While the Los Angeles Lakers organization is historical and settles for nothing less than championships, it is always intriguing to evaluate the young talent that comes onto the team from year to year. This year is no exception with some new faces on two-way contracts that have shown some promise in small sample sizes during Summer League.
In a rare case, center Colin Castleton and forward Alex Fudge are already familiar with one another’s game after playing together at Florida. Whether the two share the floor in the G League or NBA, that built-in chemistry can go a long way in the development process.
Castleton shares about his on-court experience with Fudge throughout college, via South Bay Lakers:
“A lot of teams would double team me and every time I took my first dribble, Alex knew to always cut. So, when I was playing at Florida with him, he just cut backdoor. Whenever I got in trouble or did something stupid, I knew Alex was going to be in a certain spot. I would always hit him for like a dunk or a little layup. That would probably be our best, knowing we have a good connection and helping it bringing it to this next level is kind of surreal, we talk about it all the time.”
Fudge seemed to share similar thoughts on playing off of Castleton with his passing ability and finding him on the floor:
“He’s just a great passer, I mean, I know he’s going to get it to me. Cause I knew how to play off of Colin that’s one thing I learned playing off other people, cutting. My dunks get the crowd going, Colin’s passes just looks so nice, it’s just a great play. We both came through this process, we both came from the same school, now playing for the same team, it’s a blessing, like I said and an opportunity we’re going to take advantage of.”
Castleton and Fudge both share positive words about each other’s play-styles, but it is clear that they feed off of one another. There were some flashes in Summer League where Castleton would find Fudge for an electric dunk to get the crowd going.
The former Florida Gators have accomplished their dreams of getting to the NBA, and now they get a chance to develop together in the Lakers’ system and hopefully become impactful pieces in the future.
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