Walter Clayton Jr., the No. 18 Pick in 2025, Agrees to a Two-Way Deal With the Mavericks

Photo: NBA.com. Walter Clayton Jr., guard, pictured with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Walter Clayton Jr. agreed to a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday as he cleared waivers at 5 p.m. ET. The No. 18 pick in the 2025 draft goes from a $4.2 million guaranteed deal in Memphis to the bottom of the Dallas roster, and no team was willing to claim that salary first.

Any team with room could have taken over his contract on waivers. Sacramento needed a ball handler after Ben Simmons tore his Achilles and had already tried to trade for him. Nobody put in the claim. A year after Utah sent three second-round picks to Washington to move up from No. 21 to No. 18 and take him, the market for Clayton came down to one open two-way slot.

Two rookie seasons in one

The full rookie line looks rough. Clayton played 69 games with six starts, averaged 7.8 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds in 20.4 minutes, and shot 38.4% from the field and 30.7% from three.

Split it at the trade, though, and the second half reads differently. Memphis got him from Utah on Feb. 3 in the eight-player deal that sent Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz. In 24 games as a Grizzly he averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 assists and shot 36.6% from three.

He shot 90.1% from the line as a rookie.

Memphis' roster math

Memphis started Monday with 17 standard contracts and had to get to 15. The Grizzlies also had Jaylen Wells' $2.3 million become guaranteed that day. Clayton and Micah Peavy went out together, and Memphis now carries roughly $6.4 million of their salaries as dead money with nothing on the roster to show for it. General manager Zach Kleiman talked about Clayton as part of the young core in February.

The Memphis depth chart explains a lot of it. Ty Jerome, Scotty Pippen Jr., Cam Spencer and two-way guards Jahmai Mashack and Javon Small all made the opening-night list.

Where he fits in Dallas

Dallas had 15 standard contracts and no obvious cut, so a claim on the $4.19 million was never realistic for the Mavericks. The two-way slot opened when Dallas waived John Poulakidas on Saturday, and Clayton slides in next to Jett Howard and Tobi Lawal.

Kyrie Irving is coming back from injury, Marcus Sasser came over in a trade, and Sergio De Larrea is a rookie. Clayton averaged 5.7 assists a night in Memphis. On a two-way deal he can play in the G League and still be called up to the main roster.

Marc Stein reported that Dusty May has a pre-existing relationship with Clayton from recruiting him in college. May's son, Jack, was a walk-on at Florida who played with Clayton in 2023-24, and Jack May now works as a video coordinator for the Mavericks.

His Florida résumé

In April 2025, Clayton was the primary engine of a Florida team that won the national championship. He was the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player and a consensus All-American who averaged 18.3 points as a senior.

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Sources: ESPN / Shams Charania on X (two-way agreement), Marc Stein on X (cleared waivers), Hoops Wire (agreement, rookie line, Kings interest), Memphis Grizzlies (waiver release, 69 games, six starts, opening-night roster), RealGM (17 standard contracts, Wells guarantee, Memphis split), Hoops Rumors (draft-night trade, shooting line, $4.19 million, Dallas two-way slots), Hoops Wire (dead money, Kleiman, Most Outstanding Player), Mavericks On SI (May family ties, Dallas backcourt, 18.3 points).