Report: Celtics Face Unlikely Trade Competition for Clippers' Ivica Zubac

Despite owning the league's worst record, the Indiana Pacers are competition for the Boston Celtics in the Ivica Zubac sweepstakes ahead of the February 5 trade deadline. Hoopshype's Michael Scotto revealed the market for the Los Angeles Clippers center on Tuesday.

Scotto prefaced the report by saying, "amid winning seven of their last eight games, the noise around the Clippers selling off players has lessened for now."

"During earlier trade inquiries, it would have taken at least two first-round picks for the Clippers to consider parting with Zubac, league sources told HoopsHype," Scotto wrote. "Among the notable teams to express interest in trading for Zubac were the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics, HoopsHype has learned."

The Celtics, like the Clippers, have been winning since Boston and Zubac were a strongly rumored pair. The Celtics' winning has them hovering around the top of the Eastern Conference, while LA is still on the outside looking in of the Play-In picture. Indiana, meanwhile, lost 12 games from early to December to early January (and counting).

As for why the Pacers would want Zubac, there's a definite need in the middle following Myles Turner's departure. Jay Huff has been playing more minutes than anyone in Indiana's front office could've foreseen, and while he's played admirably in the situation, it's been nowhere close to enough on both ends of the floor.

It's just a strange play for a Pacers squad that's 10 games out of a Play-In seed.

Celtics May Not Need Another Big With Neemias Queta and Luka Garza

Luka Garza's recent emergence has eliminated the pressing need to bring in a big man. Zubac isn't as athletic as Garza or starter Neemias Queta, who shouldn't lose his starting pivot spot under any circumstances.

Zubac is also unable to space the floor. That doesn't mean he's not playable, it just means you'd have to give up assets for a guy who can't be on the floor if your team is down big and needs quick offense. Risky investment, to say the least.

As it has been since the beginning of this decade, Boston had a perceived big man problem before the start of the regular season that turned out to be an over-exaggeration. If an injury occurs to Queta or Garza in the next few weeks, this should be a conversation. If not, Brad Stevens has done enough shuffling of this deck for the 2025-26 season. The product is good enough not to need this.