Overview
- The Mavericks signed Walter Clayton Jr. to a two-way contract on Wednesday, adding the 2025 first-round pick to their final two-way slot before their season opener.
- Memphis placed Clayton on waivers earlier in the week after failing to trade him and he cleared the 48-hour waiver window, making him available to sign with Dallas.
- Under NBA rules, Clayton can appear in up to 50 regular-season games on a two-way deal and will earn roughly half his rookie-scale salary but cannot play in play-in or postseason games unless converted to a standard contract.
- Clayton, the No. 18 pick in 2025 and the 2025 NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player at Florida, averaged about 7.8 points and 4.0 assists across 69 games as a rookie with Utah and Memphis.
- The signing fills Dallas’s final two-way spot alongside Jett Howard and Tobi Lawal and gives the Mavericks a potential backup ball-handler behind Kyrie Irving while the club evaluates whether to keep or upgrade Clayton during the season.