11:46 pm: The trade is official, according to a press release from the Jazz.
9:17 pm: After drafting Ace Bailey fifth overall earlier in the evening, the Jazz have traded up to No. 18 and used their second first-round pick of the night on Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Washington is acquiring the Nos. 21 and 43 picks in the 2025 draft and a pair of future second-rounders in the deal, tweets Jake Fischer of The Stein Line. Those future second-rounders are picks in 2031 and 2032, per Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The Wizards used the 21st pick to select Illinois wing Will Riley.
Clayton, a 6’3″ guard, is coming off a memorable senior season. He was a consensus first-team All-American, earned a spot on the All-SEC first team, and led the Gators to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and then a national title.
Clayton had a handful of big games in the NCAA tournament, racking up 30 points against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and 34 against Auburn in the Final Four. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four after registering 11 points, seven assists, and five rebounds in the championship game against Houston.
A Florida native, Clayton averaged 18.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game on the season, with a strong .448/.386/.875 shooting line.
This will be the third consecutive year in which the Jazz have used a first-round pick on a guard. Clayton will join a backcourt that features 2023’s 16th overall pick Keyonte George and 2024’s 29th overall pick Isaiah Collier, along with veterans Collin Sexton and Jordan Clarkson, though there’s no guarantee all of those players will still be on the roster by the time the season begins this October.
Not sure how great he’ll be with the Jazz & all those other young guards but I feel pretty confident he’s gonna have a huge summer league, which should be big as far as endearing him to the Utah fans.
Stephen As Smith is going to have a heart attack. He’s making the draft unwatchable.
At this rate, Washington will have half of all NBA’s 2nd round picks in no time, lol.
Utah Jazz are making some great picks with Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr. I think they both will be future starters.
I’m a big fan of this kid. As much as I’d love to have seen my beloved Knicks trade up to get him, I hope he succeeds in Utah. He’s underrated because he doesn’t check all the physical attributes teams score players on, but his leadership, character and jump shot should hopefully keep him around for awhile.