Ivica Zubac; Center
Zubac came out of nowhere for the Lakers last season. He was the second pick in the second round, No. 32 overall, in the 2016 NBA Draft. He wasn’t expected to play much, if at all, for the Lakers as a rookie but plans changed as the season went on.
Zubac was given a chance at some real playing time once the Lakers committed to the youth movement. He responded well with some monster games. Zubac scored 25 points with 11 rebounds against the Denver Nuggets, arguably the best game of his rookie season.
Zubac should be the backup center coming into the 2017-18 regular season behind Brook Lopez. He doesn’t have much to prove in Summer League, but as one of the more talented players here, it would be nice to see some big games from him. He dominated the Summer League last season, and the Lakers are hoping he does it again.
Last season, Zubac averaged only 16 minutes per game, yet still put up 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.9 blocks. Los Angeles is hoping he can improve on those numbers as he should be a fixture in the rotation this upcoming season. It would not be surprising to see Zubac only play a few minutes so the team can get a look at other players during the summer league games.