2016 Clippers Player Preview: C.J. Wilcox

Name: C.J. Wilcox

Height: 6'5"

Weight: 195 lbs.

Position: SG/SF

Experience: 1 year

Key Stats: 21 GP, 4.8 MPG, 2 PPG, 42.1% FG, 36.8% 3PT

Contract Status: Fully guaranteed for $1.2 million this season, with two team options for 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Breakdown: Perhaps the most telling sign of the weaknesses in Wilcox's game is the fact that we don't know much about them.  We don't know much about his strengths either, if only because we've rarely seen him in meaningful NBA gameplay.  And, on a Clippers team that struggled so severely with wing depth last season, that's particularly telling.  What we know about C.J. is that he can shoot.  He shot the lights out in college, and when we did see him on the court last season, he managed a respectable shooting percentage and his style of play was clearly that of a shooter.  What's lacking would be everything else: his handling and passing for creating offense, his ability to play without the ball (like J.J. Redick), and his on- and off-ball defensive skills.  Doc Rivers and the coaching staff know far more about Wilcox than we do, because they see him daily in shootarounds and practices, which has a double meaning: first of all, it means that they know he wasn't good enough to get any minutes last year, and they knew that he wouldn't be good enough this year so they brought in depth above him.  On the other hand, when the Clippers had to sweeten the pot to get Austin Rivers last January, the team opted to include Reggie Bullock and not C.J. Wilcox, and given that they were essentially twins in the eyes of observers, we can assume there was some reason for Doc's preference to keeping the University of Washington alumnus.

Outlook for 2015-2016: Don't hold your breath that we'll be seeing much more of Wilcox this season than we did in his rookie campaign.  If C.J. couldn't get time on a 2014-15 team that had no depth whatsoever, especially on the wing, then he's really unlikely to get much time given the additions of Wesley Johnson, Paul Pierce, and especially Lance Stephenson (even Pablo Prigioni will play ahead of Wilcox at SG).  At only 24 years old, and with a relatively cheap contract for the next three years, he should be able to stay on the roster as a project shooter for Doc Rivers.  If he doesn't show that he's capable of playing NBA-level basketball by then, he'll probably be out of the league, but a role could open up soon.  Many of the Clippers' reserves are on short-term or one-year deals, meaning that despite the extreme depth this season, there's likely to be high turnover next summer, which could leave space for Wilcox.  For now, however, we'll give him another year with no expectations or responsibility.