There was a lot of talk about the Los Angeles Lakers trading their draft picks for win-now players, although none of that came to fruition on the night of the 2023 NBA Draft.
The Lakers owned the 17th pick in the first round, which they used to select Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino. They also had the 40th pick in the second round after a trade with the Indiana Pacers early in the day, and they used that to take Pepperdine wing Maxwell Lewis.
Adding two young prospects was a great haul for the Lakers and makes for a promising future. Both of those guys will likely play on their Summer League team alongside last year’s second-round pick Max Christie.
The Lakers adding young talent to the organization didn’t stop there though as they got right to work on undrafted free agents, reportedly signing Florida center Colin Castleton to a two-way contract, per Dan Woike of the L.A. Times:
Lakers are signing Florida C Colin Castleton to a two-way contract, sources tell @latimes.
— Dan Woike (@DanWoikeSports) June 23, 2023
Castleton is a 6’11”, 230-pound big man that played five college seasons, starting at Michigan for two years before finishing at Florida for his last three.
He provides a tremendous paint presence on both ends of the floor, although he does not shoot at all. In his last season at Florida, he averaged 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.0 blocks in 31.2 minutes per game.
Size is a big need for the Lakers with their current roster construction, and they added one of college basketball’s most experienced players in Castleton.
Swider already on two-way contract
The NBA made a change to the new CBA, so teams are now allowed to give out three two-way contracts as opposed to two.
Only two of those will be new players for the Lakers, however, as they signed Cole Swider to a two-year, two-way contract at this time last year with the season second being in 2023-24.
In addition to Castleton, the Lakers also reportedly are adding Missouri guard D’Moi Hodge to a two-way contract as an undrafted free agent as well.
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