First things first, touch break for Walter Clayton Jr.. Life comes at you fast, and after only one season in the NBA, the former Jazz rookie is already on the prowl for a fresh start with his third NBA team. Now that that's out of the way, man the Utah Jazz scored big time from the Jaren Jackson Jr. trade.
Clayton's waiving actually isn't that big of a shock because it came up in the rumor mill that he was among the candidates to get the short end of the stick. Now that his cut has been confirmed, it serves as further proof of how big a home run Utah hit with JJJ.
For what it's worth, Clayton looked pretty bad in preseason, which is even more depressing knowing that the same intel confirming he may lose his spot also confirmed that Memphis was high on him when they made the deal.
But now that he's gone, the only assets that remain on the Grizzlies from the Jackson trade are Taylor Hendricks (who's looked good for them), and three first-round picks. Those picks have a good amount of value, but for a rare breed of a big man like Trip, one would think the Grizzlies would have gotten more.
Alas, Memphis wanted to start fresh (and in all fairness, they are definitely on the right track) and took the best deal available. But that doesn't negate that Utah paid maybe 30 cents on the dollar for what could be their biggest trade addition since... Adrian Dantley?
The Jazz haven't reaped the rewards from the JJJ trade yet, but that hasn't stopped the deal itself from aging like wine.
Here's to hoping Clayton finds himself elsewhere
None of this is intended to be malicious toward Clayton. When Utah traded up for him last June, many thought they got a steal in him. When this is all said and done, Clayton simply just didn't fit in Grind City, and now he'll get the chance to try again elsewhere.
He definitely has some intrigue even if he's not exactly the young, high potential piece teams would typically think of when it comes to former first-round picks who get waived early. At 23 years old, Clayton's ceiling is pretty limited, especially knowing how quickly his first two teams gave up on him.
But that doesn't mean it's over for him period. Sometimes, all it takes is the right coach and the right personnel to truly unlock a player like Clayton. For what it's worth, he didn't look that bad in Utah. They traded him both to get their hands on JJJ and because they knew they couldn't keep all their young talent long-term.
Finally, no, the Jazz can't bring him back for now per NBA restrictions, but that shouldn't stop any of their fans from cheering him on to catch on somewhere. Unless it's with a rival.
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