Los Angeles Clippers veteran forward Nicolas Batum says Ivica Zubac getting traded hurt the most out of any teammate trade he has experienced in his career.
Los Angeles Clippers veteran forward Nicolas Batum opened up about the team trading their center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers at the trade deadline.
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Batum said it’s the most difficult situation he’s been through in 18 years, as he didn’t expect Zubac to get traded at all, and it hurt more than any other teammate trade he has experienced.
“I told my wife last night — I’ve been in this league 18 years… I think it’s the one that hurt the most,” Batum told Joey Linn.
“I’ve had friends and teammates that got traded, and it sucks. But you go through it with guys. Zu — like, it’s not expected. He meant so much to the franchise. I bet it was very difficult for the front office to do it,” he said.
The 38-year-old said Zubac becoming a father made it even harder:
“I remember my son was born and I had to leave the next day to Miami for 36 hours. And it was crushing. And that was just 36 hours. I couldn’t imagine — we talked last night a little bit. Very, very difficult,” he added.
Zubac ended up being traded to the Pacers for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, and two future first-round picks.
Zubac spent the last eight seasons with the Clippers after being acquired from the Lakers in the 2018–19 season.
This season, he has been averaging 14.4 points and 11.0 rebounds across 43 games while shooting 61.3 percent from the field.
His current contract runs through the end of the 2027–28 season, with him set to earn around $21 million in the final year of the deal.
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