Ivica Zubac, Clippers Agree to 3-Year, $58.6M Contract Extension; Updated Salary Cap
August 30, 2024
The Los Angeles Clippers and center Ivica Zubac have agreed to a three-year, $58.6 million contract extension, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespnLos Angeles Clippers C Ivica Zubac has agreed on a three-year, $58.6 million contract extension, Mike Lindeman and Jeff Schwartz of <a href="https://twitter.com/excelbasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@excelbasketball</a> tell ESPN. Zubac gets max available for his three seasons and now is guaranteed four years and $70M. <a href="https://t.co/F7cSfEEqku">pic.twitter.com/F7cSfEEqku</a>
ESPN's Bobby Marks provided a year-to-year breakdown.
The 27-year-old Zubac is entering his ninth NBA season. He averaged 11.7 points on 64.9 percent shooting, 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game over 68 starts last year.
Before the extension, Zubac had one season left on his contract worth $11,743,210. His new deal takes him through the 2027-28 campaign, essentially putting him on a four-year, $70 million contract.
The Clippers' 2024-25 payroll figure of $170,238,451, per Basketball-Reference, remains the same with the extension.
The 2024-25 salary cap is set at $140.588 million, but the team remains below the tax level ($170.814 million) and first apron ($178.132 million).
Before the Zubac deal, the Clippers could have had up to $126,931,867 in salary committed in 2025-26, but that's largely assuming James Harden picks up his $36.3 million player option. He very well could decline that and enter free agency. Nic Batum ($4.9 million player option), Kobe Brown ($2.7 million team option) and Kevin Porter Jr. ($2.5 million player option) are all question marks for that year.
If, hypothetically, all those players return on those deals, then the Clippers could have about $146.4 million on the 2025-26 ledger.
The salary cap isn't known yet for 2025-26, but it can go up 10 percent in the new CBA, per Danny Leroux of The Athletic. RealGM listed a projected/estimated value of $154,647,000.
In 2026-27, the only contracts the team has on the books are that of Kawhi Leonard ($50,300,000) and Derrick Jones Jr. ($10,476,190) alongside Zubac.