Amid early struggles for the Los Angeles Clippers, it’s fair to assume they might be sellers at the NBA trade deadline.
But the team reportedly isn’t interested in moving on from Ivica Zubac.
Per NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Clippers are expected to receive trade interest in Zubac, “but they don’t want to part with the ever-improving big man who sports such a team-friendly contract.”
Zubac is coming off the best season of his career, in which he posted 16.8 points, 12.6 boards and 1.1 blocks per game. He was a finalist for Most Improved Player and earned an NBA All-Defensive Second Team nod.
He’s had a strong start to the 2025-26 campaign, putting 15.9 points and 11.6 rebounds.
He’s on a relatively affordable three-year, $58.65 million contract considering his recent play. He’s owed $18.1 million this year, $19.5 million next year and $29.9 million in 2027-28.
Considering the Clippers are looking to preserve future flexibility while staying competitive now, keeping a high-value player like Zubac around seems like the best move, even if he could land them a solid return on the trade market.
Los Angeles is off to a 6-18 start to the season, sitting in second-to-last place in the Western Conference. The Clippers don’t own their 2026 first-round pick, so tanking isn’t really an option for them at this point.
Instead, they’ll try to turn things around and make a playoff push to avoid giving the Oklahoma City Thunder a lottery pick.