To make room for preseason darling Quincy Olivari to sign a two-way contract, Los Angeles Lakers choose to release center Colin Castleton. It didn’t take long for the big man to find a new home, with Castleton signing 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 played very limited minutes in 16 games for the Lakers last season, but also spent a lot of time in the G League, where he showed off his potential.

Castleton averaged 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals in 12 regular season games with the South Bay Lakers, while shooting 53.8%. He was even better in the G League Showcase, averaging 18.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 blocks on 60.1% shooting.

Castleton is a talented big man with a solid all-around offensive game and good playmaking abilities for his size, along with solid rim protection at the other end of the floor, where he was an SEC All-Defensive Team selection as a senior at Florida.

Castleton became a little more expendable after the Lakers acquired Christian Koloko as a two-way big man and Armel Traore as a two-way frontcourt player. they felt Koloko will soon be cleared by the NBA to continue his career after blood clot problem. Olivari’s preseason play forced the Lakers’ hand because they had to find a way to keep the guard within the organization.

The Grizzlies recently signed another former Lakers two-way center to a standard contract with the addition of Jay Huff, which opens up Castleton’s spot. Their first-round pick, Zach Edey, is the only other true center on the Grizzlies roster as they prefer to pair a big body next to Jaren Jackson Jr..

Christian Koloko begins return to play with South Bay Lakers

Christian Koloko has been officially cleared by the NBA and head coach JJ Redick confirmed it. Return to the NBA will begin with the South Bay Lakers in the G League.

This makes sense because it will give Koloko a chance to slowly ramp up and get into game shape while also regaining his feel for the ballpark. The big man played 58 games as a rookie for the Toronto Raptors in 2023, then left the team due to a blood clot problem.

Coming out of college, he had great potential, especially on the defensive end. In his senior season in college, he averaged 12.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, becoming the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Pac-12 Most Improved Player.

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