The Los Angeles Clippers may be the deepest team in the NBA going into the 2015-16 season, so they have options with the lineups they could put together. Four of the five starting spots are locked in with the one opening being small forward where it was assumed that Paul Pierce would step in. It is being reported now that the Clippers are giving serious consideration to bringing Pierce off the bench and starting Wesley Johnson, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register.
Pierce has only come off the bench in ten games throughout his entire 17-year NBA career that includes more than 1,400 games played, but Doc Rivers has said that he wants to limit Pierce's minutes and potentially play him at power forward, which would be easier to do off the bench. With Blake Griffin not moving from his power forward spot, Pierce would be stuck in the small forward role as a starter. Bringing Pierce off the bench gives Rivers more options.
Rivers might decide to go with an extremely small bench unit if Pierce doesn't start with Josh Smith playing center, Pierce and Lance Stephenson as the forwards and Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford as the guards. That lineup will not only be able spread out opponents and score at will most likely, but it could make up for the Clippers not having much of a backup center. On the depth chart, Cole Aldrich is the backup center, but the Clippers might decide to put out this small lineup for the most part and only use Aldrich when necessary.
Johnson was signed this offseason by the Clippers after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson is not as good of a shooter as Pierce is, but he brings more athleticism and he is probably a better defender than Pierce at this stage in their respective careers. Johnson averaged 9.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game for the Lakers a year ago and has made a respectable 35 percent of his three pointers in his career.
Johnson and Pierce aren't the only two options to start at small forward, though, as the Clippers could decide Lance Stephenson is the best option. Whatever way you look at it, the Clippers clearly have more depth this season it is now just a matter of sorting out who fits where the best and how to divvy out the minutes to these players to get the best possible result.
Bringing Pierce off the bench is an intriguing idea and likely a good one as he will be a steady presence for their second unit while Johnson, if he starts, will bring even more athleticism and defense to a unit that won't need him to score.
