While the Lakers couldn’t pull off a draft day trade to upgrade their roster, Jesse and Joey Buss and their scouting department may have found exactly what they needed in undrafted gems Colin Castleton and D’moi Hodge.
At 23 and 24-years old with five years of college basketball, Castleton and Hodge give the Lakers a gifted young center who can rebound and protect the rim and a volume 3-point shooter who’s an elite perimeter defender. Castleton’s size and rim protection and Hodge’s volume 3-point shooting and perimeter defense are exactly what the Lakers desperately needed but didn’t get from backup center Mo Bamba or shooting guard Malik Beasley.
The Lakers went into draft day hoping to leverage the #17 pick in the first round and Malik Beasley’s and Mo Bamba’s expiring contracts to upgrade their starting lineup “to put a championship-level product on the court.” While the hoped for trade never happened, Jesse and Joey were able to find a young undrafted ready-to-play rim protector to backup Anthony Davis and volume 3-point shooter and elite defender to backup Austin Reaves.
So where does that leave the Lakers as they get ready for free agency? Hood-Schifino and Lewis are now trading chips, Lakers are still focused on Turner and Hield, and Castleton and Hodge could break into rotation.
Hood-Schifino and Lewis Are Now Trading Chips
While the Lakers could end up keeping Jalen Hood-Schifino and Maxwell Lewis, there’s a good chance one or both of them will be packaged along with Malik Beasley’s and Mo Bamba’s expiring contracts in a mega trade.
There’s some sentiment that the Lakers were trying to have their cake and eat it too by spending their 17th and 40th pick in the draft on two talented young players who are great for the future but not any help for the present. The truth is the Lakers simply picked players who not only fit their needs but were solid values they could flip. Hood-Schifino at #17 should have been a lottery pick and Lewis at #40 should have been a first round pick.
As Rob Pelinka publicly announced, the Lakers’ goal this offseason is to upgrade the team’s roster to be championship caliber. All that’s changed is the Lakers will now have two additional young players as trading chips. They can still offer either their 2029 or after June 30th their 2030 first round draft pick. Their most likely trade partners and targets are still the Pacers’ Turner and Hield and the Nets’ Royce O’Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith.
While the Lakers were disappointed not to be able to find an acceptable draft day trade to upgrade their roster, they’re still committed to trading Beasley and Bamba along with newly drafted Hood-Schifino and Lewis.
Lakers Still Focused On Turner And Hield
The Los Angeles Lakers desperately need greater positional size and better 3-point shooting to transform themselves from a conference finals finisher to a legitimate contender to win the franchise’s 18th NBA championship.
That’s why it’s not a coincidence that the Lakers traded for Mo Bamba and Malik Beasley, signed Colin Castleton and D’moi Hodge as two-way players, or could be seeking to trade for the Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield. Lack of front court size and efficient 3-point shooting were why the Lakers championship run failed when they ran into the Denver Nuggets. Trading for the Pacers’ Myles Turner and Buddy Hield is the logical solution.
Before the start of training camp, the Lakers backed out of a proposed Turner and Hield trade at the last minute because they were uncertain whether the trade would make them a legitimate championship contender. After the major upgrades Pelinka engineered before the trade deadline, there’s no question that adding Turner and Hield today would likely make the Lakers the preseason favorites to win their 18th NBA championship.
The Lakers goal this week and next should be to trade Mo Bamba, Malik Beasley, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Max Lewis, and their 2029 top-5 protected first round pick to the Indiana Pacers for Myles Turner and Buddy Hield.
Castleton and Hodge Could Break Into Rotation
While they’ll start out as undrafted two-way players, Colin Castleton and D’moi Hodge will both have an opportunity to follow Austin Reaves path and earn rotation minutes and convert two-ways to standard contracts.
Colin Castleton is an undrafted 24-year old, 6′ 11″, 240 lb center with a 7′ 3″ wingspan from the University of Florida who has five years of college basketball experience and looks ready to contribute as a backup center. Colin is has a diverse skill set for a center. An elite defender, he averaged 3.0 blocks and 0.9 steals per game. He has a great handle, can go coast-to-coast with rebounds, and averaged 2.7 assists per game as a playmaker.
Like Malik Beasley and Buddy Hield, D’moi Hodge is a high volume, high percentage 3-point shooter who shot 40.1% on 7.0 3PA per game last season. What sets Hodge apart is he is also an elite perimeter defender. Last season, D’moi averaged 2.6 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. The problem the Lakers always face when they get elite shooters is whether they can play good enough defense to stay on the floor. D’moi Hodge can.
While Castleton and Hodge are older and have less upside than Hood-Schifino and Lewis, they both also have more mature games and should be ready to make a positive contribute as a rotation player this coming season.