Clippers introduce their draft picks

The Clippers’ three rookies got a taste of what life might be like in the NBA when they played in the Orlando Summer League this month.

The experiences from those five games taught Brice Johnson, Diamond Stone and David Michineau that this is a grown-man’s league and that they all must get stronger if they want to be successful.

Johnson was the first-round pick by the Clippers, selected 25th overall.

He was listed at 6 feet 10 and 210 pounds coming out of North Carolina, but when he was introduced with his fellow rookies Tuesday, Johnson said that he wants to gain “20-25 pounds.”

“The first [summer league] game was kind of tough for me,” Johnson said. “It kind of frustrated me because I wanted to do more, but I just couldn’t physically do it. … Just getting stronger is probably the biggest thing for me.”

Stone, drafted in the second round (40th) out of Maryland, has a solid NBA frame at 6-11, 255 pounds.

But he found out his size and bulk wasn’t enough.

“We’ve got to get a lot stronger,” Stone said, smiling. “These are grown men we’re playing against. Hopefully during training camp, working with bigs like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, we’ll be able to get stronger.”

Michineau, a 6-3 points point guard who played in France last season, quickly noticed a difference in the speed of the game during summer league.

“I feel like everything goes faster. Everything is stronger than Europe,” said Michineau, who was drafted in the second round (39th overall). “So I feel like I’ve got to adjust, change speed to understand the game here.”

“They haven’t seen the real level yet. But that’s the first step [in the summer league],” Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said about his rookies. “So the next step is a gigantic jump and I think they’ll realize that the first day of camp or when they start working out in September and all the guys are in the gym.”

The Clippers also introduced veteran center-forward Marreese Speights after he signed his contract Tuesday.

Speights, who averaged 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds last season with Golden State, envisions playing the same backup role Cole Aldrich did with the Clippers.

Aldrich landed a three-year, $22-million deal with Minnesota after averaging 5.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in his lone season with the Clippers.

“The free agency didn’t go how I wanted,” said Speights, who signed a one-year veteran’s minimum deal for about $1.4 million with the Clippers. “But I feel like this opportunity right here is going to prepare me for the future.”

Etc.

Rivers said Paul Pierce has been traveling overseas and “wanted some time to think about” whether he wants to play again next season or retire. Pierce, 38, has two years and $7.2 million left on his deal.

“Each time you’re around him and you talk to him, he goes back and forth,” Rivers said. “I think it’s a tough decision for him.”

broderick.turner@latimes.com