The Memphis Grizzlies weren’t the team that drafted Walter Clayton Jr. with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. That was the Utah Jazz.
But the Grizzlies certainly liked Clayton enough to make sure he was included in the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade before last season’s trade deadline.
Despite that, Clayton hasn’t even survived roster cuts for the new NBA season ahead. He won’t begin his first full year in Memphis after all.
On Monday evening, the Grizzlies cut Clayton, along with Micah Peavy, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The Memphis Grizzlies are waiving 2025 No. 18 pick Walter Clayton Jr. and Micah Peavy, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/Pm2xstDy2f
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2026
Why Grizzlies Waived Walter Clayton Jr.
The simple explanation for the Grizzlies waiving Clayton is that they were still two over the NBA’s roster cutdown limit and the deadline to get to the roster size was Monday evening.
Clayton and Peavy being let go made the Grizzlies roster-compliant for the new season.
It’s more complicated to figure out why Clayton specifically was the guy, though.
The Grizzlies acquired him with Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang and three first-round picks while sending JJJ, John Konchar, Jock Landale and Vince Williams Jr. to the Jazz.
Memphis did that deal mostly for the picks, but they seemed to like Clayton at the time.
“He fits the characteristics we are looking for,” Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman said of Clayton after the trade. “Physically tough, tough-minded, smart, winner.”
Clayton was a national champion at Florida before Utah drafted him.
He played in 45 games with the Jazz and averaged 6.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists for Utah.
He then got 24 games with Memphis and averaged 9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game while making about 31% of his 3-point attempts.
Maybe the shooting wasn’t good enough. Maybe the Grizzlies thought he was slightly too small.
They may have just decided because he wasn’t really “their guy” — they didn’t draft him — that they could discard him a bit easier.
Whatever the reason, though, Clayton is gone. Reports had emerged that the Grizzlies were hoping to trade him for assets, but they must’ve gotten no bites, so they just waived him.
Grizzlies Guard Depth Chart
Memphis must’ve also decided they didn’t see a path for minutes for Clayton.
They have Ty Jerome to start at point guard and also have Scotty Pippen Jr.
At the 2, they’ve got Cedric Coward and Cam Spencer, along with Jaylen Wells if he slides to a smaller spot in the lineup at times.
This is a team that will be built around Coward, Cameron Boozer, Zach Edey, Jerome and Wells. The Grizzlies obviously felt Clayton didn’t have a place on their roster.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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