Would the LA Clippers actually get this done?
As much as I may have talked myself into this deal over the last day or so after reading the original Bleacher Report article, I don’t see how it would happen for a few reasons.
First off, the 76ers just hired Doc Rivers. Can you imagine sending poor Zubac there just to continue to not play fourth quarter minutes?
On a serious note, it doesn’t make sense for the 76ers to trade off one of their stars right after hiring a new coach. It’s very possible that Doc can get more out of this Philadelphia roster then Brett Brown could, so the front office has to at least give him a chance.
Even if they do decide that the roster needs a big change, there’s no way they just give Doc two of his former players, right?
For the Clippers, they gave up a ton of assets to get Paul George. I said this in the opening but unless Kawhi specifically says he no longer wants to play with PG, we have to assume he’s still happy with the superstar running mate that he chose.
Much like Doc in Philly, whoever the team hires as their new coach should also get the opportunity to implement his or her system with the Clippers’ current stars before it is upended.
There’s also Zubac. The team is super high on him and Zu is still very young and on a team-friendly contract. He has proven he can be a good starting center in this league, given ample playing time. The team doesn’t need to move away from him and would be better focused on adding a bench big to help supplement him. Someone like Serge Ibaka could provide floor spacing that Zu can’t while still not being outright better enough to eat into Zu’s late-game minutes.
This trade is a fun idea and I wouldn’t absolutely hate it if it went down but it’s hard to see either the LA Clippers or Philadelphia 76ers exploring this idea any time soon.