In a conversation with Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints, Ivica Zubac reflected on the emotional end of his long tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he spent parts of eight seasons.
The timing of the trade made the experience even more intense – Zubac had just become a father two days before being dealt.
He described the moment he received the call from president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank and the emotional process that followed.
“It was tough when (president of basketball operations) Lawrence Frank called me to let me know that it was happening and then just kind of being on the phone with people from the Pacers and going through all that,” Zubac said.
“Then it hit me that the (Clippers) were going on a trip and it’d be good to go over there so I called Lawrence, he said that anytime I wanted to come by, I’m free to come by.
“So I went over there, caught a lot of people before they left for the trip and yeah we sat there for five, six hours, I don’t even know, but it just talked about memories and all the stuff that we did and what we went through and a lot of people cried. I cried. It was tough, man.
“It was tough. You always think it could happen – the trades and stuff – but you never really expect it, you don’t want it to happen. So once it happened, yeah, it was tough.”
Zubac has since joined the Indiana Pacers, where, according to league sources, injured star Tyrese Haliburton played a role behind the scenes in helping bring him to Indiana.
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— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 27, 2026
