Lakers Injury Report: Yet Another LA Role Player Incurs Long-Term Ailment

They're running out of bodies!

Your Los Angeles Lakers' best players (Darvin Ham's preferred starting five of point guard D'Angelo Russell, shooting guard Austin Reaves, small forward LeBron James, power forward Rui Hachimura and center Anthony Davis) may all be relatively healthy heading into the 2023-24 season's home stretch, but few others are.

Now, another Lakers role player (sort of) is down for the count with another long-term injury.

Per Dave McMenamin of ESPN, two-way center Colin Castleton fractured his right wrist. Los Angeles is set to reassess Castleton's health in two weeks.

To be fair, the 6'11" Castleton has appeared in limited minutes across a scant seven contests for the club since signing his two-way contract when he went undrafted out of Florida this past summer. He holds averages of 2.6 points and 1.3 boards in those seven games. He's had a bigger role on LA's NBAGL affiliate squad, the South Bay Lakers. Across 12 contests with South Bay (12 starts), the 23-year-old has been averaging 14.1 points on 53.8% field goal shooting, 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and one steals a night. Castleton was an All-SEC First Teamer during his final collegiate season in 2022-23, when he averaged 16 points, 7.7 boards, three blocks and 2.7 dimes for the Gators.

But the Lakers might have actually needed his services, given that only nine players, across the team's standard and two-way rosters, were healthy enough to play in their 123-113 loss to the Phoenix Suns this afternoon.