Los Angeles Lakers: Do Dwight Howard a solid and guarantee his contract

Ivica Zubac was the source of laughter for the Clippers after the Lakers trade last year. Who’s laughing now? 

Remember when Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka was getting torched for trading Ivica Zubac and Michael Beasley to the Clippers for Mike Muscala? It was a source of humor for the Clippers brass, headed up by Jerry West according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

"“Shortly after the trade deadline, Clippers consultant Jerry West—who spent more than 40 years with the Lakers as a player, coach and executive—got together for dinner with old friends who also had former Laker ties, sources said. He couldn’t believe how Zubac fell into his lap. The Clippers, sources said, never even called the Lakers to inquire about Zubac. The Lakers made the offer and the Clippers gladly accepted. “Sources said those at the dinner table shared a hearty laugh at the Lakers’ expense.”"

Anyone still laughing? The Lakers knew they would have to make a decision on offering Zubac a contract. The Clippers gave Zubac a four-year $28 million dollar contract. Dwight Howard is sitting on a minimum veterans’ deal.

Zubac is actually playing fewer minutes than Howard (20.2 to 16.8) and is less of a factor for a loaded Clippers team. It’s a guarantee that he is not doing the dirty work shown by the video here against the Miami Heat.

Howard is averaging more rebounds (7.0) than Zubac (6.5) while finishing the games in crunch time for the Lakers. As you can see, Howard is more physical, which protects LeBron James and Anthony Davis from extra hard fouls by the opponent.

Even though Zubac averages more points than Dwight (8.2 to 7.0), the only reason is because Howard shoots fewer shots. Howard has a field goal percentage of 74.2% to Zubac’s 58.6%.

Plus the Lakers save over $25 million for the production costs.