Basketball in the NBA can sometimes be ruthless and cold towards even the most loyal players. Just like we were hearing that a veteran like Draymond Green could be traded, the Clippers also executed a cold trade that displays the true nature of this business.
According to Joey Linn, Athlon Sports’ beat writer for the Clippers, the franchise decided to execute the Zubac trade after looking at the nature of the offer from the Pacers.
“But today the team saw an opportunity to capitalize on his peaking value and receive multiple first-round picks. And they took it,” wrote Linn on X. Simply put, the Pacers’ offer was too good to refuse.
The Clippers sent Ivica Zubac to the Pacers as part of a trade package with Kobe Brown that landed Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two first-round picks, Pacers 2026 FRP (Protected 1-4), Pacers’ 2029 FRP (Unprotected), and one second-round pick.
Zubac was initially not supposed to be traded. The Clippers had no intentions of executing a trade for him.
He sat out of the Clippers’ blowout loss to the Cavaliers one day after James Harden was traded for Darius Garland. But he didn’t sit out with the intent to get traded either. Instead, he had taken the time off to be with his wife during the birth of their child.
Over the seven seasons that Zubac spent on the Clippers, he was a nightly double-double threat. He averaged 11.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.6 assists over 513 games, shooting 62.7% from the floor.
This season, he was averaging 14.4 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 61.3% from the field before being traded to Indiana.
With Tyrese Haliburton on his side as the franchise player, Zubac may thrive as a center and possibly propel himself in the discussion of the top centers in the East.
But with Haliburton out for the season, the Pacers have been struggling. They are currently 13-38 for the season and dwelling at the bottom (15th seed) in the Eastern Conference.
While Haliburton is expected to return next season, a potential top pick in the upcoming draft alongside Zubac and Pascal Siakam could give Indiana a solid big four to return to relevance in 2026-27.
Therefore, this move is clearly keeping a long-term goal in mind for the Pacers. But in the short term, Zubac, his wife, and their newborn daughter will have to move to another city just hours after her birth.
