Lue shares thoughts on building offense around his star center during a challenging season.
The Los Angeles Clippers have gone through a lot this season, and with a 6-19 record that puts them near the bottom of the Western Conference, head coach Tyronn Lue is looking for answers.
One solution he keeps coming back to is getting the ball to his best big man more often, and that's Ivica Zubac.
"[Playing through Zubac more] has been something we'd like to do," Lue said when asked about getting his center more involved in the offense when things aren't clicking.
Zubac's Best Season Yet
The timing of this mindset makes a lot of sense when you look at what the Croatian center has done over the past year.
After posting career highs across the board last season with 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, Zubac has kept that momentum going in 2025-26 and is averaging 16.6 points and 11.4 rebounds through 25 games for the Clippers.
The 28-year-old center earned All-Defensive Second Team honors last season and finished second in Most Improved Player voting after leading the league in total rebounds with 1,010.
He also tied for second in the NBA with 59 double-doubles, showing just how steady he has become for Los Angeles on both ends of the floor.
Trade Rumors Swirling
Despite his strong play, Zubac's name has come up in trade talks around the league.
Teams like the Indiana Pacers have reportedly called the Clippers to ask about the big man, and league sources say rival executives believe Los Angeles would at least listen if multiple first-round picks were on the table.
However, NBA insider Jake Fischer has reported that the Clippers don't want to part with Zubac because of his team-friendly contract and how much he has grown as a player over the years.
The center signed a three-year, $58.65 million extension in 2024 and has become one of the most reliable two-way bigs in the league since Lue started posting him up more a few years ago.
Building Around Zu
Lue has talked before about how Zubac's offensive game really took off when injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George forced the team to look for other ways to score.
The coach started feeding him in the post more often, and over time, Zubac got better at reading double teams, finding open teammates, and finishing with soft touch around the rim.
With the Clippers sitting at 6-19 and looking for any kind of spark, leaning on their center could be the key to turning things around in a season that has gone sideways so far.