Walter Clayton Jr. Heads to Jazz After Wizards' NBA Draft Trade as Fans Hype CBB Champ
One of the biggest stars of the NCAA Tournament heard his name called in the NBA draft on Wednesday.
Per NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Utah Jazz traded pick Nos. 21, 43 and two future second-round picks to the Washington Wizards to move up to No. 18 and take Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., the Most Outstanding Player in this year's NCAA tournament.
Jazz fans are hyped to have landed the NCAA tournament champion.
Clayton started his collegiate career at Iona and quickly turned into a star. After his breakout sophomore year, he transferred to Florida, where he averaged 17.6 points per game as a junior. He earned First-team All-SEC and All-American honors with the Gators last season, putting up 18.3 points per game while shooting 38.6 from deep.
He had an outstanding run in the tournament, averaging 22.3 points while shooting 43.5 percent from three across six games. Clayton posted back-to-back 30-point games against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight and Auburn in the Final Four.
Now Clayton joins a Jazz team looking to be competitive after a handful of years rebuilding. Along with Clayton, Utah took Rutgers star Ace Bailey with the No. 5 pick, and that rookie duo will be one to watch this season.
It's hard to imagine the Jazz will be Finals contenders within the next few years, but it wouldn't be surprising to see them making deep runs in the future behind Clayton and Bailey.
