Over the years, the Los Angeles Lakers have done an excellent job at developing players on two-way contracts and turning them into rotation players. One promising player they had on a two-way deal this past season is center Colin Castleton.
The big man out of Florida impressed during Summer League last year and spent time back and forth between the main Lakers roster and the South Bay Lakers of the G League. Of course his minutes on the main roster were limited, but he did well in the G League averaging 14.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks.
And Castleton is looking to build off of his success last season and that begins with Summer League where he plans on suiting up for the Lakers.
“Yeah, for sure, definitely. That’s my goal, that’s my plan, I want to play with the Lakers,” Castleton said in an interview with Lakers Nation’s Trevor Lane and Sean Davis. “Just going with the flow right now, seeing how everything falls out. Just working out every day, focusing on that. That’s my plan right now, being able to play with the Lakers is something that I plan on doing so we’ll see what happens with that.”
Castleton has an intriguing skillset as a big man. He is a good finisher down low and has shown the ability to be a good rebounder and rim protector, while also flashing the ability to create for others offensively as well. While his future in the organization is up in the air going into the summer, he is hopeful to remain in L.A. to continue working on his game.
“Just going into Summer League that’s my mindset. I’m not really focused on anything else,” Castleton added. “Kind of just finished up the year, got right back out to LA, and my mindset right now is just getting better, like I said focusing on my shooting. I haven’t really even thought of anything outside of getting better within my game.
“Focusing on my body and the weight room just as much as I am on my shooting. Just to get my weight up a little bit more. I’ve been working on little bit of things core wise, a little bit upper body, but a lot of lower body as well. Just focusing on my strength a little bit more and then just the shooting part. But as far as next year or my contract or what’s gonna happen, I have no idea so just going in with a positive mindset.”
The role of the big man in today’s NBA is completely different than in the past and Castleton being able to stretch the floor would go a long way towards landing him a standard NBA deal. If he shows he can bang down low with real NBA bigs while becoming a reliable shooter, the Lakers could have the big man they’re looking for already in the building.
Lakers eyeing offseason center options closely
And adding another big man looks to be something the Lakers plan on doing this offseason. A recent report noted the franchise is closely monitoring center options this summer both through the draft and free agency.
The team has already worked out Purdue big man Zach Edey and there are other players they could add with the 17th pick. Additionally players like Jonas Valanciunas and Goga Bitadze will be available in free agency.
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