Colin Castleton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lakers Re-Sign Colin Castleton To Two-Way Contract

July 6th, 2024 at 3:11pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers are bringing back center Colin Castleton on a two-way contract, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). The signing is official, according to the transaction log at NBA.com.

Castleton, 24, joined the Lakers on a two-way contract last July after going undrafted out of Florida. He logged just 59 total minutes in 16 games with Los Angeles at the NBA level, but had a bigger role in the G League, where he appeared in 24 Showcase Cup and regular season games for the South Bay Lakers. The big man averaged 16.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 blocks in 28.8 minutes per game for L.A.’s G League affiliate.

The Lakers issued Castleton a two-way qualifying offer last week, making him a restricted free agent. The move ensured that he couldn’t sign a contract with another team without L.A. having the ability to match it.

With Castleton back under contract, the Lakers now have all three of their two-way contract openings filled, as our tracker shows. Undrafted rookies Blake Hinson and Armel Traore occupy the other two slots.

QO Decisions: Jazz, Okeke, Pacers, Krejci, Celtics, More

June 29th, 2024 at 8:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz declined to issue qualifying offers to guard Kira Lewis or center Micah Potter ahead of Saturday’s deadline, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links). As a result, both players will be unrestricted free agents this summer rather than restricted.

Lewis, the 13th overall pick in the 2020 draft, didn’t establish himself as a rotation player during three-and-a-half seasons in New Orleans. He was traded from the Pelicans to the Pacers to the Raptors to the Jazz during the 2023/24 season, and played a limited role in Utah after arriving from Toronto as a salary-matching piece in the deal involving Kelly Olynyk and Ochai Agbaji. His qualifying offer would have been worth $7.74MM, so it comes as no surprise that it wasn’t tendered.

Potter also played sparingly for the Jazz last season while on a two-way contract, though he has shown some promise in the G League and is part of the U.S. Select Team that will scrimmage with Team USA ahead of the Olympics. His qualifying offer would’ve been for a partially guaranteed minimum-salary deal. According to Jones, a return to Utah is possible, though Potter may receive interest from other teams.

The only Jazz player eligible for restricted free agency who received a qualifying offer is guard Johnny Juzang, Jones reports (Twitter link). Since he has finished each of the past two seasons on a two-way contract with Utah, Juzang wasn’t eligible for another two-way qualifying offer, so his QO is for a partially guaranteed one-year minimum deal.

Here are more qualifying offer updates from around the NBA:

Former Magic first-round pick Chuma Okeke didn’t receive a qualifying offer that would’ve been worth about $7.4MM and will become an unrestricted free agent, per Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. Okeke, 25, has played good defense since entering the league in 2020, but hasn’t contributed much offensively, averaging 6.3 points per game on .383/.318/.789 shooting in 189 career contests (20.3 MPG).
The Pacers have tendered qualifying offers to Obi Toppin ($7.74MM), Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way), and Quenton Jackson (two-way), according to a pair of stories from Tony East of SI.com. All three players will now be restricted free agents.
The Hawks have issued a two-way qualifying offer to guard Vit Krejci, making him a restricted free agent, a league source tells Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Twitter link). Krejci is a candidate to negotiate a standard contract with Atlanta after finishing the 2023/24 season as a rotation player. He could also sign an offer sheet with another team, but the Hawks would have the right to match it.
After declining Neemias Queta‘s team option for 2023/24, the Celtics tendered him a qualifying offer, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). Two-way player Drew Peterson also got a qualifying offer from Boston, but JD Davison didn’t, Smith adds. Queta’s QO will be worth approximately $2.37MM, while Peterson’s will be for another two-way contract.
The following players also received two-way qualifying offers, according to Smith: Lakers big man Colin Castleton (Twitter link), Bulls forward Adama Sanogo (Twitter link), Spurs wing David Duke (Twitter link), and former Warriors guard Nico Mannion (Twitter link), whose RFA rights continue to held by Golden State as he continues his career overseas. San Antonio issued a $2.7MM qualifying offer to big man Sandro Mamukelashvili too, making him a restricted free agent, tweets Smith.
The Clippers opted not to extend qualifying offers to two-way players Xavier Moon and Moussa Diabate, according to Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter links). The door isn’t closed on a new deal for either player, but it sounds like they’ll explore their options as unrestricted free agents, per Murray. The qualifying offers for Moon and Diabate would have been partially guaranteed minimum-salary offers, since they were ineligible for another two-way QO.
Neither Nate Hinton nor Jermaine Samuels received a two-way qualifying offer from the Rockets, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Both players will be unrestricted free agents.

Lakers Notes: James, Vincent, Russell, Davis, Castleton

March 28th, 2024 at 11:53am CST by Dana Gauruder

With the Lakers fighting for the best possible postseason spot — most likely in the play-in tournament — LeBron James says his injured ankle may not always allow him to suit up the rest of the way.

“I got to be smart with it,” he said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “If I’m not healthy, or [anywhere] close to being healthy, then it’s not good for our ballclub anyway. It’s not good for me.”

James posted a triple-double — 23 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists — in Wednesday’s victory over Memphis. He sat out the previous game vs. Milwaukee.

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Barring a last-minute setback, injured guard Gabe Vincent is expected to return to action on Sunday in Brooklyn, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). One of the team’s major offseason acquisitions, Vincent has been out since December 20 after undergoing knee surgery, Charania notes. He has only appeared in five games this season.
Guard D’Angelo Russell believes the Lakers may have more quality players than they know what to do with at times, he told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. “I think we’re much better than our record,” he said. “We match up, adjust, and do all these different things in the flow of the game. The problem is we’ve got 12 different guys that can be out there. When that random group of five is out there, the familiarity with what we’re trying to do is on the fly. A lot of teams have five or six guys that know they’re always going to have an idea who’s going to be in and where’s this and that.”
The team gave Anthony Davis, who is a battling a knee injury, the night off on Wednesday, Khobi Price of the Orange County Register notes. Davis played 52 minutes in the double overtime win against Milwaukee on Tuesday.
Two-way big man Colin Castleton made a brief cameo against Memphis. He had not appeared in an NBA game since Feb. 14 due to a fractured wrist.

Lakers Notes: Castleton, James, Davis, Schedule

February 25th, 2024 at 8:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lakers two-way center Colin Castleton has been diagnosed with a right wrist fracture, the team announced on Sunday. He will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin relays (Twitter link).

Castleton, who has made seven cameo appearances in the NBA this season, signed his two-way deal in July after going undrafted out of Florida. He has spent most of the season with the G League South Bay Lakers.

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The Lakers lost to Phoenix 123-113 on Sunday after falling behind 45-27 in the first quarter. LeBron James lamented the early defensive lapses, according to Khobi Price of the Orange County Register. “Super slow start for us, offensively and defensively,” James said. “You give a team 45 points in a quarter, that’s always going to be a problem. Especially if you aren’t scoring 45 as well.”
Another issue for the Lakers on Sunday, Price writes, was rebounding. Suns center Jusuf Nurkic had 18 points and 22 rebounds, including seven at the offensive end. “He’s a big body. That’s his role on the team: go out and rebound, get them extra possessions. They did a good job with it,” Anthony Davis said.
Sunday’s contest began a stretch in which the Lakers face eight Western Conference contenders in a 10-game span. Coach Darvin Ham stresses the fundamentals in these showdowns, Price writes in a separate story. “We’ve got a bunch of weapons, but they’re useless if we don’t do the little things – sprinting hard when we get the ball in transition, not turning it over, maintaining spacing, making sure we get hits on screens to create an advantage and making the simple, easy play,” he said. “To put it in detail, that’s what I’m talking about.”
James’ gimpy ankle has held up so far since the All-Star break. He arrived late for All-Star weekend to get treatment and received more work on the ankle before the club returned to action. “It wasn’t something that we just came up with out of the blue,” James told Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times and other media members. “We had already clocked this months ago, knowing the schedule.”

The Lakers Players Who Benefited Most From IST Prize Money

December 10th, 2023 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ team salary this season is just above the $165.3MM luxury tax line, far exceeding the $126MM or so on the Pacers‘ books.

However, not a single player on Indiana’s roster is on a minimum-salary contract and only four Pacers players on standard deals are earning less than $5MM this season. By comparison, Los Angeles has eight players with cap hits below that $5MM threshold, including five earning the minimum.

While the $500K bonus for winning the NBA’s in-season tournament (IST) may be a drop in the bucket for maximum-salary stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it serves as a significant pay raise for the players on the lower half of the Lakers’ cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $250K.

Here are the Lakers players for whom the NBA Cup prize money represents more than a 10% raise on their 2023/24 base salary, which is noted in parentheses:

Players receiving a $500K bonus:

Jarred Vanderbilt ($4,640,000)
- Note: Vanderbilt’s contract also includes $58K in likely incentives and $145K in unlikely incentives.
Taurean Prince ($4,516,000)
Jalen Hood-Schifino ($3,695,040)
Christian Wood ($2,709,849)
Jaxson Hayes ($2,165,000)
Cam Reddish ($2,165,000)
Max Christie ($1,719,864)
Maxwell Lewis ($1,119,563)

Players receiving a $250K bonus:

Colin Castleton ($559,872)
Alex Fudge ($559,872)
D’Moi Hodge ($559,872)

The bonuses for Lewis and the Lakers’ two-way players represent a raise of roughly 44.7% on their respective base salaries.

The Lakers’ coaching staff also benefited financially from their in-season tournament success. Head coach Darvin Ham earned the same $500K bonus that his players did, while his assistant coaches divvied up $375K in bonus money.

The Pacers’ players and head coach Rick Carlisle went home with bonuses worth $200K (or $100K for two-way players).

None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Lakers’ team salary for cap purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for Indiana and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the IST.

Lakers Notes: Reaves, Westbrook, Castleton, Gay

July 22nd, 2023 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Austin Reaves went into free agency hoping to re-sign with the Lakers, but he considered both the Rockets and Spurs before the process began. Reaves explained his approach in an appearance on Showtime’s “All the Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson (video link).

“I really wanted to be in L.A. the whole time,” Reaves said. “There were a couple of situations that were close, but like I said, I really wanted to be in L.A. L.A. feels like home to me so that’s really where I wanted to be.”

Reaves was a restricted free agent, and the Lakers were limited to an offer of about $54MM over four years with his Early Bird rights. Because of the Arenas provision, L.A. would have been able to match a larger offer sheet from another team, and both Houston and San Antonio had enough cap room to give Reaves a contract that could have made it a tough decision. Both teams decided to spend their money in other areas, so L.A. was able to keep the 25-year-old shooting guard at a relative bargain price.

There’s more on the Lakers:

In the same interview (video link), Reaves discusses Russell Westbrook, who had a stormy tenure with the team before being traded in February. Westbrook became a controversial figure during his time with the Lakers, but Reaves only had good things to say about him. “He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Reaves said. “As a person, you can’t get much better. … He was always empowering everybody to be better and do better and want more.”
Colin Castleton would love to eventually be promoted from his two-way contract to the 15-man roster, but he told Lakers Nation that he’s more concerned with improving his game and learning as much as possible from his veteran teammates. “I was focused on killing Summer League, and I feel like I did a good job there,” Castleton said. “Now I can focus on getting ready for training camp and put myself in the right mindset so I can have an opportunity later in the year. That’s my mindset.”
In case you missed it, the Lakers are among several teams with interest in veteran forward Rudy Gay, who was waived by the Thunder on Thursday.

Pacific Notes: Saric, Joseph, Duarte, Castleton, U’Ren

July 11th, 2023 at 6:28pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Adding Dario Saric was a high priority for the Warriors and new general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. snared the 6’10” Saric on a still unofficial one-year veteran’s minimum contract. Dunleavy believes Saric is a great fit, giving the club a big man who can space the floor, Dalton Johnson of NBC Sports Bay Area writes.

“We’ve had a lot of success signing guys who probably should make more than the minimum and have been able to come in and help our team,” Dunleavy said.

Golden State may bring in another big man to fill another roster spot or on a two-way, Anthony Slater of The Athletic tweets.

The Warriors also added Cory Joseph on a one-year contract as a backup point guard to Stephen Curry and Chris Paul. Joseph spent the last few seasons with the Pistons.

“He’s a guy who’s going to be willing to come in and do whatever it takes each and every day. Chris and Steph will see a lot of the minutes at point guard, but Cory will always stay ready,” Dunleavy said. “He was excited to sign here and we’re excited to have him.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

Chris Duarte said he was caught off guard when the Pacers traded him to the Kings, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “I was surprised,” Duarte said. “I was at home with the family when I received a call. This is how the business works. … This is a great team, great franchise, great fan base. I’ve seen videos of how loud the fans get, so I love that.” The Kings gave up two second-round picks for Duarte, who battled an ankle injury last season.
Colin Castleton is making a good impression on the Lakers’ Summer League team, Sean Deveney of Heavy.com notes. Castleton, who had 21 points, 14 rebounds and three assists during their second game on Sunday against the Hornets, is on a two-way contract. “I wanted to develop my first year, learn from the best players in the world, which they have, a great organization from the front office to the coaches, everybody there is great,” the big man said.
The Warriors lost an executive to the WNBA. The Phoenix Mercury are hiring Nick U’Ren as their GM, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski writes. U’Ren had been Golden State’s executive director of basketball operations. He’ll begin his GM duties after the Mercury’s season ends.

Lakers Sign Castleton, Hodge To Two-Way Deals

July 3rd, 2023 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers have signed center Colin Castleton and guard D’Moi Hodge to two-way contracts, the team announced in press releases.

Both rookies went undrafted last month and the two-way agreements were previously reported. They’ll also suit up for the Lakers’ Summer League squad.

The 6’11” Castleton started 26 games for Florida last season, averaging 16.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.0 blocks in 31.2 minutes per contest. He was named to the All-SEC First Team. Castleton had a five-year college career at Florida and Michigan.

Hodge played his final collegiate season at Missouri, where he averaged 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.6 steals in 29.1 minutes per game. Prior to last season, Hodge played at Cleveland State(2020-22) and the State College of Florida (2018-20).

Under the new CBA, two-way contracts are worth half the rookie minimum, which comes out to $559,782 for each player. They can be partially guaranteed for up to $75K at the time of their signing.

Lakers Signing Castleton, Hodge To Two-Way Deals, Fudge To Exhibit 10 Contract

June 23rd, 2023 at 12:23am CST by Arthur Hill

Florida center Colin Castleton and Missouri guard D’Moi Hodge will join the Lakers on two-way contracts, according to tweets from Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times.

Castleton, 23, was a first-team All-SEC selection this season after averaging 16.0 points and 7.7 rebounds as a fifth-year senior. His season ended early after suffering a broken hand in mid-February.

Hodge, 24, was a 2023 finalist for national Defensive Player of the Year honors. Also a fifth-year senior, he averaged 14.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game in his only season with the Tigers.

In addition, L.A. will sign Florida forward Alex Fudge to an Exhibit 10 contract, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN. The 20-year-old forward posted 5.8 PPG and 4.5 RPG as a sophomore.

Pacific Notes: Sabonis, Beal, Murray, Lakers’ Workout, Hachimura

June 19th, 2023 at 9:11pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kings big man Domantas Sabonis is unlikely to play in the FIBA World Cup, according to Lithuanian national team head coach Kazys Maksvytis. “We all hope that Domantas will play,” Maksvytis said in the Zalgiris on Air podcast, as relayed by BasketNews.com. “However, we all know the valid reasons [that could prevent him from playing]. If I had to say on his chances today, I’d say those chances are less than 50 percent.”

Sabonis said earlier this month he may need surgery on his right thumb. The Kings and Sabonis could also pursue an extension this offseason.

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The Kings were among the teams to inquire about a trade for Wizards wing Bradley Beal but — not surprisingly — Sacramento balked when Washington asked about last year’s lottery pick, Keegan Murray, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. The Wizards were interested in drafting Murray and tried to move up from the No. 10 pick to select the versatile forward, Aldridge adds.
Gonzaga big man Drew Timme was among the draft prospects who worked out for the Lakers on Monday, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets. Damion Baugh (TCU), Alex Fudge (Florida), Colin Castleton (Florida), Sincere Carry (Kent State) and Hunter Tyson (Clemson) joined Timme at the workout.
Rui Hachimura‘s market value is projected to be in the $12-18MM starting range, multiple executives told Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. While a majority of teams won’t have more than the $12.2MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception to offer Hachimura, at least seven teams project to have the cap room to put together a substantial offer sheet. Since Hachimura is a restricted free agent, the Lakers can match any offer.