As there was obvious evidence that the LA Clippers were preserving their future cap space for a superstar once Kawhi Leonard exits, Jake Fischer of ‘The Stein Line’ revealed that they realized having an empty payroll might not be enough to achieve their dreams, leading to the sudden deal for Ivica Zubac. The Indiana Pacers paid with assets, and in the end, they could be used for an all-world talent at his peak; a similar repeat of the infamous 2019 blunder.
Every day, Lawrence Frank should be warned not to trade draft capital and/or young talent for eye-catching names. This should already be a given, considering the tremendous benefits the Oklahoma City Thunder reaped in the blink of an eye, yet it sounds like one lesson wasn't enough, and that the Clippers still have hope in a strategy that failed.
Thus, the mistake happened once, which set the franchise back for years, and it will inevitably happen again if the haul Zubac lured is eventually sent elsewhere.
The Clippers must hold on dearly to the assets of Ivica Zubac’s return
As shocking as it is, the LA Clippers traded four unprotected first-round picks, additional draft assets, a quality veteran in Danilo Gallinari, and the most prominent figure of the deal, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, for Paul George, who was in his late 20s.
This panned out absolutely horrible for the Clippers. The fanbase also heard the worst of it, as the utmost pain comes from just listening to the hypotheticals about where LA would be if the front office was smarter and did not cave so easily to pairing George with Kawhi Leonard.
So, why risk going down the same rabbit hole again? All together, Lawrence Frank should shut down talks involving Bennedict Mathurin, and in particular, the two first-round picks given to them from the Indiana Pacers.
Frank needs to be focused on working tirelessly to regain what he lost to the Thunder back, not on falling in the same trap that put the franchise in a corner, with nowhere to run.
Future stars on the trade block, like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic, sound nice, but it is not worth the suffering that could come with it if the dream scenario of a championship does not unfold.
That said, the Clippers certainly have a plan in mind following the trade of Ivica Zubac, and fans must hope it was not the first domino towards another superstar. This would slowly form into the prime example of history repeating itself.