Lakers Rumors: Team not thrilled Ivica Zubac playing in World Cup qualifiers

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve center Ivica Zubac, as the team reportedly isn’t thrilled he is taking part in World Cup qualifying games.

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve center, Ivica Zubac. Zubac is representing his country, Croatia in the World Cup qualifiers this month. Representing your country in competition is one of the greatest honors an athlete can have bestowed upon them. However, it has become a sticky situation in recent years.

Thanks to the new FIBA qualifying system, which is similar to the FIFA one used for soccer, qualifying games are during the NBA season and seasons of other major basketball leagues around the country. As a result, some of the biggest names are held out of the competition.

However, not all countries are afforded the same depth that Team USA is. One of those countries is Croatia, whom Zubac chose to represent. His decision is one that the Lakers are not thrilled about.

According to Donatas Urbonas, a Lithuanian basketball journalist, the Lakers are not thrilled with Zubac’s participation in the qualifying game. Zubac said it himself, according to Urbonas.

Ivica Zubac revealed Lakers weren’t happy with his decision to play in FIBA quals but he understood Croatia needed him: “I think nobody is a fan of this FIBA system. It’s hard & not fair to some teams, especially Croatia. But we got to do our best to get out of this situation”
— Donatas Urbonas (@Urbodo) September 13, 2018

He is not the only NBA player participating for Croatia, as Dario Saric of the Philadelphia 76ers and Bojan Bogdanovic of the Indiana Pacers also play for Croatia. Despite all of that talent, the Croatian team lost what was a must-win game against Poland on Monday.

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For the Lakers, their feeling of not wanting Zubac to participate is understandable. The injury risk is what worries teams. We have seen it happen in recent years with Paul George and Dante Exum to name a few.

With the season so close, teams would rather have their players at the facility working out with their teammates. Training camp gets underway in about a week, with preseason games to follow quickly after that.

With so many new faces on the roster, building chemistry in the next few weeks is key for Los Angeles. While they would prefer Zubac was there, he should at least come into camp in good shape after playing in competition.

Zubac isn’t the only Lakers player taking part in these qualifying games. Second round pick, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, is participating with Team Ukraine. While he has not said anything, it is fair to assume the Lakers are as hesitant about him playing as they are with Zubac.