As is customary the day before the start of the regular season, several franchises have had to make last-minute decisions about their rosters. After testing many players over the summer months, the time has come to part ways with those who did not pass the cut and to trim the roster to 15 players, something the Grizzlies, who began with 17, have had to do twice. And, in the case of one of them, in a quite surprising fashion.
And it is that, according to Shams Charania, ESPN reporter, Memphis has waived Walter Clayton Jr., who finds himself without a team a little over a year after being selected in the first round of the Draft. The former No. 18 pick in 2025 has been, alongside Micah Peavy, the big casualty of the day in Tennessee, and will have to try to find a place elsewhere if he does not want his NBA career to end much sooner than expected.
The Memphis Grizzlies are waiving 2025 No. 18 pick Walter Clayton Jr. and Micah Peavy, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/Pm2xstDy2f
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 19, 2026
Clayton was drafted by the Utah Jazz, but headed to the Grizzlies after barely 45 games as part of the trade that sent Jaren Jackson to Salt Lake City. In Memphis, where he played the last 24 games of the season, he managed to gain a bit more prominence and posted solid numbers of 9.7 points and 5.7 assists, which seemed to hint at a definite role with the team. However, faced with a decision, management preferred to keep other profiles, letting him depart after this brief stint.
Along with him goes Peavy, who in his case did not even manage to appear in an official game for the franchise since arriving in September as part of the deal in which Memphis also acquired Jordan Hawkins, who was cut shortly afterward. Last year, as a Pelican, he averaged 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds, but since arriving in Tennessee he seemed always destined to leave.
