Starting centre Ivica Zubac is reportedly expected to miss three weeks due to a Grade 2 left-ankle sprain, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Sunday.
Zubac suffered the injury late in the first quarter of the Clippers’ victory on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
The big man appeared to step and turn his ankle on the foot of LeBron James while jockeying for position in the paint. He immediately fell to the ground in pain, staying down for some time before exiting the ball game after just 11 minutes of action.
Zubac finished with five points, two rebounds and an assist in that span.
The 28-year-old has been one of the lone bright spots for the 7-21 Clippers, averaging 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks through 28 games — a nice follow-up to his career-best 16.8-point, 12.6-rebound season last year.
Zubac leads L.A. in rebounds and blocks per game, is third in scoring and his 60.9 field goal percentage leads the team’s starters.
It’ll be interesting to see how the injury impacts the centre’s outlook, as Zubac’s name has been swirling through the NBA rumour mill as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches.
The Bosnian big man is in the first season of a three-year, $58.6 million extension. He has outproduced his $19.5 million AAV to this point, making Zubac a desirable target amongst league-wide suitors.