The Clippers and Pelicans are both going to be fighting for a playoff spot in the West this season, with most anticipating the Pelicans making it back-to-back trips to the postseason while the Clippers are more of a longshot hopeful.
On Monday, the two teams made a trade to help each other out, as the Pelicans acquired forward Wesley Johnson from the Clippers to bolster their wing rotation, while the Clippers get Alexis Ajinca in return, who is likely to get waived. Marc Stein of the New York Times first reported the discussions, and The Athletic’s Shams Charania confirmed the deal was done.
The Clippers are in advanced trade discussions to acquire Alexis Ajinca from New Orleans in exchange for Wes Johnson, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) October 15, 2018
The Clippers have traded Wes Johnson to the Pelicans for Alexis Ajinca, per league sources. @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 15, 2018
As Jovan Buha of The Athletic notes, by flipping Johnson for Ajinca and then waiving him, the Clippers can save an additional $800,000 rather than waiving Johnson. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski notes Ajinca and Juwan Evans will be the Clippers final roster cuts to get the roster to 15.
If this trade goes through, next logical step would be waiving Ajinca, which would save Clippers almost $800K (compared to simply waiving Wes). https://t.co/tRtELSwgNC
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) October 15, 2018
New Orleans is acquiring Clippers forward Wesley Johnson in a trade for center Alexis Ajinca, league sources tell ESPN. Clippers will waive Ajinca and guard Juwan Evans to get to 15 for opening night.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2018
For the Pelicans, they get some wing depth, which addresses their biggest position of need on the roster. Johnson has never lived up to the hype that made him the fourth overall pick out of Syracuse in 2010, but he has become a capable wing defender off the bench, something the Pelicans are certainly in need of. Johnson isn’t a particularly good shooter, but his defense will be what the Pelicans hope to get use from.
The Clippers, meanwhile save some money and will open up a needed roster spot by waiving Ajinca, allowing them to keep Patrick Beverley on his non-guaranteed contract.
The trade became official later Monday evening.
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