The Warriors may get a second crack at Walter Clayton Jr. without paying a draft-pick price.
Golden State had interest in Clayton during the draft process and even explored trading up to get him, according to Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard. That matters now because Clayton, who went 18th overall just over a year ago, could be headed for an unexpected exit from Memphis after arriving there in February as part of the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade with Utah.
The path is simple, if a little wild: the Grizzlies have a roster crunch. After a four-player trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, they need to trim from 19 players down to the league’s 15-man limit. NBA insider Jake Fischer said on Tuesday that Clayton is among the names in the mix.
"They've gotta cut four of Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, D'Angelo Russell, Walter Clayton or Kris Murray. I believe at this point in time Jordan Hawkins has a chance to stick around," Fischer said.
That leaves Clayton in a precarious spot, especially for a player who was only just drafted in the first round. Last season, he logged more than 20 minutes per game across 69 combined appearances for the Jazz and Grizzlies, posting 7.8 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 38.4% from the field and 30.7% from deep. The numbers weren’t eye-catching, but a 23-year-old guard with that draft pedigree would still draw plenty of attention if he hit free agency.
Golden State would almost certainly be one of the teams watching closely. The Warriors already showed they liked Clayton enough to try to move up for him last year, and that kind of interest doesn’t usually disappear in a hurry. They just added Brandon Williams on a non-guaranteed deal as another backup point guard option, but Clayton offers a different kind of swing - and he comes with the added bonus of familiarity with former Florida national championship teammate Will Richard.
Clayton’s college production is the kind that keeps teams intrigued. In his final season at Florida, he averaged 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting 44.8% from the floor and 38.6% from three.
For a Warriors team that appears to be treating this season like a gap year, the upside of taking a shot on Clayton would be obvious. If Memphis does move on, Golden State could finally land the guard it once tried to chase in the first round - this time without giving up anything.
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