Asa Newell, Walter Clayton Jr. parts of top-rated trades made in 2025 NBA Draft

Many of the picks in the 2025 NBA Draft were involved in some trade whether before it started or while it was ongoing. Of them all, though, two prospects from the Southeastern Conference were part of the best deals made during the first round of the draft.

ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo recapped the NBA Draft in an article this weekend, including their favorite in-draft trade. Givony began with the Atlanta Hawks trading down with the New Orleans Pelicans to take Georgia’s Asa Newell at No. 23. That said, it was about what all else the Hawks got, if not more so, that made it appear to be such a steal by Atlanta.

“A shoutout to the new Hawks front office (led by Onsi Saleh) is in order. The Hawks secured what I project to be the No. 8 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, just for moving down 10 spots in this draft,” Givony wrote. “I had Queen rated 23 spots ahead of Newell on my personal big board, so there’s certainly room to quibble about value. But it’s fair to question the process New Orleans went through, clearly telegraphing its interest in Queen so strongly in the lead-up to the draft that it hurt its negotiating leverage. It led to giving up a potentially high draft pick in 2026, which should have netted New Orleans a lot more than what it did.”

The deal ended up as New Orleans trading up to No. 13 for Maryland’s Derik Queen with Atlanta getting Newell at No. 23 as well as an unprotected first-round pick from one of either the Pelicans or Milwaukee Bucks. The pick has a high value in circles around the league but Newell, who averaged 15.4 points (54.3% FG, 29.2% 3PT), 6.9 rebounds, 1.0 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game for the Bulldogs, has value too as a young and touted talent. ESPN’s Bobby Marks and On3’s James Fletcher have also graded this move by the Hawks well following the draft.

Then, for Woo, his top deal was that of the Utah Jazz to end up with Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr. at No. 18. He thinks they were able to get him, one of the higher-valued guards in the draft, for not much given up in return to the Washington Wizards

“I admittedly was not a huge Clayton proponent during the season, but the more I evaluated him, the more I started to buy his shotmaking talent as an intriguing bet in a draft class that was pretty light on point guards,” wrote Woo. “The Jazz didn’t have to pay much to do it, and while he might have to fight for minutes, there’s a reasonable chance Clayton becomes a valuable contributor.”

Clayton Jr. posted 18.3 points (44.8% FG, 38.6% 3PT on 3.0 makes), 4.2 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game in his final season in college, leading the Gators to the national title while improving his stock along the way. That’s why being able to get him for two picks in this year’s draft and two second-round picks in future drafts was of value to Woo, especially with room for a role for him soon in the Jazz’s backcourt.

We’ll have to see how all of the rest of the assets in these deals end up before these trades can be evaluated in full. Still, in the present, Newell and Clayton Jr. project as solid picks by the Hawks and Jazz with the moves they made in acquiring them last week.