Most of the players in the D-League are more experienced than 19-year-old Ivica Zubac, but few have the kind of longterm potential that the Lakers saw in the 7-foot-1 big man when they drafted him from the Serbian league just six months ago.
The Zubac project is clearly one that won’t happen overnight. He has only played five games with the Lakers thus far, as the team has instead placed a sizable part of development into the hands of Coby Karl and the Los Angeles D-Fenders.
As head coach of the Lakers’ D-League club, Karl — a former teammate of Luke Walton’s — sees Zubac as the type of offensive threat that is rare in this league.