $28.52MM.
According to Smith (Twitter link), the Bulls‘ three-year contract for Ryan Arcidiacono also has a team option for its final season.

Clippers Sign Ivica Zubac To Four-Year Deal

July 10th, 2019 at 5:56pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10: Zubac has signed his contract, per an official release from the Clippers.

JULY 6: The Clippers aren’t done making moves after agreeing to late-night deals to land Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Los Angeles has also struck a deal with restricted free agent Ivica Zubac, agreeing to re-sign the young center to a four-year, $28MM contract.

Zubac, 22, was dealt from the Lakers to the Clippers along with Michael Beasley in exchange for Mike Muscala in a midseason trade that was viewed as a coup for the Clips.

Appearing in 26 games the rest of the way for his new team, Zubac established himself as the Clippers’ starting center, averaging 9.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.5 APG in 20.2 minutes per contest.

Because he came into the league as a second-round pick and was on a minimum-salary contract last season, Zubac had a cap hold of less than $2MM as a restricted free agent. That allowed the Clippers to keep him under team control without having to renounce his rights to create the cap room necessary to sign Leonard.

Zubac will officially sign his new deal once L.A. has exhausted its cap space, since the team will be able to exceed the cap to lock him up.

Zubac will rejoin Montrezl Harrell in the frontcourt in 2019/20, as the two young big men appear set to play most of the minutes at center for the Clippers.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Clippers Extend Qualifying Offers To Zubac, McGruder

June 28th, 2019 at 6:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Clippers have extended a qualifying offer to center Ivica Zubac, making him a restricted free agent, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. They have also extended a QO to swingman Rodney McGruder, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets.

The Clippers declined forward Johnathan Motley‘s QO and he’ll be an unrestricted free agent, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Motley was one of the team’s two-way players.

The move to make Zubac an RFA was a mere formality, as he impressed the Clippers after they acquired him from the Lakers at the trade deadline. His qualifying offer is $1,931,189 and the Clippers can now match any offer sheet for the young big man in free agency.

He averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 1.5 APG in 20.2 MPG over 26 regular-season games after the deal, including 25 starts. The 7’1” Zubac, 22, saw reduced action in the postseason, averaging 9.8 MPG in four games during the first-round series against the Warriors.

Zubac, a 2016 second-round pick, was part of the February trade that sent veteran forward Mike Muscala to the Lakers.

McGruder’s QO is the same amount extended to Zubac. He was claimed by the Clippers in April after the Heat waived him for luxury-tax purposes. He did appear in any games with the Clippers and was ineligible for the postseason. He averaged 7.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 1.7 APG in 66 games with Miami last season, including 45 starts.

O’Connor’s Latest: Durant, Clippers, Kawhi, Gallinari

April 25th, 2019 at 1:56pm CST by Luke Adams

As we’ve mentioned multiple times throughout the 2018/19 NBA league year, there’s a widespread belief among people around the NBA that Kevin Durant will leave the Warriors for the Knicks in free agency. However, uncertainty about Durant’s future has increased in recent months, Kevin O’Connor writes in his latest article for The Ringer.

As O’Connor explains, Durant seems more likely to go to the Knicks if Kyrie Irving goes with him, and there’s no guarantee that Irving will leave the Celtics, given how well things have gone in Boston over the last several weeks. LeBron James‘ struggles during his first year as a Laker could also serve as a cautionary tale for Durant.

One front office executive who spoke to O’Connor suggests that everything should be considered on the table for Durant, since the Warriors forward has proven to be unpredictable in the past.

O’Connor’s piece, which focuses primarily on the Clippers, features a few more items of note, so let’s round them up…

The Clippers continue to be viewed as the more likely destination than the Lakers if Kawhi Leonard decides to return home to Southern California, though O’Connor writes that it would be “foolish” to rule out the Lakers.
The odds of both Durant and Leonard joining the Clippers are slim, but the team could theoretically make it happen based on its cap situation. As O’Connor details, if the Clippers trade Danilo Gallinari and renounce all their free agents except Ivica Zubac, they’d have more than enough room for two max contracts, and would be able to go over the cap to re-sign Zubac.
Of course, in that scenario, the Clippers wouldn’t be able to take money back for Gallinari, which would limit their potential trade partners. Still, O’Connor has spoken to front office executives who don’t think it’d be too challenging to find a deal for Gallinari, especially if the Clips are willing to attach a future pick. O’Connor cites the Nets, Mavericks, Hawks, Jazz, and Pacers as a few teams that might be fits for the veteran forward in that scenario.

Lakers Notes: Walton, Lue, Pelinka, Caruso

April 13th, 2019 at 1:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Luke Walton‘s fatal mistake with the Lakers was not insisting that everyone else defer to LeBron James, writes Joe Vardon of The Athletic. Tyronn Lue, who won a title with LeBron in Cleveland and is considered among the top candidates to replace Walton in L.A., established a clear order when he took over for David Blatt in 2016. Lue demanded that Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love set aside any individual agendas and let James run the show.

Walton never made similar demands after LeBron came to the Lakers, according to Vardon. He was fine with several players serving as the primary ball-handler and didn’t adjust the offense much to feature his new weapon.

“We had our system coming into training camp, and it was similar to the last few years,” former Lakers center Ivica Zubac said after being traded in February. “We all knew LeBron was the guy, but no, that’s not how it was. Luke wants to play fast and he said it right after camp started. I think we played the right way until LeBron got hurt, and then we just didn’t have enough to win.”

There’s more news from Los Angeles:

The Lakers haven’t contacted Lue about their coaching job yet, but he is in much better health now than when he had to take a leave of absence last season, Vardon adds. Lue has lost 35 pounds, changed his diet and works out twice a day.
GM Rob Pelinka will be in charge of the search for a new coach, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. That’s one more sign that Pelinka’s position with the organization is secure after the departure of team president Magic Johnson. The front office talked briefly to Walton’s representatives to see if they could work out an agreement to retain him as coach, Shelburne adds (Twitter link). However, discussions didn’t go very far.
Alex Caruso, Johnathan Williams and Jemerrio Jones may not return next season, but they provided an inspiring effort after the Lakers’ playoff hopes were extinguished, relays Kevin Ding of NBA.com. After making his NBA debut March 31, Jones thanked Walton after each game for giving him a chance to play. Caruso expressed similar gratitude to Walton and Pelinka in his exit interview on Wednesday. Caruso also credits South Bay Lakers president Joey Buss for helping him to land a two-way contract last season. “Might not be here now,” Caruso said. “It’s all butterfly effect getting to this point.”