The Golden State Warriors landed themselves a starting center when they acquired Kristaps Porzingis prior to February's deadline, but they reportedly had discussions on another, arguably better big man in Ivica Zubac.
The Warriors' interest in Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard and Jaren Jackson Jr. before the deadline has been well chronicled, yet there was nothing of substance on Zubac before a major report from ESPN's Anthony Slater and Ramona Shelburne on Monday.
Warriors had discussions with the Clippers over Ivica Zubac trade
While the pursuit of Leonard was a key storyline within the report, there was also a minor tidbit on Zubac who was ultimately traded to the Indiana Pacers in what proved the most notable deal of deadline day.
"...The Clippers had signaled a possible sea change when they traded James Harden and engaged with multiple teams, including the Warriors, on what became a trade with the Indiana Pacers for Ivica Zubac," Slater and Shelburne wrote.
Given Golden State's propensity to retain their draft capital for a true star in recent years, it feels unlikely that they would have ever been willing to match or better what Indiana had on the table which includes what could be a top 10 pick in this year's loaded draft if the selection falls between 5-9.
Zubac played only five games to close the season after the trade, with the Pacers clearly making the move with further years in mind as they build a core of Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and the Croatian big man.
Given injuries to Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry over the second-half of the season, any Zubac trade to the Warriors would have also been for the future as the franchise sunk to the 10th-seed and ultimately failed to make this year's playoffs.
Ivica Zubac would have given Warriors a different look at center
There would have been positives and negatives to a Zubac trade, particularly in contrast to Porzingis considering they're wildly different big men in terms of skillset. The respective trades before the deadline proved Zubac is a far more valuable piece, largely stemming from his cost-controlled contract and Porzingis' immense injury/health concerns.
Zubac could have given Golden State a strong interior presence on both ends of the floor, having averaged a career-high 16.8 points, 12.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists with the Clippers last season while finishing on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team and sixth in Defensive Player of the Year.
However, his fit with Draymond Green in the front court would have been questionable given the spacing concerns offensively, assuming any Zubac trade would have included Jonathan Kuminga as the outgoing salary piece rather than the veteran forward.
Regardless, the value of a more traditional center would have been intriguing had a Zubac trade gone down, with the far more unknown commodity of Charles Bassey having proved the value in a two-way interior big man late in the season.
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