Clippers Ivica Zubac Agrees to 3-year $33 Million Extension

Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac has agreed on a three-year, $33 million extension, his agents Jeff Schwartz and Mike Lindeman of

@excelbasketball tell ESPN. The Clippers declined his $7.5M team option for 2022-2023, clearing the way for Zubac's new deal.

Saw a tweet that Zu and LAC agreed on an extension (*new deal?). What could this mean for the rest of the roster? With the addition of John Wall, is this going to squeeze out Hart?

Also, 3 year $33 mil is where on your scale of over/under paid?

I think this is tipping towards the over paid realm, even though I really like him.

Twitter shenanigans...

Big Zu getting congratulatory messages from Batum and Pat Freakin Beverly!

https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1541899574008315904

11 mil a year for Zu is not bad. I hope Zu uses this to have a Monstrous season.

Let’s gooo. One thing that is so underrated is chemistry. Keeping the same players is going to be a huge factor.

Good choice. I admit I sometimes am frustrated with Zu's play. But he is still a young player and has room to grow. While upgrades were out there, it's likely any player you've gotten would've hit their ceiling(Ayton, Turner etc). Now you find a suitable backup. Whether that's Hart or Noel, make sure you have a guy in case Zu gets hurt or his production dips. This front office is putting everything into this upcoming season, and I love it.

merge?

Solid deal for sure. If Zu can develop a consistent mid-range jumper like the Gasol brothers that'd be big.

Agree. I would also like him to play a bit stronger down low. There are so many times I am screaming for him to dunk it, but he goes up soft (most times getting fouled, but still).

Deandre Ayton was offered a $16.4 million qualifying offer. That's reasonable for him. I was expecting something ridiculous like $25 mill or more

I think at this point David, we might have seen his peak. However, at $11 mill a year, that's about fair value for his production.

Unlikely, but the best thing is that we didn't overpay.

What do these moves mean for Hart?

And with John Wall what does it mean for Amir Coffey?

Yes, congrats Big Zu, you deserve it! You Zu haters can eat a big one!! LOL

You are out of your mind if you think Ayton is only going to command $16.4 mil. He is going to be in the $28+ range

I never said he was going to accept it. please read the post. I said he received the qualifying offer; I did not say he accepted. Also, you didn't read the entire post where I said I expected him to command somewhere in the 25 mill. Relax

I never got the love or hate for Zu. Zu is one of those players who essentially plays at value. The FO didn't make a mistake by paying him $40 mill a year like Utah paid Gobert. That being said, I don't see him making more gains in his game. I think because of his age, we all assume he has more growth, but I don't think this is going to happen. With that in mind, if we had a way to flip him for a better center, we should do it.

The Clips just made a qualifying offer to Amir. That means he is now a restricted FA and the Clips can match and even have his bird rights.

He will sign probably a 3 year deal with the Clips at about 3-4m per. That Is my guess but what the heck do I know....lol

Your saying $25mil is ridiculous for a 23 year old center already averaging 17-10? That’s crazy to even say.

Amir is serviceable when everyone is injured, But he is JAG. I hope we don’t sign him for 3 years unless we plan on trading him.

It looks like the front office is serious about keeping this team intact. I hope we can secure Hartenstein as well. There are rumors that the Lakers are trying to poach Hartenstein from us, so I hope we can bring him back.

If they value Hart, he'll be back. There's not other big man on the roster unless you count Diabate and he's going to be 3rd string or in Ontario. They'll just make sure not to overpay him. If he starts demanding a ton or someone else offers a lot, they'll just get someone as good for the taxpayer exception or even the minimum.

That makes sense. But do we value Hart? As a fan I want to see him back, but not sure if it is viable with some of the moves we are making.

Good question. Using a 2nd round pick on a big man kind of made me think that it's possible that they could let Hart go but when considering what a long term project Diabate is, I actually have a good feeling Hart will be back. I think the franchise values him if for not other reason than he got more minutes with us than in Houston, Denver and Cleveland.

In the Twitter-sphere I hear talks of him going elsewhere for more money. Hope he's back, but I'm staying tuned

I think the Lakers still have their TPE to use, and they like Hartenstein.

Diabate doesn't seem like he will pan out. But I'd love to see him in summer league and Ontario and hopefully, he proves me wrong.

I like Hart and hope he signs with us. If not, I wish him well but hope he doesn't sign with Lakers.

Also, why can't Wall take a minimum and save the exception for Hart?!! He made dozens of millions by just sitting on the bench in the last couple of years! He can sacrifice little bit (not little for us!) for the team and let them sign the good pieces so that we are a complete team! Typical greedy guys!! This type of mentality really bothers me when the stars grab a lion share and leave a minor share for every one else and not think of good for all.

During important games as in the play in, Hart was on a tight leash. Think Lue will always prefer small ball during the playoff. Heck we were playing against KAT and Twolves and he still preferred small ball

I'll be a the game against Memphis on Saturday the 9th so I'll try to have a report on him

If it's just a matter of which TPE to accept, I would hope that he would just stay with us assuming we offer it to him.

My main concern is that some team with cap space or the full MLE will just outbid the TPE that we have to offer. He's been on the minimum his whole career so he'll be looking to cash in

This is a great point. We used Batum a bunch at the 5 spot. Which reminds me, we need to resign him!

This is what leads me to believe that we will not be able to retain him.

(also apologies for the re-sign vs resign mixups... don't care to edit, y'all get it.)

Twitter-sphere whispers are Hart to Orlando Magic - not confirmed (I don't think), but definitely see Hart leaving for more money.

Sorry LAC_12. I didn't notice your thread first. My apologies.

All good man!

I am curious to know what you think of Hart and his worth to this team. Do you want to keep him? At what (contract/roster) cost? OK with the mula we gave to Zu? What are your overall thoughts on these (potential) movements?