MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ivica Zubac may need to wait a while to make his Indiana Pacers debut.
Indiana acquired Zubac and guard Kobe Brown before Thursday’s trade deadline in a deal that sent swingman Bennedict Mathurin, center Isaiah Jackson, a conditional first-round pick this year, a 2029 first-round pick and a 2028 second-round selection to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said the earliest Zubac and Brown could play for Indiana, assuming they pass their physicals, is Tuesday at New York. But he indicated Zubac’s first game with the Pacers could come a little later than that due to a lingering ankle issue.
“He had an ankle thing that happened in December,” Carlisle said before the Pacers’ Friday night game with the Milwaukee Bucks. “He came back. It’s kind of yo-yoed a little bit. My understanding from talking to him is there’s still something there that’s not quite right. We’re not going to put him out there until he’s really ready.”
Zubac, who turns 28 next month, averaged 14.4 points and 11 rebounds in 42 games with the Clippers this season. He had missed the Clippers’ Wednesday night game with Cleveland after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child.
His arrival in Indiana will give the Pacers the type of big man they’ve been seeking since they lost Myles Turner to Milwaukee in free agency.
“I feel both those guys are top-10 centers in the NBA,” Carlisle said. “We’re fortunate to have made the deal, assuming it goes through.”
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