Last night, the Utah Jazz had to go up against the Golden State Warriors without their entire rookie class, as Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton Jr., and John Tonje all were out with injury. That might be the same case tonight against the San Antonio Spurs, the but the Jazz got some encouraging updates on Bailey and Tonje.
The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen revealed that Bailey and Tonje have been upgraded to questionably ahead of the Jazz's Summer League game against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Jazz’s injury report today:
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) July 14, 2025
OUT - Walter Clayton Jr. (left hamstring soreness)
OUT - RJ Luis Jr. (left knee soreness)
QUESTIONABLE - Ace Bailey (right hip flexor soreness)
QUESTIONABLE - EJ Harkless (right wrist soreness)
QUESTIONABLE - John Tonje (right ankle sprain)
Bailyey has yet to play since the Jazz's second Summer League game in Salt Lake City, while Tonje has not played one minute. Bailey looked just as exciting as advertised during the only two games he played in, while Tonje's NBA skills remain only in the abstract, so it's encouraging that the Jazz could see both play on the floor tonight.
The Jazz have gotten to see their young talent shine through in the Summer League, as Kyle Filipowski looks like a man among boys, Cody Williams is showing that there's hope for him yet, and Isaiah Collier has been a mixed bag.
Seeing what Bailey and Tonje could do, both individually and together, could add even more excitement to what's been a pretty fun Summer League experience.
The Jazz might hold Clayton out as a precaution
Clayton suffered a hamstring injury in the Jazz's Summer League game against Charlotte. He didn't return after the injury surfaced and after tonight, he will have missed the last two games.
Hamstring injuries are delicate, so the Jazz might be doing what anyone else is doing and keeping him on the sidelines until they know it won't be a problem. The Jazz just had one of their young players, Taylor Hendricks, suffer a devastating leg injury three games into his second season, and while Clayton isn't necessarily in the same situation, they'll do everything possible to avoid that something similar happening again.
The NBA has also seen an uptick of Achilles tears this past season, particularly in the playoffs where they saw three stars suffering the career-altering injury, which included Damian Lillard, Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Haliburton.
Hamstring injuries are not the same as Achilles but when a player suffers that kind of injury, playing through it is very risky because not only can it get worse, but it can have ramifications for that player's long-term prospects.
Clayton has definitely been one of the Jazz's standouts during the entirety of the Summer League. Utah's offense looks more crisp because of his abilities as a shot creator and playmaker. For that very reason, it's not worth risking his long-term prospects just to showcase himself more.
The one upside is, the return of Bailey and Tonje's debut could overshadow the Clayton's absence.