The Los Angeles Clippers have locked up big man Ivica Zubac on a three-year, $58 million extension, as reported by ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. This was the maximum extension that Zubac could sign. He is now guaranteed $70M over the next four years. Zubac is on the books for $11.7M for this season before the extension begins in the 2025-26 season.
Here is a breakdown of the annual numbers of the deal, per ESPN's Bobby Marks:
- 2025/26: $18.1M
- 2026/27: $19.5M
- 2027/28: $21.0M
Zubac is a value signing at this number. He does a ton for the Clippers, who rely on him heavily for high level rim protection and efficient post play. The Clippers signed some good players this offseason. Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn and Nicolas Batum will all help, particularly defensively, but the loss of Paul George is the storyline of the summer.
After signing Kawhi Leonard to a three-year, $152M extension in January, and giving James Harden $70M over two years this summer, it was a strange decision to let George walk for nothing. If they were always going to do this to avoid the second apron line, why did they trade three first-round picks for Harden in the first place?
This team is likely not a contender after losing George; though it probably wasn't one anyway given the always sketchy health of Leonard. But again, these peripheral signings do help and Zubac is a very good player. The Clippers will still be some level of a factor in the West if Leonard, Harden and Zubac, who is probably the third-most important player on the team, remain healthy.
All in all, it's a good deal for Zubac and the Clippers.
