Lakers Rumors: Ivica Zubac’s Contract Becomes Fully Guaranteed For 2018-19 NBA Season

Trevor Lane
3 Min Read
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

It’s a big summer for the Los Angeles Lakers with plenty of decisions to make, and among those were with players already on the roster. It appears that they’ve come to a decision on the future of center Ivica Zubac.

He had a team option in his contract that would pay him just over $1.5 million to return for his third season in Los Angeles. While that’s not a hefty contract by NBA standards, the Lakers also have a lot of summer shopping to do on the free agent market and every dollar counts.

It is important to note, however, the waiving Zubac would not actually free up $1.5 million in cap space since the league has an empty roster slot charge of $815,615 which counts for any open spot on teams with less than 12 signed players.

As a result, waiving Zubac would actually only free up about $700,000 in salary cap room.

After careful deliberation, the Lakers ultimately decided to guarantee Zubac’s contract, according to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports:

Zubac had a promising rookie season with the Lakers after being selected with the 32nd pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. The Croatian big man showed a soft touch at the rim and a good feel for the game. He has a penchant for blocking shots, earning him the nickname “Zublocka.”

However, his sophomore campaign was disappointing. Zubac had expected to compete with Timofey Mozgov for the starting center spot only to find Mozgov shipped out and former All-Star Brook Lopez in his place.

Julius Randle soaked up most of the backup center minutes, leaving little room for Zubac, who struggled to keep up with the lightning-fast pace the Lakers played at last season.

While the Lakers appear to have retained Zubac, at least for now, Thomas Bryant was waived on Saturday.

Medium Large is looking to add motivated individuals with big dreams and a big appetite for success to our LakersNation.com direct sales team based in Los Angeles or Orange County. If you love sports, know digital sales, and can throw your weight behind an aggressive commission based opportunity than we would love to talk to you. Please apply at: http://mediumlarge.la/?jobs=1576. If you meet our criteria we will be in touch!

Trevor Lane is a longtime NBA and Los Angeles Lakers fan who had the good fortune to grow up during the glory days of the Showtime Lakers, when Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and the rest ruled the Great Western Forum. He has written about basketball, soccer, fantasy sports, MMA, and even pro wrestling over the course of his career, but the spectacle that is the Lakers is his true passion. He made the leap into podcasting for Lakers Nation and provides voice-over analysis for our YouTube channel. With a who's who of stars gracing the Lakers lineup over the years, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and many others, the Lakers always provide plenty to talk about. When he isn't writing or recording, Trevor can be found spending time with his wife and daughter or on the sidelines for one of the youth teams he coaches. Outside of the Lakers, Trevor is a supporter of the LA Galaxy, US Soccer, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Contact: trevor@mediumlargela.com
Exit mobile version