The Los Angeles Clippers are keeping Ivica Zubac for a few more years.
The Croatian big man agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $58.6 million on Friday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal reportedly would be the most Zubac could get for three years and would lock him in for the next four years at a price of $70 million.
The Clippers were widely expected to extend Zubac this offseason after another strong season in the paint. Now 27, Zubac has quietly become one of the NBA’s best centers over the past few 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, paint defense and pick-and-roll work with Kawhi Leonard and James Harden make him a vital part of the Clippers’ core. Not bad for a player the team got for a pittance (an aging Mike Muscala) in 2019.
The deal 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 backups Russell Westbrook and Mason Plumlee, while adding potential contributors like Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Porter Jr. and the return of Nicolas Batum.
Zubac will enter the 2024-25 season with Mo Bamba and Kai Jones as his big men behind him.