INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ivica Zubac got a brief glimpse into the Indiana Pacers track-like offense last season.
Then he went back to Europe, worked on his conditioning and returned to the U.S. early to figure out how he fit with his newest teammates.
No, the 7-foot, 240-pound Zubac doesn't really look like a natural in this rapid, high-scoring style, but he's doing everything he can to make a successful transition from traditional center to one who can keep up with speedy All-Star Tyrese Haliburton and the rest of the Pacers.
“Once I rebound or inbound the ball, he (Haliburton)'s already looking ahead, throwing the ball ahead,” Zubac said. “I'm more used to point guards who spend more time with the ball, who hold the ball longer than him. He's getting off of it quick and it's the team in general. The system is based on making quick decisions and guys making quick reads.”
For Zubac, it's a new experience.
He spent his first 9 1/2 NBA seasons playing in Los Angeles — for either the Lakers or Clippers — and emerged as a defensive stalwart who was willing to mix it up around the rim while setting hard screens.
That's not how the Pacers have been playing since overhauling their roster following the acquisition of Haliburton near the trade deadline in 2022. Indiana's moves have been mostly to add quick, athletic players at each position so they can operate at full throttle. Even longtime center Myles Turner could run the court effectively.
But when Turner made the surprise decision to sign with the rival Milwaukee Bucks instead of returning to the Eastern Conference champs in July 2025, the Pacers were left with a glaring hole already knowing Haliburton would miss the entire season because of a torn right Achilles tendon. An early rash of injuries sealed Indiana's fate in a lost season.
So when the Pacers saw Zubac available at the trade deadline, they jumped — sending the Clippers two players and multiple draft picks, including a 2026 first-round selection that turned out to be an unprotected lottery pick. It was a costly move, but one they don't regret.
“I think as you look at last season into this offseason, I felt like and I think as a staff we felt that our team was right there — we're right on the cusp of being a championship team," general manager Chad Buchanan said. “So why should we be patient and wait for something else down the road? Why should we be thinking long term? Like it's right there in front of us and we felt like an opportunity to get a top 10 center in our league at that position was a big need for us. This is a player that fits what our roster needs right now.”
The Pacers believe Zubac will keep up with the pace and also will help improve facets that were weaknesses previously — setting screens to create open looks for 3-point shooters or on drives to the basket, rebounding and defense.
Zubac was a second-team All-NBA defensive selection in 2024-25. He was not eligible for the team last season because injuries limited him to just 48 games, including only five with the Pacers.
Still, it was enough to show Zubac what he needed to work on over the summer and, so far, Haliburton likes the early results.
“It's a different dynamic than playing with Myles in the sense of Myles is obviously more of a finesse player, a space shooter,” Haliburton said. “Zu is a guy who's really a very physical guy, hard screen-setter, roller, plays more above the rim with lobs and rebounding. It looks a little different, but honestly when I came into the league, I thought that was the archetype I needed to play with to be successful.”
Zubac has been through weeks of workouts now that started with what's become a regular trip to Nashville and morphed into full-court workouts before training camp opened.
How long it will take to get on the same page is unknown. What's not is coach Rick Carlisle's ability to adjust his plan to who he has available.
“Rick is a brilliant coach, and our coaching staff has shown the ability to adapt to different types of players and they'll figure out how to maximize some of the things maybe that he does that's different from how we have played," Buchanan said. "There's a lot of things Zu does bring to this group that I think will accentuate what we already have in-house."
And Zubac is eager to show he'll give the Pacers exactly what they need to be a championship contender, too.
“I don't think it's going to take long,” Zubac said when asked about the chemistry between him and Haliburton. “We didn't spend much time together on the court (before camp), but the time we did it felt really natural for me. It was never hard playing with smart point guards. We don't need much time to gel together. Like I said it's natural.”
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Minnesota Timberwolves guard LaMelo Ball, center, passes between Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) and center Ivica Zubac (40) during the first half of a preseason NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle, resigned on Tuesday after allegations of improper conduct but insisted she’ll “vigorously defend” herself.
Trump's administration said earlier Tuesday it had asked Guilfoyle to leave her post after she faced severe criticism over allegations she engaged in improper and possibly illegal conduct before and during her tenure in Athens.
The announcement, after days of comments and speculation, came in response to a question to freshly minted White House press secretary Katie Zacharia at her first media briefing Tuesday morning. Zacharia said Guilfoyle “has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.”
Guilfoyle’s departure comes after its possibility was previewed to The Associated Press over the weekend and Trump registered his unhappiness on Monday at reports about her alleged conduct.
“Well, we’re looking at it,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if he was considering firing Guilfoyle. “We’re not happy.”
Those comments came a day after the AP, citing a senior U.S. official, reported that Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are “extremely pissed off” by Guilfoyle’s reported conduct and would likely decide on her future this week.
In a series of stories dating to late last month, The Wall Street Journal has reported questionable conduct by Guilfoyle, including an alleged threat to a host country official, accepting improper gifts and services and offering to use her influence inside the Republican administration in return for the payment of a large credit card bill.
Guilfoyle addressed the allegations directly in a post on X, saying, “These allegations are false, and I intend to vigorously defend my name, my reputation, and my integrity.”
“I have dedicated my professional life to fighting for justice, standing up for what is right, and defending the values that make America exceptional,” she said. “I will not allow false accusations to define my decades of public service.”
In a statement released late Sunday, Guilfoyle's lawyers denied she had done anything wrong and claimed that the money she was seeking from a Trump donor was payment for services — public appearances and speaking engagements that predate her ambassadorial nomination — that had not been paid.
The lawyers, David Schwartz and Jesse Binnall, also rejected allegations of impropriety related to Guilfoyle’s travel on private planes, saying that before every such trip she “sought, obtained and followed State Department guidance and followed the Department’s travel regulations."
After defending Guilfoyle following the first report, Rubio has declined to comment publicly on the growing allegations. Last week, Rubio said: “Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”
But after another report appeared later, Rubio — speaking Thursday before leaving Athens — berated journalists for asking about the allegations. He said that he didn’t know if they were true and that he would not respond if he could not confirm them.
“You guys walk around thinking that because some source told you something and you reported it, it’s the gospel. It’s not the gospel. It’s not the gospel for me. That’s not the way we do things,” Rubio said at the foot of his plane as Guilfoyle, who was there to see him depart, looked on.
A second U.S. official, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said the State Department’s inspector general was looking into the allegations, which first began surfacing in the Journal late last month and have since multiplied.
The second official could not say if a formal IG probe had begun. Inspectors general often conduct informal inquiries into complaints against staffers, and many times those inquiries do not result in a full-on investigation, which can result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal.
The State Department has declined to comment on a potential IG investigation.
There was no immediate response to Zacharia's statement from the Greek government or Cabinet members.
Ahead of Tuesday’s announcement, Greek opposition parties had called on the Foreign Ministry to summon Guilfoyle to respond to the allegations made against her. “This, most importantly, is an issue of national dignity,” Sia Anagnostopoulou, a former deputy foreign minister, said in parliament Friday. Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis responded that Guilfoyle had been treated “the same way as every other ambassador” and argued that an official summons had not been necessary.
Hours earlier, Guilfoyle had posted photos of her meeting this week with the Spanish ambassador to Athens as well as birthday wishes for Lara Trump, the president's daughter-in-law, accompanied by Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” from the 2023 soundtrack of the movie “Barbie.”
The top two Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as the ranking member on the House Committee for Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., have already called for an investigation into Guilfoyle.
Since late September, the Journal has detailed numerous accounts of questionable conduct by Guilfoyle. Its first report said that she had told guests at a reception that the United States could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.
While Rubio was in Athens, the Journal reported — citing text messages — that Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor and supporter to pay a $100,000 credit card bill just before her confirmation hearing, promising him access to administration officials if he did.
The Journal then reported that Guilfoyle had been enraged about not being invited to a Greek-themed event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year and demanded to attend while boasting about luxury travel to France with energy company executives.
Another report, from the British tabloid The Daily Mail, said that Guilfoyle had alienated staff at the U.S. Embassy in Athens and had pushed the bounds of behavior appropriate for the top representative of the U.S. government to Greece.
Guilfoyle is a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was once married to California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and was engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr.
AP journalist Derek Gatapoulos in Athens contributed.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaks during the opening Session of the U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue next to U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks as President Donald Trump listens at a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks during the Republican National Convention, July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks as President Donald Trump listens at a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - Kimberly Guilfoyle speaks as President Donald Trump listens at a reception celebrating Greek Independence Day in the East Room of the White House, March 24, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle speak during a dedication ceremony at the chancery of the U.S. Embassy, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
