The Dallas Mavericks made one final roster addition ahead of Wednesday’s season-opening 128-110 loss at the Houston Rockets, signing former Iona and Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. to a two-way contract.
Clayton Jr. rose to prominence before the 2025 NBA Draft in the NCAA Tournament, almost single-handedly carrying his Florida Gators through the clutch repeatedly. Whether it be in the Round of 32 against UConn, the unreal comeback against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, or the heroics of the National Championship game against Houston, anytime Florida needed something, Clayton Jr. provided it.
You are probably saying to yourself “Self, Walter Clayton Jr. was drafted in 2025, I don’t care what he did in college. How did he play in the NBA last season?” The answer to that is a bit more complicated!
Clayton was selected 18th overall in the 2025 Draft by the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were very much not interested in winning last season, so many of the looks he received were not placing him in the best position to succeed.
When Utah made the trade to acquire Jaren Jackson Jr. from Memphis, the Grizzlies demanded that he be part of that package. He was, and thus he played the last 24 games of the season in Memphis. Memphis, obviously, also wasn’t very interested in winning, thus the looks for Clayton Jr. were difficult.
However, Clayton did a much better job of assisting and getting others involved while playing for the Grizzlies, as he racked up nearly six dimes per contest. And to top it all off, Clayton was playing his best ball at the end of the regular season, shooting 50% from deep and 47% overall in the month of April.
Of course, Memphis had a roster crunch this offseason, and after being left without a partner on the dance floor, were forced to cut bait. Now, after a very short waiting period after clearing waivers, the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player joins forces with that tournament’s highest drafted player in Cooper Flagg. So, what can you look for with Clayton Jr. here in Dallas? Here’s a few things that tell his story as a player.
You don’t have the courage to step up and hit these outrageous shots the way Clayton did if you don’t have some intestinal fortitude, and he’s got that in spades. At 6’2”, he has to be intentional about getting shots off on the outside, and also a very physical and crafty finisher. He’s shown that in the past, as per Yahoo! Sports, Clayton Jr. shot over 60% at the rim in his final year at Florida. While he’s struggled in the NBA at times with that, I think part of that is rookie lumps, while the other part is just simply the floor math being tilted against him. I’d love to get another look at that from him in Dallas.
Shooting is a strength… I think
Coming out of Florida, Clayton shot nearly 40% on spot-up 3-pointers and 37% on off-the-dribble attempts. For a college player, those are fantastic numbers. As mentioned above, Clayton also excelled at finishing at the cup. In the NBA, he has done none of those well. Last year, Clayton shot a combined 75-of-244 from deep across his two stops, good for just under 31%. He also was just 47% on two-pointers in the NBA, a number that should be better. Now, small samples across a rookie season in which he was traded and not set up for success should be taken with a hefty grain of salt. But, it would be great to see the bounce back this season.
The playmaking has taken a step forward
One of the issues coming into his rookie year was the lack of real playmaking pop from Clayton. At Florida, he showed some flashes, but there were some head-scratching turnovers and, frankly, I just don’t think he saw the floor well at times. You could kind of crowd him a bit and with his shorter stature, it forced some issues. Well, in Memphis to end the season, Clayton averaged over eight assists per 36 minutes, while keeping his turnovers down to around three. That’s really good work and a great sign for his future.
Best and worst case outcome
The best-case scenario for Clayton seems to be a Payton Pritchard- or Jordan Clarkson-type of star-in-their-role player. If he can continue to showcase the playmaking pop, perhaps he can reach those upper-tier outcomes and become a starter in this league. At worst, Clayton is probably out of the league after the year, but that really only happens if the shot continues to fall off, he doesn’t keep up the playmaking, and is just overwhelmed when on the ball.
In reality, I do think Clayton is an NBA player. He needs a steady home and a system that can maximize what he does. At Florida, Todd Golden implored that group to run, drive-and-kick and press the defense. I think Clayton Jr. can find some of that in Dallas, and I hope he is able to make it stick.
