Walter Clayton Jr.’s NBA path has already turned into a moving target, but the former Florida Gators star now has another shot to stick. After being waived by the Washington Wizards, Clayton Jr. agreed to a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Oct. 21, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Clayton Jr., 23, was the No. 18 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and his rookie season has already included more turbulence than most players see in years. He was traded to the Utah Jazz, made his NBA debut on Oct. 8, 2025, and later got caught up in a massive mid-season deal that sent him to the Grizzlies. Memphis waived him earlier in the week, opening the door for Dallas.
The numbers from his first NBA season are modest - 7.8 points per game in 2025-26 - but the Mavericks are giving him another lane to prove he belongs. That’s a real opportunity on a roster that features Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving, with Irving, 34, able to provide guidance to the former National Champion.
For Dallas, the fit is easy to understand. The Mavericks finished with a .317 winning percentage last year and a 26-56 record, so youth and depth both matter. Clayton Jr. gives them a guard who has already shown he can win at a high level, even if his pro career has been anything but settled so far.
His resume stretches back well before the NBA shuffle. At Iona, he was First-team All-MAAC and the MAAC Player of the Year in 2023, and later became the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player in 2025. He was also named the 2025 SEC Male Athlete of the Year.
Now Clayton Jr. gets another chance with his third NBA team already behind him. If he has to keep climbing, the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, the Texas Legends, is there as a possible next step.
In Other News...
Billy Napier Is Suddenly Back In A Job Florida Fans Know Well
Marylands decision to move on from Mike Locksley has quickly sent its search into familiar territory for Florida fans. Athletic director James Smith now has to find a new head coach after an 8-season run ended with a 2-5 start, and one of the names circulating is a coach Gators supporters know all too well: Billy Napier.
Napier is not sitting idle after his Florida tenure, either. He is currently at James Madison and has the Dukes rolling to a 7-0 record, which only adds to the intrigue around any next move. Whether Maryland makes him a serious target remains to be seen, but it is the kind of development Florida followers will recognize immediately because of how recently they watched his name dominate the conversation in Gainesville. [Read more 🡒]
Jon Sumralls Late-Game Mindset Said Everything About Florida Vs Texas
With the game against Texas hanging in the balance late in the fourth quarter, Jon Sumralls thinking spoke volumes about how Florida wanted to finish. Rather than settle for a field goal, the Gators coach made it clear he preferred to pick up the first down and keep control of the moment, trusting the offense to do what it needed to do in a pressure spot.
Florida never had to find out what the alternative would have looked like. On a critical third down, Tramell Jones ran for nine yards to seal the win, removing any debate about the choice Sumrall might have faced if the play had come up short. It was the kind of endgame sequence that reflected a coach willing to be aggressive and a team capable of delivering when the situation demanded it. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas Playoff Path Could Come Down To One Brutal Road Trip
CBS Sports early look at Floridas 2026 season paints a promising enough picture for the Gators to stay in the playoff conversation for much of the fall. The projection has Florida knocking off Georgia, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and Florida State, a run of wins that would give the schedule plenty of shine and keep the pressure on the rest of the SEC race. There is still, however, one game in that forecast that stands out for a very different reason.
Kentucky is the one trip that could turn the whole picture sideways. Even with those marquee victories tucked into the rsum, the Wildcats loom as the kind of road test that can undo bigger ambitions, especially in a season where every loss matters. For now it is only a projection, but if Florida is going to make a serious playoff push, this is the sort of game that may end up carrying more weight than the rest. [Read more 🡒]