Subscribe
Follow Us
According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the Los Angeles Lakers are shuffling the deck with their two-way contracts and will be signing Quincy Olivari to a deal. Colin Castleton will be waived in order to make room for Olivari, according to sources.
As it stood, the Lakers had Castleton, Christian Koloko and Armel Traore signed to two-way contracts. After much internal deliberation, the Lakers decided to stick with Koloko over Castleton, even though there is growing concern he might not be cleared by the NBA to return to the league after having to step away with a blood clotting issue.
Castleton played very well for the Lakers in the G-League last year, but hasn't taken the strides forward they were hoping in NBA play. He will immediately have several teams interested in bringing him in on a two-way deal, according to league sources.
Olivari has been one of the best stories of the preseason, and the Lakers have been impressed by his work ethic and approach to the game. He will compete with Jalen Hood-Schifino and Bronny James in a now crowded backcourt for the South Bay Lakers, but of the three, he has cleared stood out in his NBA minutes this last month.
In terms of minutes with the main group, Olivari would have to seriously wow people to gain a foothold in a rotation that already has Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell, Gabe Vincent, Max Christie and Dalton Knecht. But sources are adamant that the Lakers are looking forward to the competition between Olivari, Hood-Schifino and James for the lion's share of minutes at point with the South Bay Lakers.
Lakers betting on Christian Koloko to get clearance to play
Between Koloko and Castleton, the Lakers are essentially betting that the former will be cleared for basketball activities in short order. In the opportunities they've had to see him, they been very impressed by his motor and athleticism. He did start in 19 games during the 2022-23 season for the Toronto Raptors before having to sit out the '23-24 season with those blood clot issues.
At his media day press conference, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters with plenty of confidence that it was only a matter of time before Koloko would get cleared. In order to bring him in, the Lakers waived Blake Hinson (now in the Golden State Warriors organization). It's been almost a month since and there isn't much clarity on that situation, though clearly the Lakers have some confidence it will be sorted out before their season begins on Tuesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Lakers do have some time as it pertains to the start of the G-League season, for what it's worth. The South Bay Lakers don't play their first game until Nov. 9, another couple weeks after the start of the NBA season.
Kudos to Olivari, though. He has made the most out of his opportunity this preseason, either playing alongside or in front of some of his personal favorite players. Now, the pursuit of his dream to do so more consistently gets extended in the Lakers organization.
