{"id":258833,"date":"2026-02-16T09:15:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakersnation.com\/?p=258833"},"modified":"2026-02-16T09:19:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T17:19:41","slug":"lakers-news-ivica-zubac-reveals-magic-johnson-prevented-kareem-abdul-jabbar-from-mentoring-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakersnation.com\/lakers-news-ivica-zubac-reveals-magic-johnson-prevented-kareem-abdul-jabbar-from-mentoring-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers News: Ivica Zubac Reveals Magic Johnson Prevented Kareem Abdul-Jabbar From Mentoring Him"},"content":{"rendered":"

A trade that haunts the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans to this day was the 2019 deal sending Ivica Zubac to the L.A. Clippers for Mike Muscala. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka were the two key decision-makers at the time, and it did not take long to realize how disastrous a move it was.<\/p>\n

During that time, the Lakers were in the midst of a rebuild and Zubac was only 21-years-old. He showed signs of being a quality center demonstrated the capability of a double-double big.<\/p>\n

The Lakers have endless resources and plenty of successful centers who have walked through this organization. Zubac had all the tools to replicate the success he has had with Clippers with the team that drafted him, but they gave up on him prematurely.<\/p>\n

Now reflecting on his time with the Lakers, the Zubac revealed a damning story of Johnson preventing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from mentoring and working out with him, via X&O’s CHAT<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter a few workouts, he told me he wanted to mentor me and work for the Lakers. After that, he had a meeting with Magic, and I don\u2019t know what happened there, but he never got a job with the Lakers. He wanted some kind of role with the team just to work with me and the big guys, but unfortunately that never happened.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the surface, Johnson refusing to hire Abdul-Jabbar to work with Zubac and the other centers on the team makes little sense. Perhaps what prevented this move from happening was giving the Hall of Famer a job description and compensation for his time, but that shouldn’t have happened.<\/p>\n

Johnson was president of basketball operations for a handful of years before eventually stepping down. He did some good things during his tenure like getting LeBron James to sign, but how he handled Zubac sticks out as one of his biggest mistakes.<\/p>\n

Now with Mark Walter as the majority owner, a mistake like this should never happen again. Money should not be a deciding factor on whether or not to keep a player, which has haunted the Lakers for the past handful of years.<\/p>\n

Ivica Zubac fondly recalls working out with Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar<\/h2>\n

During Ivica Zubac’s departure from the Lakers, having an opportunity to work alongside one of the greatest centers ever in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Although things did not materialize into a long-form working relationship, Zubac still looks back fondly of putting in time with Abdul-Jabbar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A trade that haunts the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans to this day was the 2019 deal sending Ivica Zubac to the L.A. Clippers for Mike Muscala. Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka were the two key decision-makers at the time, and it did not take long to realize how disastrous a move it was. 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