06-12-2025, 02:28 PM
The issues that raise red flags for me re Clayton are these.
At the college level, the level of size and athleticism is much lower. Clayton is small with a short wingspan.
There, he was only able to finish at the rim at 54%. That's a fairly mediocre result, and to me a warning that he's got a good likelihood to have issues in the NBA. If you can't finish shots, then there's no way to keep defenses honest.
That also impacts ability to make assists off the drive (also fairly weak numbers in NCAA) and to draw fouls for easy points (not good rate in NCAA, even more so in light of how much he shot). He's good at shooting the FTs but doesn't draw fouls.
It's what derailed Larkin and made him worthless.
The ability to jump doesn't matter if you can't translate it into getting easy shots off in a way you can make them routinely.
That ^ is why I would be leery. I dont think an ability to shoot, by itself, would overcome those issues. I don’t know if he will be able to be better in those areas in NBA than he has been in NCAA, and that would HAVE TO happen for him to be useful.
At the college level, the level of size and athleticism is much lower. Clayton is small with a short wingspan.
There, he was only able to finish at the rim at 54%. That's a fairly mediocre result, and to me a warning that he's got a good likelihood to have issues in the NBA. If you can't finish shots, then there's no way to keep defenses honest.
That also impacts ability to make assists off the drive (also fairly weak numbers in NCAA) and to draw fouls for easy points (not good rate in NCAA, even more so in light of how much he shot). He's good at shooting the FTs but doesn't draw fouls.
It's what derailed Larkin and made him worthless.
The ability to jump doesn't matter if you can't translate it into getting easy shots off in a way you can make them routinely.
That ^ is why I would be leery. I dont think an ability to shoot, by itself, would overcome those issues. I don’t know if he will be able to be better in those areas in NBA than he has been in NCAA, and that would HAVE TO happen for him to be useful.
![[-]](https://www.mavsboard.com/images/collapse.png)