In order to make room to sign preseason darling Quincy Olivari to a two-way contract, the Los Angeles Lakers chose to release center Colin Castleton. It didn’t take too long for the big man to find a new home as Castleton signed a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Lakers signed Castleton to a two-way contract in the summer of 2023 after he went undrafted. He appeared in 16 games for the Lakers last season in very limited minutes, but also spent a lot of time in the G League where he showcased his potential.
In 12 regular season games with the South Bay Lakers, Castleton averaged 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals while shooting 53.8% from the field. He was even better during the G League Showcase where he averaged an outstanding 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 blocks on 60.1% shooting.
Castleton is a skilled big man with a solid all-around offensive game and good playmaking abilities for his size along with solid rim protection on the other end of the court, being an SEC All-Defensive Team selection as a senior at Florida.
With the Lakers bringing on Christian Koloko as another two-way big, and another front court player in Armel Traore also on a two-way, Castleton became a bit more expendable. They felt Koloko would soon be cleared by the NBA to resume his career after a blood clot issue. The play of Olivari in the preseason ultimately forced the Lakers hand as they had to find a way to keep the guard within the organization.
The Grizzlies recently converted another former Lakers two-way center into a standard contract with Jay Huff joining their roster, which opened up the spot that Castleton has taken. Their first-round pick Zach Edey is the only other true center on the Grizzlies roster as they prefer to pair a big body alongside Jaren Jackson Jr.
Christian Koloko to begin return-to-play process with South Bay Lakers
Christian Koloko has officially been cleared by the NBA and head coach JJ Redick confirmed that his process to return to the NBA will begin in the G League with the South Bay Lakers.
This makes sense as it will give Koloko a chance to slowly ramp up and get into game shape while also just getting his feel back on the basketball court. The big man appeared in 58 games as a rookie with the Toronto Raptors in 2023 before being shut down due to that blood clot issue.
He had great potential coming out of college, particularly on the defensive end. He was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Pac-12 Most Improved Player in his final collegiate season where he averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks.
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