The Los Angeles Clippers parted ways with one of their longest tenured players this trade deadline, moving reliable center Ivica Zubac to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for several players and draft capital. Now that the trade has been finalized, the Croatian has delivered a message about his time with his former team.

“Exactly 7 years ago, this team gave me a chance, and I never imagined it would work out this way,” Zubac wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post. “They allowed me to grow as a player and a man. Just wanna say thank you. Especially to the fans. From the moment I put on this jersey, you guys showed me love and support, on good nights and bad nights, never turned your back on me.”

Zubac explained that the trade was one of the “toughest moments in my life,” and that he had pride in representing the Clippers, thanking the fans for always supporting him as well as the management for making him feel at home.

Rather than focusing his message on basketball, Zubac focused on the people in the organization who supported him on “good nights and bad nights,” including medical staff, equipment managers, chefs, coaches, security, the unseen backbones of an NBA operation which allowed him to be his best.

There was a clear feeling of heartbreak in Zubac’s statement, and it’s easy to see why. The center logs high in the Clippers’ all-time ranks amidst various categories, including being second in rebounds, fifth in games played, and sixth in blocks. Other than statistics, Zubac was, by all accounts, a great teammate and person to be around.

Nicolas Batum Reveals Why Ivica Zubac’s Trade Hurt More Than Any in His Career

For forward Nicolas Batum, a veteran who has spent nearly two decades in the NBA, the departure of Ivica Zubac hit harder than nearly any trade he’s ever experienced.

“I’ve been in this league 18 years… I think it’s the one that hurt the most,” Batum explained. “Zu — like, it’s not expected. He meant so much for the franchise. I bet it was very difficult for the front office to do it.”

But according to Batum, the most painful part of the deal had nothing to do with basketball at all. Zubac recently became a father, something that made this upheaval in his life even harder. Batum shared his own personal memories of dealing with a similar situation.

“I remember my son was born and I had to leave the next day to Miami for 36 hours,” he explained. “it was crushing. And that was just 36 hours. I couldn’t imagine — we talked last night a little bit.”

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The thought of Zubac having to process a trade from the franchise he called home for seven years to navigate a new chapter in Indiana, while also navigating early fatherhood, made the situation feel even heavier.

One thing these anecdotes show is the human cost behind roster decisions. Everyone understands that trades happen, but some departures leave scars that might not fade when the deadline passes.