The Lakers Look to Have Landed Another Steal in Ivica Zubac

While the last few seasons have been difficult for the Lakers and their fans, the players the team has drafted as of late have been a consistent bright spot

While the organization has struggled to build an effective strategy in regards to free agency, they have made excellent use of the draft picks at their disposal. In consecutive drafts, the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. with their second selections, both of whom are widely recognized as steals considering their draft position.

Despite the high bar they set for themselves in those two drafts, the Lakers may have outdone themselves this year. With the thirty-second pick in the draft, the Lakers selected Ivica Zubac. Although many Laker fans were unfamiliar with the Croatian big man, the pick immediately seemed like a solid value based on his scouting reports.

Most outlets deemed him a first round prospect, with Draft Express ranking him just outside the lottery on their big board. Relatively shortly after the draft it was reported that the Lakers viewed the towering big man as a lottery talent, and it became clear that Zubac, at the very least, was a solid selection for the Lakers.

However, through three games of summer league, Ivica Zubac has shown much more than that. While the sample size has been small, Zubac has demonstrated an impressively polished game on both ends of the floor.

Averaging two blocks a game so far, Zubac has contested nearly everything around the rim and has shown a heartening willingness to step out and challenge jumpers as well. He has also demonstrated the ability to protect the rim without fouling, something that is typically difficult for bigs in Summer League. While his defensive rebounding is still a work in progress, he size and length have already allowed him to snatch boards well above the reach of his competition.

Offensively Zubac has been even more impressive, seemingly flashing a new facet of his game in each contest.

Offensively Zubac has been even more impressive, seemingly flashing a new facet of his game in each contest. In the first game the towering big man showed an impressive post game, scoring several times on hook shots, drop-steps and fadeaways around the basket. It also became clear that guards playing with Zubac would receive plenty of space as a result of his solid screen-setting.

Since then though, he has shown a smooth stroke from the mid-range out beyond the elbows and also demonstrated the mobility needed to effectively run the pick and roll. Zubac’s ability to shoot the ball from range is a huge relief, as the team will need as much spacing as it can get. While his jumpshot was a question mark coming into the draft, Zubac himself seemed to have confidence in it, even claiming he could shoot threes in one interview.

If Zubac does develop three-point range, or even simply perfects his mid-range game, he profiles as the perfect center to start beside Julius Randle. A mobile rim-protector who can space the floor, Zubac could be capable of covering up Randle’s deficiencies as a shooter and shot-blocker.

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Fortunately for the Lakers, one thing Ivica Zubac has plenty of is time. At only nineteen years old, far younger than the Lakers previous late-draft steals, most expected Zubac to look more like a project and less like a player ready to contribute now. In fact, even Draft Express, who ranked him as the sixteenth best prospect in the draft, seemingly underestimated his current abilities.

In their evaluation of Zubac, they noted that he had potential as a rim protector, and questioned whether he would be able to develop a mid-range jumper at some point. However, those skills have appeared to be among his strengths thus far in the summer league. Had he demonstrated such a mastery of those two skills prior to the draft , it is worth considering whether Zubac would have been considered a lottery, or even top-ten, prospect in the draft.

Zubac also seems like a great addition to the locker room, where his friendly and light-hearted demeanor should help to further galvanize the young core of the Lakers. Fans will also be able to look forward to plenty of entertaining quotes and moments from his press conference, as his relationship with Larry Nance Jr. has already proved fruitful.

In the second round of the draft, the Lakers found a player who has shown the potential to grow into a long term starting center. After seeing what he can do, there is little question that the Lakers goal should be to groom him for that role.

Next: D'Angelo Russell Taking Leadership Role in Stride

While there is no guarantee he’ll reach his potential, his skill and polish on both ends of the floor should have Lakers fans feeling very optimistic about the future of the young big man.