Wes Johnson Leaves Lakers For Clippers, Agrees To One-Year Deal
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Forward Wesley Johnson has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, reportedly worth the veteran's minimum.
Johnson spent the past two seasons with the Lakers, where he averaged 9.1 points per game in 2013-14, and 9.9 points per game last year in 2014-15.
He put up decent rebounding numbers for the Lakers as well, averaging over four per game in both years with the Lakers.
Johnson was drafted fourth overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves when he left Syracuse after the 2010 season.
After transferring from Iowa State in 2008 during his only year at Syracuse, he won the Big East Player of the Year award and was named as a First Team AP All American the same year. He would forgo his final year of eligibility in college as he declared for the NBA Draft and signed with agent Rob Pelinka.
Johnson did not quite pan out in Minnesota, as they drafted him with the expectations that he would average a lot more than 9.0, 6.0 and 8.0 points per game, respectively, in his first three seasons in the NBA.
The Timberwolves grew impatient with the 6-foot-7 forward and traded him to the Phoenix Suns in a three team trade in 2012.
Johnson's versatility and ability to play almost every position on the floor attracted the Lakers to him, and they signed him to a one-year deal in July 2013.
After averaging career highs in points per game and minutes played per game for the Lakers in 2013-14, he would sign another one-year deal with the purple and gold to stay on board for the 2014-15 campaign.
Johnson will help the Clippers' depth at the small-forward position after they recently signed veteran Paul Pierce as well. Johnson played the power-forward position for the Lakers quite a bit however, and with the departure of DeAndre Jordan, Clippers fans should expect to see him there while Blake Griffin is forced to man the center position that Jordan left behind.
Johnson started 121 games with the Lakers in his two seasons with the team and will have an easy time transitioning to his new team, as he will only have to move down the hall to the Clippers' locker room.