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Report: Clippers signing Wesley Johnson to minimum contract

Los Angeles Lakers v Los Angeles Clippers

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 7: Wesley Johnson #11 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket against Hedo Turkoglu #15 of the Los Angeles Clippers on April 7, 2015 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2015 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

NBAE/Getty Images

The Clippers failed their biggest offseason job: Re-signing DeAndre Jordan, who bolted for the Mavericks.

But if you can get past that – though you really shouldn’t – the Clippers have done a nice job using their limited assets to improve around their Chris Paul-Blake Griffin-DeAndre Jordan core.

They traded for Lance Stephenson once his value bottomed out and agreed to sign Paul Pierce to an amount equal to the taxpayer mid-level exception.

Now, as they hoped, they’re adding Wesley Johnson on a team-friendly deal.

Shams Charania of RealGM:

Dan Woike of the Orange County Register:

Johnson is excellent value on a minimum contract. He fits the rough profile of a 3-and-D combo forward, though he excels at neither skill. He’s got a good chance to crack the Clippers’ rotation after finding his way with the Lakers the last couple years.

Because he took just the minimum, the Clippers still have $2,088,000 of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception available after using the rest on Pierce. With Jordan leaving, the Clippers suddenly have the full MLE available. If they can use the rest on someone better than Johnson, they’ll be in business.

Relatively speaking.