Clippers sign Blake Wesley to a 10-day hardship contract as five players have yet to debut

The LA Clippers have signed guard Blake Wesley to a 10-day contract using the NBA’s injury hardship provision, bringing back a player they cut from training camp less than two weeks ago. The team announced the signing Thursday, shortly after Shams Charania reported it.

The LA Clippers have signed Blake Wesley to a 10-day contract via injury hardship exception.

— ClippersPR (@ClippersPR) October 29, 2026

The deal runs through Nov. 7 and covers the Clippers’ next four games: at Minnesota on Friday, at Golden State on Sunday, then home against Toronto on Monday and Miami next Wednesday. Wesley will earn $150,898 over the 10 days, with a cap hit of $140,771 for the Clippers.

Why the Clippers qualified

A team can get a hardship exception when at least four of its players have missed three straight games and are expected to stay out for at least two more weeks. The exception lets the club add a player on a 10-day deal even with a full 15-man roster, which the Clippers had.

Five Clippers have yet to play this season: Bradley Beal (knee), Brandon Ingram (right heel surgery), Max Strus (right plantar fascia tear), Jordan Miller (shoulder surgery) and Yanic Konan Niederhauser (right foot surgery). Strus, Ingram and Konan Niederhauser are staying in Los Angeles to rehab while the team travels this weekend. Rui Hachimura, who missed Wednesday’s loss to the Lakers with left quad soreness, is going on the trip and could return.

The shortage has shown up in the results. The Clippers are 1-3 after a 103-87 home loss to the Lakers in which they turned the ball over 24 times. Kobe Sanders started that game in place of Hachimura.

Who Wesley is

Wesley, 23, was the 25th pick in the 2022 draft. He spent three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, was traded to Washington in the 2025 offseason and was waived, then played on a minimum contract with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2025-26. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.0 assists in 11.6 minutes over 31 games for Portland, after missing a long stretch with a broken bone in his right foot that needed surgery.

He has played 187 regular-season games, averaging 4.4 points and 2.4 assists in 13.8 minutes. His value is speed and on-ball defense, which gives coach Tyronn Lue another guard to use while Darius Garland plays through back tightness.

Wesley was in camp with the Clippers on a non-guaranteed deal and was one of four players waived when the team set its regular-season roster on Oct. 17. Because he has four years of NBA service, he was not eligible for a two-way contract.

What happens next

When the 10 days are up, the Clippers can sign Wesley to a second 10-day deal only if they still qualify for the hardship exception. Once enough of the injured players return that the team drops below the four-player threshold, the hardship spot goes away and the roster goes back to 15.