Although Ivica Zubac’s age and the amount of great years he has left in his tank are the reasons why the LA Clippers were hesitant to include him in an offseason blockbuster move for Kevin Durant, it would have been better for the team had they gone through with it, given the Croatian Star’s poor start to the year.
There was a chance that Zubac would experience a slight decline, but it was always something that everyone expected him to shake off. It was never supposed to be anything serious, but because he has dropped in size, the Clippers are seeing their beloved center post up less, rebound less, and make less use of his height.
On the other hand, Durant is thriving with the Houston Rockets. Even though he is 37, there was never a doubt that his production would change going from the Phoenix Suns to his desired destination.
Thus, the Clippers are thoroughly regretting their decision to refuse a proposal that would have sent Zubac to the Suns for one of the greatest offensive masterminds in NBA history.
Going all in for a championship with Kevin Durant should have been the Clippers’ motive
In June, Jake Fischer of ‘The Stein Line’ reported interest from the Phoenix Suns in 28-year-old Ivica Zubac, but the LA Clippers were firm that his home would be in Los Angeles. Though the Clippers did have picks and a multitude of high-quality players, Phoenix believed the Houston Rockets’ package had more potential, so they accepted theirs.
If LA went all in, right before Zubac would regress, they would have had Durant at the helm of a superstar trio including James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. 'The Wall' and every fan in Intuit Dome would have been ecstatic with all of the showtime hoops going on at once, as each home game would be a scoring clinic.
As for the Clippers’ starting center, it could have been Brook Lopez, or maybe someone better in free agency, who saw a hole in LA and decided a pay cut was worth a run to the NBA Finals with three top-20 talents taking command together.
Nonetheless, the Clippers’ dreams of Durant will likely never come true, and now in their hands is Zubac, who is trending backwards, averaging just 13.1 points and 9.7 rebounds this season. On the contrary, the former MVP has the Rockets on a five-game win streak, while LA is ninth, and will drop tonight with a loss to the Suns.