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Los Angeles Lakers: What Happened to Ivica Zubac?

By Ed Schrenzel

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 2: Ivica Zubac #40 of the Los Angeles Lakers gets introduced in the starting line up before the game against the Denver Nuggets during a preseason game on October 2, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 2: Ivica Zubac #40 of the Los Angeles Lakers gets introduced in the starting line up before the game against the Denver Nuggets during a preseason game on October 2, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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A year ago, one of the feel-good Los Angeles Lakers stories was about then-rookie center Ivica Zubac, a then-19-year-old 7-foot-1 Croatian.  But things have changed this season.

Few fans had ever heard of Iviva Zubac when he was selected in the second round as the 32nd overall pick in 2016 by the Los Angeles Lakers. However, that changed dramatically during the Summer League. Zubac shined, displaying an impressive game, a surprising maturity and an engaging personality. He became somewhat of a folk hero, and fans couldn’t wait to see him on the court during the regular season.

The coaches, however, opted to bring him along slowly. So he spent much of the first half of the season in the G League. Then, toward the end of the season, Zubac replaced Timofey Mozgov in the starting lineup. Playing regular minutes, he performed effectively and looked like he just might be the Lakers big man of the future. When he swatted away a shot, fans chanted “Zu-block”, and his popularity soared even higher.

But the Lakers new management team of Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka seemed to have other ideas. During the offseason, although they traded Mozgov away and didn’t re-sign Tarik Black, they acquired veteran centers Brook Lopez and Andrew Bogut and drafted Thomas Bryant. Suddenly, court time for big men in the Lakers lineup became ultra-competitive. That is especially true because coach Luke Walton often plays small-ball without a true center.

As a result, Zubac has become the odd man out, rarely playing this season. Little chatter is heard about him from fans, management or media. Fans no longer chant his name. Instead, he seems to have become the forgotten man.

Perhaps Zubac will be given more of an opportunity later in the season, particularly when/if the team falls out of playoff contention. But then again, the same can be said about rookie Bryant, who is playing very well in the G League.

At this point, Zubac’s future with the team is at best uncertain. Much depends on the answers to these questions:
• Will the Lakers swap either Lopez or Bogut before the February trade deadline?
• Does the team re-sign either Lopez and Bogut once their contracts expire at the end of the season?
• Will the Lakers instead attempt to sign a prominent free agent center, such as DeMarcus Cousins?
• Most importantly, how do the people who matter the most- Johnson, Pelinka and Walton- feel about Zubac, especially compared to Bryant?

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It will be interesting to see what happens as the season progresses and beyond. What do you think? Does Ivica Zubac have a future in Lakers purple and gold?

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