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The Dallas Mavericks signed Walter Clayton Jr. to a two-way contract on Wednesday, adding the No. 18 pick of the 2025 NBA Draft to the team’s final roster.
Clayton joins the Mavericks after a rookie season where he averaged 7.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists across 69 games for the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies. He was a part of the package Memphis received in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade and averaged 9.7 points and 5.6 assists a game in 24 games, including six starts, for the Grizzlies.
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Memphis waived him on Monday after failing to find a trade partner for the 2025 first-round pick. Dallas picked him up after he cleared league waivers on Wednesday.
Clayton struggled to find a groove for most of his rookie season, but seemed to find his footing towards the end of the season. He scored in double figures in 11 of his last 18 games and shot 47% from the field and 50% from 3-point range in April to bring his percentages up to 37% and 30% for his rookie year.
Per the NBA’s two-way contract rules, Clayton is eligible to appear in up to 50 games for the Mavericks this season but would be ineligible for any postseason/play-in games unless Dallas were to convert him to a full-time contract. He will earn half of the NBA’s rookie-scale salary this season.
Clayton adds depth a depleted Mavericks backcourt and could see playing time quickly as Dallas looks to solidify the team’s bench rotation when Kyrie Irving is not on the floor. Clayton was named the Most Outstanding Player in the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament after helping lead the University of Florida to a national championship.
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Clayton averaged 18.3 points a game for the Gators en route to the school’s third national title.
Late add: It appears that Clayton will not only be with the team in Houston for the season opener at the Rockets on Wednesday, just hours after signing the two-way deal, but he will be active, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mavericks-sign-walter-clayton-jr-220424072.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-21 22:04:00
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