LOS ANGELES _ Wesley Johnson and Jawun Evans were nowhere to be seen when the Los Angeles Clippers began practice Monday morning. Within two hours, they were no longer part of the organization.
The Clippers waived Evans and traded Johnson to the New Orleans Pelicans for Alexis Ajinca, with plans to waive Ajinca before Monday afternoon's deadline to trim rosters to the league maximum of 15 players, a person not authorized to speak publicly on the matter confirmed.
The Clippers' probable starting lineup will include guards Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley, forwards Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari and center Marcin Gortat.
Their roster includes eight guards. They carried fewer guards last season, then saw their depth ravaged by injuries that sidelined guards for a combined 183 games.
By contrast, the club is dealing with only one injury of note, Luc Mbah a Moute's strained right calf, entering Wednesday night's opener against the Denver Nuggets at Staples Center. The veteran forward took part in practices over the weekend and in a workout before Monday's practice. Coach Doc Rivers expects him to play against the Nuggets, but how much the defensive standout plays remains a question.
"You just don't know his condition level, timing, it's really hard to gauge," Rivers said, "because as hard as we went yesterday, it's still not an NBA game."
In addition to the 15 players on their rosters, the Clippers can utilize forward Johnathan Motley and center Angel Delgado for up to 45 days as part of their two-way contracts with the team's G-League affiliate, the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario.
"We can't wait," Gallinari said. "Preseason was good, but now it's the regular season and it's time to win some games."
