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Wesley Johnson on last year's Lakers: 'Nobody really knew what was going on'
Wesley Johnson isn’t the first player to make a switch from the Lakers to Clippers in consecutive seasons, but he is the first to do so since the Lakers have entered into the role of Los Angeles’ laughingstock, with the Clippers ascending to championship contenders (Matt Barnes’ defection in 2012 from a Lakers team that acquired Steve Nash and Dwight Howard that summer, doesn’t count).
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As such, in a position that poor Norm Nixon would envy, Johnson gets to answer questions about just how badly his time in Los Angeles (with the Lakers) stunk, and how fantastic he thinks his time in Los Angeles (with the Clippers) will be.
Johnson didn’t disappoint. From Janis Carr at the Orange County Register, via Pro Basketball Talk:
“You would go out there and want to play the right way, but everyone wanted to prove themselves,” Johnson said as the Clippers wrapped up their brief training camp at UC Irvine.
“So nobody really knew what was going on. Nobody ever knew, so it was hard for anyone to come in and get into a good rhythm or flow. Nobody was playing together.”
[…]
“When you’re on a good team and a role player, you’re a better player,” [Clippers coach Doc] Rivers said. “You play better. You kind of get your role better. When you’re on a bad team, usually no one actually knows their role and everyone is fighting each other to be the man.”
We’ve had our fun at Laker coach Byron Scott’s expense before, and while it’s tempting to dive back into that realm, it’s best to take a step back here.
It’s true that Scott repeatedly chooses to be willfully clueless when it comes to embracing how modern NBA offenses pursue efficient offensive basketball, and his teams in Los Angeles and Cleveland have been horrific defensively. It’s also true that we’re more or less convinced the Lakers hired the former Showtime legend to serve as their best case-scenario as they chase down a tank job or two in Kobe Bryant’s (kinda maybe) final years.
Look at that 2014-15 Laker roster, however. Not just for its sheer awfulness, but pay attention to the large amounts of players that had every right to go out and try to get theirs. To attempt “to be the man,” as Doc put it.
The team fielded four rookies, three of which were looking to save their rather slim chances at staying in the league. One, a point guard with the ball in Jordan Clarkson, played (and sometimes shot) his way into a lasting gig with the team by being aggressive. Another, forward Julius Randle, probably would have attempted to shoot his way toward the Rookie of the Year award (ain’t nothing wrong with that) had he not injured himself on the first game of the season.
Then you had the two prized free agent pickups in Carlos Boozer and Jeremy Lin.
Boozer was attempting to extend his career (so far, for the free agent, it didn’t help much), and Lin was looking to revive his after two very tepid at best and damaging at worst seasons in Houston (he managed to score another deal in Charlotte after a so-so run in Los Angeles). Fellow signee Ed Davis, perhaps put off by the odd lack of interest in both the 2014 free agent market and Scott’s own aversion to his game, also pined for more looks.
Then there was Kobe Bryant, a mamba in winter, always and forever The Man even when should really dial it back.
Then we have Nick Young. This paragraph has already gone on for too long.
There’s also the odd case of Wesley Johnson. It was a year that seemed primed for him to act as a high-usage guy following the frustrations that came from the disappointing four years that followed that time David Kahn selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft. He too signed a one-year deal in an attempt to bolster his resume, and instead of firing away, he ranked tenth on the team in shots per minute.
Even with Kobe gone for 47 games and Young on the shelf for 40 contests, Wesley still minded his touch even while playing 79 games (and starting 59 of them). And the Clippers came calling, possibly as a result.
So when free agency rolled around this past summer, Johnson knew he didn’t want to stick around. Then the Clippers called. Not once. Not twice.
“They were persistent,” said Johnson, who signed a one-year deal at the veteran’s minimum.
So it goes, El Lay.
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is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KDonhoops