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Los Angeles Lakers should not be worried of Ivica Zubac’s Summer League

By Davide Tovani

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 13: Ivica Zubac #40 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against Anthony Gill #27 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2017 Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 13, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Los Angeles won 94-83. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 13: Ivica Zubac #40 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against Anthony Gill #27 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2017 Summer League at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 13, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Los Angeles won 94-83. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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Young Los Angeles Lakers center Ivica Zubac showed a lot of promise in his rookie season, but after a subpar Summer League, some doubt about his development was raised. Should it be a reason for concern?

Croatian 7-foot-1 inch center Ivica Zubac was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 32nd pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Thanks to an outstanding Summer League performance, it appeared immediately clear that Los Angeles had pulled another diamond in the rough out of the 2nd round.

At just 19 years old and without any American basketball experience under his belt, he appeared unexpectedly comfortable and ready for NBA game.

Initially, the unproven rookie began the season playing for the Los Angeles D-Fenders in the NBA D-League. He earned his spot with the Lakers showcasing his abilities in the D-League. Midway through the regular season, he became a steady part of the team’s rotation, also cracking the starting lineup towards the end.

At the end of his first season with the Lakers, he averages 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks. The future looked bright for Zubac. He was labeled Los Angeles’ center of the future, with one of many summers in front of him to improve his game and become a firm piece of Lakers’ foundation.

Going into his second Summer League he was expected to have a dominant tournament. Instead, it looked like Zubac had taken a step back, seeing a slight regression in production and playing time. Hence, we go back to the above question; should the Lakers be concerned?

The answer is no. The young center’s drop in production has nothing to do with his personal development.

The coming of Lonzo Ball sped up the process of turning the Lakers into a Warrior-like team and we have already seen it in Summer League. This style of play is based on running and shooting threes at a high rate. Therefore, it is more than normal for a big man to experience a slump; getting fewer touches, fewer shots around the rim and finding himself further away from the basket to set screens for his teammates.

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After all, Andrew Bogut and Zaza Pachulia never scored more than 6.3 points per game since Steve Kerr took over the head coaching job for the Golden State Warriors.

Zubac is certainly a better offensive talent than those two and has more time to develop the necessary skills to grow into the role. He has already proved to have some range and more than once talked about his commitment to improving his three-point shot. This will probably become a major part of his game in the coming years, but it is a process which takes time. It rarely happens overnight.

He will have plenty to learn from veteran big man Brook Lopez, who transformed his game from attempting 99 percent of his shots from inside the arc to attempting 5.2 threes per game in one season.

And yet, even Lopez will probably see a drop in his production in this fast pace, wing-oriented game, despite his three-point shooting ability.

The plan for this new look Lakers will be to run a lot in transition with Ball feeding the men in front of him, who will rarely be centers. Both big men will have to also work on their conditioning to make sure to benefit from Lonzo’s floor vision.

Next: 5 Takeaways From Las Vegas Summer League

So, we do not have to worry about Zubac. The kid has talent, skills and his game will keep improving. Maybe it will take time to adjust to the role; he will not probably get the playing time big men used to receive until the 90’s. However, he still holds a lot of promise and remains the right choice as the center of the future for the Lakers.

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