Wesley Johnson Will Exercise His Player Option for 2018-2019 Season

Shams Charania, one of the most trusted reporters in the NBA, has reported that Clippers’ forward Wesley Johnson will pick up his $6.1 million player option for the 2018-2019 season.

This is not a surprise. Wes was signed during the now legendary summer of 2016 free agency spending spree, and was just one of the beneficiaries of all the money being thrown around. His 3 year, $18 million deal didn’t look good at the time, and it has aged very poorly indeed. If he was a free agent this summer he’d probably get signed by some team, but it would almost certainly be on the minimum.

Next season will be Wes’ 4th on the Clippers (barring a trade), and he did have a bounceback campaign of sorts this past season after a miserable 2016-2017 season. Wes averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game last season, shooting 40.8% from the field and 33.9% from three. He was also 4th in minutes played on the Clippers, which is really just an indictment on injuries and the rest of the roster, but still a sign of Wes’ availability at the very least.

Wes turns 31 this summer, and isn’t a part of the team’s future— it’s unlikely that he’s a significant part of the team’s rotation next season. However, it looks like he will be return once more as a backup at both forward positions, and as a reliable locker room presence.