Clippers’ next move needs to be signing a small forward

The Los Angeles Clippers can be pleased with the state of their backcourt and frontcourt, but their wing situation and lack of depth at small forward is the team’s glaring weakness.

The start of the Los Angeles Clippers’ free agency went as expected. The Kevin Durant dream failed and they re-signed their own guys, thanks to having too little cap space to pursue upgrades on the market. Except for some turbulent reporting that Jamal Crawford was going to leave before he re-signed for three years, $42 million, everything went according to plan. Three bargain signings of Marreese Speights, Brandon Bass and Raymond Felton on minimum deals was something we didn’t necessarily see coming but can certainly be impressed by.

The Clippers added an instant-offense, shooting center in Speights, a reliable, veteran backup point in Felton, and a physical, mid-range-shooting four in Bass. Each player helps and each came for a brilliant price, providing more depth inside than fans probably could have hoped for.

Yet, nothing has been done to fix the problem at small forward.

After trading C.J. Wilcox for Devy Marble (waived) to create a roster spot and waiving Branden Dawson, the Clippers have 14 guaranteed contracts for next season. Another spot will open up if Paul Pierce retires and rookie point guard David Michineau being stashed in France for a year seems likely.

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Bass came in as the latest acquisition to play behind Blake Griffin at power forward and take minutes away from rookie Brice Johnson, leaving seven frontcourt players on the roster in total (when counting Pierce as a power forward).

Then there’s the small forward situation. Wesley Johnson and Luc Mbah a Moute.

That’s it.

Johnson was a capable enough option off the bench last season and shot well from the corners, adding better defense at times than anticipated, but his shooting cooled off as the months went by to finish at 33.3 percent from deep which really limited his impact. As for Luc, his defense and hustle was always present, going a long way to helping the Clippers rise to 4th in defensive efficiency, but his total absence of shooting threat virtually takes him out of the offense (6.5 points per 36 minutes).

Sadly when it comes to Johnson, his season-high 21 points with six made threes (shown above) was the type of efficient performance that came far too rarely.

Both will help next season and Luc should be continuing as the starter after bringing so much on defense, but depth at small forward and reliable two-way play off the bench is the team’s most pressing need now.

The backcourt is set. Chris Paul is Chris Paul, Austin Rivers helps with his driving ability and seriously elevated defense, and Felton is a reliable player to run the offense and allow Rivers to spend more time at shooting guard.

As for the frontourt, Griffin and DeAndre Jordan will be reunited and healthy again, while Bass and Speights are great additions to maintain size, shooting (and threes with Mo) and rebounding, with Brice Johnson having potential to provide a few energy minutes with Diamond Stone as a project. The signing of Bass is somewhat questionable due to his similar offensive skill set to Speights, also making the decision to draft two bigs this year puzzling, but the depth and talent is there.

It really does come down to the wing.

Of course, the Clippers only have minimum contracts to offer, but there are there are still free agents to fill the rotation that offer the kind of two-way depth needed to compliment Johnson and Luc.

Alan Anderson is a popular target among Clippers fans and rightfully so. After only playing 13 games with the Washington Wizards due to injury last season it’s easy to overlook him. That being said, since coming back from overseas in 2011-12 he’s gradually found his rhythm and had a solid season in 2014-15. He’s not a spectacular three-point shooter (34.5 percent for his career), but he plays with energy, can create fairly well on drives to the basket, and he’s a solid defender.

For a minimum deal, Anderson should be both attainable and worth pursuing. The only real drawback is injury concern.

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Gerald Green is another popular suggestion with fans simply due to his absurd leaping ability and streaky shooting that can result in sudden scoring outbursts. Back in 2013-14, it allowed him to averaged 15.8 points in only 28.4 minutes per game with the Phoenix Suns with a 40 percent three-point shot. That being said, he frequently takes unwise shots and a trigger-happy play style without enough defensive consistency makes him a player to avoid.

Chase Budinger is another possibility, although injury concerns throughout most of his career and being waived by the Indiana Pacers in March raise questions. Even still, for someone who will only be the third small forward option, had a respectable showing in 19.2 minutes a night with the Timberwolves in 2014-15, and has shot 35.2 percent from three over the course of his career, Budinger has intrigue as someone who will stay within his role and play effectively off the ball.

Next: What can we expect from Brice Johnson next season?

These are just a few of the options available and we’ll be breaking them down in detail very soon. If the Clippers are going to use their final roster spot now rather than keeping more flexibility for the regular season, a wing (possibly Anderson) needs to be the target.