The Los Angeles Lakers are signing center Christian Koloko to a two-way contract, per Dan Woike of the LA Times. An agreement between the sides was first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
As Woike noted, the Lakers already have three players signed to two-way deals, and three is the league limit. So that means they will have to release someone before the Koloko agreement can become official. Armel Traore, Blake Hinson, or Colin Castleton currently occupy the Lakers’ two-way slots.
Along with the Lakers, the LA Clippers, San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors reportedly expressed an interest.
Koloko, 24, is 7-foot-1 and missed all of last season with a blood clot issue. But agent Calvin Andrews of Klutch Sports said in August that Koloko had a “major breakthrough” with the issue after undergoing surgery. He has since been cleared to resume playing, per Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.
Koloko also held a private workout for multiple teams at the Las Vegas Summer League in July, and has taken part in five-on-five and full-contact sessions this offseason. He is awaiting clearance from the NBA, as Charania noted, but is eligible to sign with anyone immediately.
Koloko appeared in 58 games with the Raptors during the 2022-23 season. He started 19 of those games and compiled averages of 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks for the year. He missed all of last season after being diagnosed with a blood clot.
The Lakers are one of just three NBA teams to have not signed an outside free agent to a standard deal (along with the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers). They will be without injured center Christian Wood until at least mid-November, so adding another big man makes sense.
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