The Los Angeles Lakers have been able to add some young talent to the organization in recent days, selecting both Dalton Knecht and Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft.
L.A. also added a pair of undrafted free agents on two-way contracts, signing Armel Traore and Blake Hinson, shortly after the draft. Teams are allowed to have three players on two-way contracts now, which means the Lakers still have one more available.
They could be saving that for Colin Castleton, however, as Keith Smith of Spotrac is reporting that last year’s two-way center has been tendered a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent:
The Los Angeles Lakers tendered a two-way qualifying offer to Colin Castleton, a league source told @spotrac.
He's now a restricted free agent.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 30, 2024
Castleton originally signed with the Lakers on a two-way deal as an undrafted free a year ago. He spent the majority of his rookie year in the G League.
With Castleton being a restricted free agent, the Lakers have the ability to match any offersheet he signs, whether that be a two-way or standard NBA contract. L.A. may not have the roster spots to match an NBA offer, but they potentially would want him back on another two-way deal.
To his part, Castleton recently expressed a desire to come back to the Lakers and is hoping to play for them in Summer League, beginning next week.
Lakers’ Colin Castleton working on 3-point shot?
When Colin Castleton spoke with Lakers Nation about what he has been working on this offseason, he specifically mentioned looking to improve his shooting from outside after not being a threat from beyond the arc so far in his career.
“Yeah, every day. That’s the focal point this summer, that’s the No. 1 thing,” Castleton said. “I feel like I’ve gotten more shots up than I have my whole life, to be honest. Just every single day, working on my shot in the gym with multiple coaches and some of the guys in the front office helping me as well.
“So, just being able to focus on that going into Summer League cause it’s something that we want to do and I want to be able to do in Summer League to be able to showcase that ability that I worked on throughout the whole summer. So, that’s the No. 1 focal point this summer, that and my defense, just little tendencies. But for the most part, that’s the biggest focus I have this whole entire summer.”
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