Beijing time on June 29, Clippers have signed a three-year, $33 million contract extension with team center Zubac, and there will be no team options or players in this contract option, or full coverage. As soon as this news came out, it also triggered heated discussions among many fans, and it has to be said that this move of the Clippers was incomprehensible to many people.
You must know that Zubac has a team option next season, and the Clippers can completely execute his one-year, $7.5 million contract. Even if they want to renew and keep him, it stands to reason that the Clippers can wait until Zubac will be renewed after his contract expires. So why did the Clippers make an unconventional operation? There may be three reasons.
First, Clippers owner Ballmer is rich and willful and doesn't care about the luxury tax. The Clippers' current salary situation is that every $1 million increase in salary will increase the luxury tax by about 4 million, and Zubac's salary has increased by about $3.5 million. In other words, this contract extension alone will bring more to the Clippers. The luxury tax expenditure will be almost $14 million more than the implementation of team options. In addition, if the Clippers sign Wall with a mini-middle-class contract of more than 6 million, they will have to pay a luxury tax of $24 million. Their luxury tax amount next season will also be close to that of the Warriors .
However, Clippers owner Ballmer is worth as much as 88.4 billion U.S. dollars, making him the richest owner in NBA. Therefore, many team owners are busy avoiding taxes, but Ballmer doesn't care much about the luxury tax. As long as the money can be spent wisely, he is willing to spend money to improve the team's lineup.
Secondly, Zubac is the oldest player in the Clippers team. The last contract was very cheap, and the Clippers compensated him to some extent. Zubac joined the Clippers from the Lakers through a trade in 2018. Although he is only 25 years old this year, he is the oldest player on the Clippers.
In the summer of 2019, Zubac signed with the Clippers for only $28 million over four years. Last season, he averaged 10.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game, and his performance clearly exceeded the contract value. Even though he is often targeted by opponents in the playoffs, due to his height of 2.13 meters and excellent rebounding ability, Tyronn Lue has always liked to use him and regarded him as a puzzle piece for the team.
In this case, although the Clippers can implement the team option, doing so is likely to make Zubac dissatisfied, and in order to ensure that he gets the next contract, he may not dare to work too hard on the court. But now an early salary increase and contract extension can relieve Zubac of worries and encourage him to perform better. At the same time, it can also have the effect of buying horse bones with a lot of money, attracting other free agents to invest. After all, the boss has proven with practical actions that as long as he plays well, he will not worry about getting a good contract.
Third, increase the price to renew Zubac's contract to facilitate future transactions with the Clippers. Many people think that the Clippers' renewal of Zubac means they will not reinforce the No. 5 position, but this may not be the case. Because the Clippers are obviously a bit bloated at the forward and defensive lines, and are short of people at the 5th position, and since Ballmer doesn't care about paying the luxury tax, after renewing Zubac, he can still strengthen it by trading the redundant personnel on the forward and defensive lines. Inside, there is no necessary connection between the two.
Even if the Clippers have a bigger appetite and want to trade an All-Star player in the middle of the season, then it would be more convenient for them to trigger the hard cap and extend Zubac's contract at a higher price to increase the team's salary. They operate. After Zubac completes the early renewal of his contract, the transaction value will also increase, because his new contract is still not large, and the team that gets him can safely accept him without worrying about him becoming free after one year. players.
Therefore, the Clippers' move to increase the price to renew Zubac's contract seems a bit "stupid", but when Ballmer is not short of money, this operation is actually beneficial to the Clippers, and it also highlights the rapid development of the Clippers. The team’s determination to win the championship. Ballmer will not be satisfied after renewing Zubac's contract, but will continue to spend money to strengthen the Clippers' lineup.
