Given their interest in trading into a first-round pick to try and acquire Walter Clayton Jr. at last year's NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors would surely pursue the 6'4" guard again if he became available as a free agent in the coming weeks.
However, despite recent speculation over Clayton's future, it appears unlikely that the former 18th overall pick will fall victim to the Grizzlies' roster squeeze that sees them needing to move on from four players before opening night.
Warriors' Walter Clayton Jr. hopes take hit with latest Grizzlies update
NBA insider Jake Fischer mentioned Clayton as one of the players who could be cut during his Bleacher Report live stream on Tuesday, but colleague Marc Stein reports (via Fischer) that he's now likely to remain in Memphis.
"In a follow-up to his Bleacher Report live stream Tuesday afternoon, Fischer passed along to me that Walter Clayton Jr. has a good chance to survive the roster purge that the Grizzlies mist undertake before Opening Night Eve on Oct. 19," Stein wrote on his Substack on Thursday.
Stein reports that former Warrior D'Angelo Russell, former first-round pick Kris Murray, and the recently acquired duo Jordan Hawkins and Micah Peavy, are the four players likely to be moved on and will subsequently become free agents.
It's not overly surprising that Clayton would stick with the Grizzlies, with the Florida national champion showing some promising signs in averaging 9.7 points and 5.7 assists in 24 games at the end of last season after being involved in February's Jaren Jackson Jr. trade.
It's still a disappointing development for Golden State who would undoubtedly love an opportunity to get Clayton for free, having presumably been willing to give up a future first-round pick for a chance at landing him in the draft just 15 months ago.
Warriors have left door open for suprise move ahead of training camp
While the Warriors signed another young point guard in Brandon Williams last month, they've left the door open for a surprise move prior before opening night by choosing not to guarantee the contract of the former Dallas Mavericks guard.
That means if an intriguing player like Clayton was to unexpectedly become available, they could give out a training camp contract and potentially a roster spot over Williams depending on form through preseason.
It doesn't look like Clayton will become available for the Warriors to pursue, but they should keep an eye on the Grizzlies situation until official roster moves are made.
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