Karim López and Walter Clayton Jr. are ruled out of the Grizzlies' Salt Lake City Summer League slate due to minor injuries, per a team spokesperson.
Karim López and Walter Clayton Jr. will be sidelined for the Memphis Grizzlies' entire Salt Lake City Summer League slate, a team spokesperson confirmed on Saturday.
López is recovering from a mild left hamstring strain sustained during the pre-draft process, while Clayton Jr. is recovering from a mild right knee sprain. Neither injury is serious, and the team will re-evaluate them before the Las Vegas Summer League starts on July 9.
Memphis will have to wait to see López play alongside Cameron Boozer. Instead, the No. 21 overall pick — the first Mexican-born player ever selected in the first round — will have to wait. López spent the past two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers of Australia's NBL, where he averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists last season while shooting 50.2% from the field. Detroit actually made the pick on draft night before immediately trading his rights to Memphis.
Clayton Jr.'s path to Memphis was distinctive. Selected 18th in the 2025 draft by Utah, he was traded to the Grizzlies in February in the deal that sent Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz. He made a notable contribution in March with 14 assists against Indiana, the most by a Grizzlies rookie that season, and finished his debut season with averages of 6.8 points, 2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists across both teams.
Boozer, the No. 3 overall pick, is still on track to make his professional debut Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Jon M. Huntsman Center — he'll just be doing it without his fellow rookie. With López sidelined, Boozer is the only member of Memphis' three-man 2026 draft class to suit up for Utah. Second-round pick Richie Saunders was already out for the entire Summer League slate as he works back from a torn ACL sustained in February.
While the Grizzlies play out the early portion of Summer League, Cedric Coward, last year's No. 11 pick, remains a limited-minute player for Memphis. It's unlikely he will play many games, as most standout sophomores see limited action, if any. Taylor Hendricks averaged 10.6 points after a trade. Javon Small scored 9.7 points as a rookie, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 10.0 points in his first season—all likely to take on more roles as two regular starters are out.
Memphis resumes play Monday against the Utah Jazz, wraps up the round robin on Tuesday versus the Atlanta Hawks, and then heads to Las Vegas for Summer League on July 9.
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