The Los Angeles Clippers will keep Ivica Zubac for a few more years.
The Croatian center agreed to a three-year, $58.6 million contract extension on Friday. according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal is reportedly the maximum Zubac could get for three years and commits him to the next four years at a price of $70 million.
The Clippers were expected to extend Zubac’s contract this offseason after another strong season in the paint. Now 27, Zubac has quietly become one of the NBA’s best centers in recent years, and that continued last year with a career-high in points per game.
Zubac will likely never be an All-Star, but his rebounding, defense in the paint and pick-and-roll work with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden make him a vital piece of the Clippers’ core. Not bad for a player the team got for a relative pittance (an aging Mike Muscala) in 2019.
The signing was an easy decision for the Clippers in a difficult offseason. The team saw All-Star Paul George leave for the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency after failing to reach an extension with him. It also said goodbye to key reserves Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee, while adding potential contributors like Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Porter Jr. and the returning Nicolas Batum.
Zubac will enter the 2024-25 season with Mo Bamba and Kai Jones as big men behind him.