Clippers Jordan Farmar, Spencer Hawes buy in to their new situation

The assembled media quickly formed a circle around Jordan Farmar, everyone seeking answers on why the free-agent point guard signed with the Clippers rather than stay with the Lakers.

Farmar smiled before he answered, saying that Clippers Coach Doc Rivers was the first to call him and that the Lakers didn’t seem prepared “to do anything” soon regarding him.

So Farmar joined the Clippers, signing a two-year deal for $4.2 million, with a player option for the second season.

Farmar was introduced Thursday along with center Spencer Hawes, who signed a four-year contract worth $23 million to play for the Clippers.

With the Lakers, Farmar played in 41 games last season in his second stint with the team, averaging 10.1 points and 4.9 assists.

“They just weren’t ready to do anything,” Farmar said. “They didn’t know what the future held for them. I didn’t know what that meant for me.”

Farmar was asked why he didn’t wait for the Lakers to make a decision.

“They didn’t have anything for me to wait for,” he responded. “They didn’t tell me, ‘If X, Y and Z didn’t happen, where does that leave me?’ They said, ‘We don’t know. We’ll see then.’ So it wasn’t really a difficult decision for me. If they wanted me to be there, they could have easily called as much as Doc did.

“They were persistent here with the Clippers and I definitely see I fit in.”

Rivers said he had targeted both Hawes and Farmar because of their skill sets.

The 7-foot-1 Hawes gives the Clippers a quality backup in the frontcourt behind power forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan.

Farmar, 27, gives the Clippers a quality backup behind Chris Paul after Darren Collison signed a three-year, $16-million deal with Sacramento.

“We want to just keep adding pieces to this puzzle and try to put us over,” Rivers said. “And I think with the signing of both of these guys here ... we pushed ourselves closer to where we want to go. We needed size. We needed shooting.”

Hawes, 26, who had both the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns after him, averaged 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds splitting time with the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers last season.

He said one conversation with Rivers convinced him to join the Clippers.

“Speaking with him, when he tells you something, you buy in,” Hawes said. “You believe it right away. I think his sell from the beginning was strong and it definitely left an impression.”

Follow Broderick Turner on Twitter @BA_Turner