One player we saw the Celtics connected to over and over as a trade target was Clippers’ big man, Ivica Zubac. It was even reported by Michael Scotto that Boston offered Anfernee Simons a a 1st round pick and a 1st round pick swap earlier in the year, but the Clippers weren’t interested.
But things seem to have changed on the Clippers’ side of things. Even after playing like the hottest team in basketball for two months, they have pivoted sharply. Things came to a head with James Harden, and they dealt him to the Cavaliers for Darius Garland on Tuesday night, then on Thursday, they decided to offload Zubac, sending him to the Pacers along with Kobe Brown for Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, two 1st round picks, and a 2nd rounder.
It’s hard to know how long the Clips have been planning on making a move like this, but it sure seems like organizationally, they came to a consensus in recent days that this era is over, and it’s time to move on and start selling some parts, getting some assets back, and building for the next wave in LA.
Could Celtics have traded for Zubac?
Knowing that the Celtics had interest in Zubac, it’s hard not to wonder if they could have gotten in the mix here if they had been a little more patient. Boston used its key chip on Tuesday morning, dealing Simons and his $27.7 million expiring deal, along with a very attractive 2nd rounder, to the Bulls for Nikola Vucevic.
That pretty much took the Celts out of the market for a deal like this one, but if they had just waited, could the Zubac dream have become a reality?
The Pacers gave up a lot in this deal, with a 2029 unprotected pick, and a 2026 pick that’s protected for picks 1-4 and 10-30. In other words, the Clippers will only get the Pacers’ 1st this season if it lands between 5-9 overall, otherwise it will convey as a 2031 1st.
They also gave up a young player with some upside in Mathurin, who was a high draft pick and has shown flashes, but hasn’t reached his potential, and is due for a payday soon. Jackson is a nice player, but not a needle-mover in this deal.
Ultimately, this probably would have come down to how much the Clippers would have valued Mathurin as an asset. If they see him as a young building block and they’re excited to extend him, then there’s probably no way the Celtics could have beaten this deal.
But if the Clippers view these players mostly as expiring salary, then Boston could have jumped in with Simons’ contract, and gone toe-to-toe with the Pacers on draft picks, adding in the juicy 2nd that ended up going to Chicago.
At this point, we’ll never know, but what we do know is that the reigning Eastern Conference Champions just got a hell of a lot better and added a star center that the Celtics had their eyes on. If Tyrese Haliburton comes back next year, the Pacers are primed to jump right back into contention, and that makes things a lot tougher for Boston.