Walter Clayton Jr. signing just made the Mavericks' young core even more dangerous

The Dallas Mavericks' roster underwent a full makeover this offseason, and after signing Walter Clayton Jr. on Wednesday, the roster is fully set. Clayton will give the Mavericks' backcourt more shooting, shot creation, and playmaking, all things that Dallas needs, and his addition to Dallas' young core should have Mavs fans extremely excited.

The Mavericks' roster looks nothing like last year's

They desperately needed to put more young players around Cooper Flagg as he enters his second season, and Dallas has done exactly that. A year ago on opening night, the Mavericks only had two former first-round picks from the previous four drafts — Flagg and Dereck Lively II.

They were still deep within Nico Harrison's win-now vision that was destined to fail from the start, but Masai Ujiri's focus on building a future contender around Coop is a needed breath of fresh air after a 56-loss season.

Dallas is loaded with former first-round picks

After signing Clayton, Dallas now has eight former first-round picks from the last four drafts. Clayton was drafted with the No. 18 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after helping lead the Florida Gators to the National Championship, and he joins Cooper Flagg as the two former first-round picks on the roster from 2025.

Dallas has Morez Johnson Jr. and Sergio De Larrea from this summer's draft, Zaccharie Risacher from 2024, and Jett Howard, Dereck Lively II, and Marcus Sasser from 2023.

Mavericks' young core is ready to break out

The Mavericks' young core was already looking promising before signing Clayton, and the former Gator's addition to the group could prove to be massive — especially if he plays himself into a standard deal. Dallas still has to prove that these young players can fit together, but they have something to build on, and growth is extremely important.

Flagg is one of the best young players in the NBA. Johnson looks like he's going to be extremely impactful on defense and the glass. De Larrea is a strong shooter and playmaker as a 6-foot-6 point guard. Risacher has more upside than he gets credit for. Lively is one of the best young defensive anchors in the league when he's healthy, and Sasser has some untapped potential that he didn't get to fully display in Detroit.

Why Clayton fits what Dallas needs in the backcourt

Ujiri already had a good foundation of young players in Dallas, and Clayton was the cherry on top. Their roster needed more balance, as De Larrea and Sasser were originally the only two point guards behind Kyrie Irving. This is nowhere near enough guard depth, especially after watching how much the Mavericks struggled without Irving last season, and Clayton is an underrated pickup that could pay dividends quickly.

While he shouldn't be expected to play every night, as he is a two-way player and can only be active for 50 games, he is going to be needed during games when Kyrie sits. De Larrea and Sasser as the only two point guards in these games would've been a huge gamble, and Clayton can provide the offense with a different look that they don't provide.

De Larrea is more of a playmaker who doesn't create for himself much while Sasser is known for thriving as a scorer and off-ball shooter. Clayton will give the Mavs a good blend of both players. He can playmake and run the offense when needed, but he's also a strong shooter off the catch and can create his own shot. Clayton has a good floater and ball-handling skills, and if he looks anything like he did at Florida, the Mavs pulled off a huge steal by signing him to a two-way contract.

Clayton was one of the best players in college basketball during the 2024-25 season, and he was a First Team All-American alongside Flagg. His shot-making, especially in big moments, made him must-watch television while at Florida, and now he has the chance to prove that he can do some of the same things in the NBA upon getting a fresh start in Dallas.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow