Walter Clayton Jr. is on the trade market, with the NBA’s 4 p.m. CT deadline to set regular-season rosters hours away.
The Memphis Grizzlies are “actively trying to find a new home via trade” for the second-year guard, league sources told Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, and the Sacramento Kings have come up as a possible destination.
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Stein’s post went up at 11:01 a.m. CT, five hours before the cutoff.
Memphis has 17 players on standard contracts and three more on two-way deals. Two of the 17 have to be gone by 4 p.m.
Sixteen of the 17 are guaranteed. The other belongs to Jaylen Wells, whose salary becomes guaranteed Oct. 20. Wells started the first three exhibitions. Whoever goes, by trade or by waiver, will be a player with guaranteed money.
Memphis Still Has Two Roster Moves to Make
Micah Peavy is the Grizzlies player regarded as most likely to be released barring a trade, Stein wrote in his Sunday notebook.
On Oct. 15, Fischer reported that Peavy was a strong candidate to be waived and that Clayton and GG Jackson II had come up in trade talks.
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Damichael Cole of The Commercial Appeal reported that night that the Grizzlies were not in trade discussions involving Jackson.
Sacramento’s interest comes a day after Ben Simmons suffered a torn right Achilles tendon at practice. The Kings are considering point guard reinforcements, Fischer reported Monday, and they have also called the Milwaukee Bucks about Kevin Porter Jr.
Clayton Arrived in Jaren Jackson Jr. Trade
Memphis got Clayton from the Utah Jazz on Feb. 3 in the eight-player trade that sent Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale, and Vince Williams Jr. to Utah.
Clayton came over with Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang, and three future first-round picks.
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Three days after the deal, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman told reporters Memphis was turning the page and building around Zach Edey, Cedric Coward, Wells, and Cam Spencer.
“He fits the characteristics we are looking for,” Kleiman said of Clayton. “Physically tough, tough-minded, smart, [and a] winner.”
Clayton, the 18th pick in the 2025 draft, led Florida to the national championship months earlier. Utah traded up for him.
In 45 Jazz games, he averaged 6.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 18.0 minutes.
In 24 games, including six starts, Memphis played him 25 minutes nightly. He averaged 9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, shooting 31-of-101 from 3-point range, 36.6% overall, and 51-of-59 at the line.
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His rookie-season career high was 14 assists.
Clayton Had Been Expected to Survive Cuts
In September, when Memphis still had 19 players on standard deals, Fischer reported that Clayton was expected to survive the roster cuts.
The Grizzlies were down to 18 players when camp opened at Belmont University in Nashville.
Clayton had 4 assists in the fourth quarter of Friday’s 117-98 preseason win over the Charlotte Hornets, 3 of them during a 12-1 Memphis run.
Kris Murray, who came from the Portland Trail Blazers with Jerami Grant on June 29, started that game in place of Wells.
Murray is also eligible for a rookie-scale extension until 5 p.m. CT Monday.
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Utah signed Clayton to a four-year, $19,324,472 rookie-scale deal. This season’s $4,190,520 is the second of its two guaranteed years, and the last two are team options.
Utah comes to FedExForum for the opener Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. CT.
Four road games in seven days follow, starting with the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 23 and continuing to Sacramento, Utah, and Portland.
