Ivica Zubac is going to be a great addition to the Indiana Pacers once he finally makes his debut for the team. He is an elite paint presence and a phenomenal rebounder, and he is going to help Indiana in areas they desperately needed it.
But there's also no denying that, offensively, Zubac's fit with the Pacers isn't ideal, largely because he is not a stretch big.
With Rick Carlisle leading the team as one of the best offensive minds in the game, there aren't many reasons to believe they won't figure everything out. But the Pacers' offense relies heavily on pushing the tempo, moving the ball, and spacing the floor. Zubac can help some with some of this, but he is not someone who can be trusted behind the line (yet), and that could be a big concern.
Ivica Zubac won't be much of a floor-spacer for the Pacers
Zubac has played parts of 10 seasons in the NBA. He is 1-for-12 on three-point shots all-time. He hasn't made a shot from deep since 2021, and he hasn't even attempted a three-pointer since 2023.
After getting traded to Indiana, the 28-year-old made it clear that he will likely stand in the corner more than usual and could take on more of a spacing role (h/t Dustin Dopirak of the IndyStar).
"I'm gonna be in the corner a lot more than in the (dunker spot)," Zubac said, referring to a position just outside the paint on the baseline that allows players to catch the ball and quickly go for a dunk. "I'm used to being in the dunker when I want the ball, but that's something he doesn't want. He wants me to be in the corner and if I get the ball to go into the next action, into a hand-off or a step-up and play out of that. ... Spacing out to the corner is going to be something new, but I'm looking forward to it."
"I always thought I could shoot that shot," Zubac said. "I obviously didn't get a lot of chances to do it with the Clippers, but I always worked on it and wanted to shoot it but never had a chance. We'll see how open he will be for that. If that's what they want me to do, I have the rest of the season and the whole summer to work on it and be ready for next year."
While this is an exciting development for Pacers fans, it's way too early to bank on this actually working.
Zubac is great, and I'm a huge fan of this acquisition for Indiana. But the team has constantly made spacing a big priority in their system, and that isn't going to change now.
For a decade, the Pacers had Myles Turner on the roster, and he developed into a legitimate stretch big and a perfect fit for their system. He is a career 36.5% shooter from beyond the arc, and he is fresh off a career-best 39.6% shooting season.
After Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks last summer, the Pacers traded for Jay Huff to help replace his value, and in some ways, he did exactly that.
Huff had a rough go at it to begin his Pacers career (he shot 29.4% from beyond the arc for the team in 2025), but he has turned it around and has shot 35.3% from three since the turn of the calendar. And in doing so, he turned himself into a legitimate asset and will likely stick around as Zubac's backup for the foreseeable future.
With Zubac now in the mix, it's fair to assume that the Pacers will try to work him into their system instead of playing to his strengths. But if this doesn't work out the way he or the team wants it to, they may have to change things around. Hopefully for them, they don't lose too much of their identity along the way.