Walter Clayton Jr. just put the finishing touches on one of the most-incredible NCAA Tournament runs we’ve ever seen. In fact, Saturday Down South’s Connor O’Gara says Clayton’s postseason tops UConn legend Kemba Walker’s performance in 2011.
Now that Clayton has led the Florida Gators to a national championship (or “chompionship” if you’re Ian Eagle), he’ll turn his focus to getting ready for the 2025 NBA Draft.
It’s possible no one raised his draft stock more than Clayton in March and April. He’s basically gone from a draft afterthought as a guy who didn’t appear in many mock drafts to a guy who has now crept his way into the mid-to-late Round 1 discussion.
So that begs the question — which teams should target the Florida sharpshooter?
Here are our 3 picks for teams where Clayton could step in and make an immediate impact:
1. Orlando Magic
Too often, 4 members of the Magic stand around waiting for Paolo Banchero to do something. He shoulders more of an offensive burden than almost anyone else in the league.
The Magic also have absolutely no 3-point shooting on their squad. Prior to the Orlando-Atlanta game on Tuesday night, the Magic had the worst 3-point percentage in the entire NBA at 31.4%. How bad is that?
Well, the second-worst 3-point shooting team is the Washington Wizards, who make 33.6% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
That’s right — the Magic are the worst 3-point shooting team in the league by a whopping 2.2%. That’s insane.
Clayton knocked down 38.6% of his shots from deep this past season. He’d be an immediate upgrade and could work his way into the Orlando rotation as a rookie.
Orlando currently has 2 first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft — 1 that will likely be just after the lottery and 1 from the Nuggets that might be a little later in Round 1. Both could be good spots for Orlando to take Clayton.
Speaking of Denver…
2. Denver Nuggets
Clayton drew comparisons to Steph Curry all throughout his March Madness run, but I’d look to a different title-winning guard as my player comp for the Florida star. I think there’s a lot of Jamal Murray in his game.
The Nuggets desperately need a better bench. The offense is among the best in the league when Nikola Jokic is on the court. When he’s resting, it is literally the worst offense in the entire NBA.
Clayton is a guy who can also help the Nuggets from beyond the arc. Denver has attempted the fewest 3-pointers in the NBA this year. That’s not a recipe for success in today’s game.
The problem? The Nuggets don’t have either of their picks in the draft this year, trading their Round 1 pick to Orlando and their Round 2 selection to Phoenix. But when you have a talent like Jokic, you need to put players around him. Could they do a little maneuvering this summer to put themselves in position to draft Clayton?
They should at least look into it.
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3. Golden State Warriors
Like I said in the previous section, Clayton has drawn plenty of comparisons to Curry. So why not let him learn behind the legend himself for a couple of years?
Curry only has a couple to a few years remaining in his career. The Warriors need young scoring to help carry the offensive load in 2025-26 and beyond. Clayton fits that bill perfectly.
Pairing him with a guy like Jonathan Kuminga on the second unit would be great for Golden State. Clayton could even play the off-ball guard position more often with Brandin Podziemski bringing the ball up the floor for the Warriors’ backups.
The Warriors traded their first-round pick to Miami in the Jimmy Butler deal. However, they have the No. 41 overall pick. Will Clayton still be there at that point in Round 2? Golden State also has its first-round picks each of the next 4 seasons.
With Curry, Butler and Draymond Green in win-now mode, trading a future pick to get into Round 1 to draft Clayton makes a ton of sense for the Warriors.
We’ll see what happens on Wednesday and Thursday, June 25 and 26, in Brooklyn. How long will Clayton have to wait to hear his name called? And will he end up on a team capable of maximizing his many talents?
Walter Clayton Jr.: 3 teams that should target Florida star in 2025 NBA Draft Saturday Down South.
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