29. San Antonio loves their international prospects, and with such a large international talent base this year, it’s hard to see them passing on taking a European player again. Unlike in past years, where the Spurs have let their international players develop overseas, San Antonio may want to grab someone who can bolster their frontcourt as soon as next year due to the potential retirement of Tim Duncan and David West.
Ivica Zubac may be a nice choice for them if they decide they want an immediate talent infusion. Zubac is a versatile offensive big man reminiscent of former Spur Tiago Splitter, and his well-developed post game and excellent passing ability could be a nice fit for the Spurs’ whirring motion offense. He has great hands and deceptive mobility in transition, and he’s excellent at recovering and rotating defensively, hinting at potential as a shot-blocker.
Zubac does need to work on his shooting touch, as he hit just 57.1 percent of his foul shots in Adriatic league play for KK Cibona and Mega Leks this year, and he has a very flat release on his jumper. He also doesn’t have great footwork or positioning on the defensive end, and can get beaten off the dribble out of the pick-and-roll or in isolation. He recovers well, but in the NBA, he may not fair as well if he does not learn to contain penetration off the bounce.
Zubac’s biggest flaw might be that we don’t have a ton of film on him – he missed parts of last season with a foot injury, and most of this year because of a contract dispute. He is now playing with Timothe Luwawu at Mega Leks in the Serbian SuperLeague, and it will be interesting to see how he fairs there as he will be one of the few players in this draft class actively playing during the next month. Zubac has stated that he wants to come to the NBA right away if possible, and he may be the rare case of an international prospect who gets development time in the D-League rather than overseas.
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