The NBA Draft took place on Thursday night and as expected by most, the night went by without a Gator being selected.
However, mere moments after the final pick of the evening was announced, Colin Castleton inked a two-way deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. While you might think that Castleton not hearing his name called was a disappointment, in fact–the opposite might be true. Given the current structure of the collective bargaining agreement, there is no real advantage to being drafted in the second round, where Castleton might have gone, and going undrafted actually has its advantages. Instead of being stuck with the team that drafted him, Castleton was able to field offers from a number of different teams before taking the deal he felt was best.
Enter the Las Angeles Lakers–a perfect situation for Castleton.
Given that much of the Lakers’ salary cap is tied up with their top three players their bench depth is severely lacking, and a lack of a presence at center was a big part of the reason they lost in the NBA playoffs. Without a lot of salary cap and in need of centers the Lakers’ only real option was to bring in a rookie and play him and it looks like Colin Castleton was exactly what the doctor ordered. While Castleton had several contract offers he ended up picking the Lakers, largely because of the role they offer. This is important for a player on a two-way deal as being with the NBA team as opposed to the G League team for as many games as possible has large financial implications, and of course–Castleton wants to be somewhere where he can see the floor. Not only will he see the floor in Los Angeles, but he’ll have a chance to compete for a championship with a roster focused on winning in the short term.
Castleton won’t be the only Florida Gator headed to the Lakers as they also signed forward Alex Fudge. The deal in place is only an “Exhibit 10” deal–essentially the lowest form of contract a player can receive, and one that has very little guaranteed money. These deals can also be terminated with relative ease at any moment. While it’s not a deal that offers Fudge a ton of security at the moment it gives him an opportunity to compete for a spot and for a bigger deal which is exactly what he’s looking for at this point in his career.
A couple of former Gators will also be reunited as Keyontae Johnson was selected 50th overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder where he’ll play alongside Tre Mann. Johnson just finished an excellent season at Kansas State and he was cleared by the NBA’s medical team, making way for him to have full workouts and a clear chance at his NBA dream.
Lastly in former Florida Gator news, guard Tyree Appleby is yet to sign with a team but is expected to. Following an outstanding season at Wake Forest where he was the ACC Player Of The Year Appleby had a number of workouts with NBA teams and he’ll be expected to get a deal to play in the Summer League and hopefully earn a two-way contract.
With no Florida players selected in the NBA Draft it now makes it 9 out of the last 10 years where no Gators are selected. While there are advantages to being undrafted as opposed to being a late second round pick, the Gators will need to start piling up some draft alumni if they want to market themselves as a destination where players can go to get closer towards their dream. There is an expectation that Riley Kugel, whenever he chooses to go to the draft, will be a first round selection–something the Gators could certainly use for their brand.