As the NBA regular season nears, the Los Angeles Clippers made another move towards finalizing their core. On Friday, Ivica Zubac and the Clippers agreed on a contract extension that would keep Zubac in L.A.
Ivica Zubac, Clippers agree to extension
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Ivica Zubac and the LA Clippers have agreed on a three-year contract extension worth $58.6 million.
Zubac had one year and $11.7 million remaining on his deal with the team. His new deal will pay him an annual average of $19.5 million per season. The three-year extension gives him a total of four years and $70 million on his deal.
Wojnarowski adds that the deal Zubac and the Clippers agreed to, “is the maximum deal available to him for three seasons under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
Clippers' President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank said earlier this offseason that the team was hoping to reach an extension agreement with Ivica Zubac when the time was right.
“Zu had a career year,” Frank said in May 2024. “I think James [Harden] had a lot to do with unlocking it. Zu I think led the league in shooting percentage between six and eight feet, he developed a floater with either hand. I think he was second in points produced out of post-ups behind [Kristaps Porzingis]. He’s 27, he continues to work. He loves to play every single night and hates when he got injured, it just kills him not to play in a game. He’s our longest tenured Clipper. An extension makes sense, we love Zu and love to keep Zu here.”
Ivica Zubac has improved year over year and is now a dependable source of offense and defense for the Clippers. He's improved his scoring every year for the last four seasons and averaged a career-high 11.7 points per game to go along with 9.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game in 2023-24. In his eighth season in the league, the 26-year old Ivica Zubac played 68 games and played 26.4 minutes per game.
During the playoffs, Zubac averaged 16.2 points and 9.3 rebounds on 60 percent shooting. He was arguably the Clippers best player in their first round series against the Dallas Mavericks, which was a loss in six games.
Terance Mann next up?
For the Clippers, the last remaining piece they need to finalize is Terance Mann and his contract extension.
Back in May, Lawrence Frank also said the Clippers had interest in extending Mann, who has spent his first five years with the Clippers and turned into a legitimate starting-caliber player.
“Terance is very much a fabric of the team,” Frank added. “He got off to a slow start to do the season which we gotta do some hypnotism or something with him, but he always gets off to a great close and great finish. So after struggling shooting the ball – and a lot of it, Terance was dealing with a high ankle sprain early in the year. So again, he’s a no excuse guy. So I think it impacted his shooting.
“But then, post-All-Star Break, basically once January 1 hit, he shot at a very high level. Really proud of how he competed against one of the game’s great players in Luka Dončić and I thought defensively, he tried to make things as hard as possible for an MVP candidate. And you love the fact that Terance is a competitor, and so very much, Terance is part of the fabric of the group.”
This offseason, the Clippers completely revamped their roster. They lost Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Mason Plumlee, Daniel Theis, and Brandon Boston in free agency. Meanwhile, the team added Derrick Jones Jr., Nicolas Batum, Kris Dunn, Mo Bamba, Kevin Porter Jr., and Cam Christie.
The LA Clippers have about a month before training camp begins on October 1st. Their regular season is set to tip off on October 23rd against the Phoenix Suns. That game will also be the first time the Intuit Dome opens its doors for a regular season basketball game — and the third once you factor in the two preseason games the Clippers are planning to play in Inglewood.
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