Crying over spilled milk is never an experience that is bound to bring any semblance of joy. In most cases, it would be advisable to go against that practice. Today, however, it will be important to remember a key mistake so perhaps it can be better avoided in the future.
In February of 2019, the Los Angeles Lakers made a trade with their crosstown rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers. That deal has aged poorly for the older brother of the two Los Angeles teams.
The Lakers sent Michael Beasley and Ivica Zubac to the Clippers in exchange for Mike Muscala. In 2025, looking back at that trade, it was an absolute robbery by the Clippers.
Zubac continues to throw salt in the Lakers' wound
Perhaps revisiting this trade feels fresh now considering the hole at the center position for the Lakers. Having a player like Zubac would certainly solve a lot of the problems that JJ Redick's team has.
The seven-footer just completed the best regular season of his career. Zubac averaged 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.8 offensive rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks during 32.8 minutes per game, while shooting 62.8 percent from the field. The first four categories there are all career highs, as are the nightly minutes.
Zubac also posted the best marks of his career in several advanced statistical categories like win shares (11.7), offensive win shares (7.0), defensive win shares (4.7), win shares per 48 (.215), offensive box plus/minus (2.3), overall box plus/minus (3.1), and value over replacement player (3.4). That paints a picture, doesn't it?
Naturally, this was not the quality of player who the Lakers dealt before the 2019 trade deadline. Back then, Zubac was a former second round pick and 21-year-old who was putting up solid numbers of 8.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks during 17.6 minutes per game.
Still, Lakers fans were already feeling unsettled about the trade back then. Muscala, the big acquisition for Los Angeles, came in and only played 17 games for the team, posting modest role player numbers at best, and took off in the offseason to join the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Clippers enjoyed an impressive 50-32 campaign in the 2024-25 NBA season after losing Paul George in the offseason that just passed. A big reason for that was the career year from Zubac. Lakers fans will be focused on this team's championship hopes in the 2025 NBA Playoffs. However, any and every strong game from the former Laker in this year's postseason will certainly be a bitter reminder of what could have been.