The NBA is quiet for now -- except for the beginning of Eurobasket this week -- but things will pick up very soon.
Labor Day is typically the time when players begin working their way back to their home markets to begin preparing for the season. They will work out with each other and get in pick-up runs and self-run mini-camps with the season on the horizon.
The Orlando Magic open their training camp Sept. 30. That is not too far away now.
It is also the time that teams finish filling out their training camp rosters. Teams are allowed to carry up to 20 players in the offseason. And teams begin signing Exhibit 10 players to boost their training camp rosters -- and help their G-League team fill out its new roster.
The Magic have worked with empty roster spots all summer. The team is not likely to fill the final regular roster spot because it would put the team over the first apron hard cap.
Orlando still has a two-way spot to play with. The team waived Ethan Thompson, who has since signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Miami Heat. Orlando added young guard Jamal Cain and big man Orlando Robinson on two two-way contracts.
The team has now started to add players on Exhibit 10 contracts.
The Magic will reportedly add sharpshooter Lester Quiñones to the roster. He averaged 8.6 points per game in nine appearances with the New Orleans Pelicans to end last season and 21.3 points per game with the Birmingham Squadron.
They will also add center Colin Castleton, according to reports from Mike Scotto of HoopsHype and Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (not to mention an update to the Orlando Magic's official Web site).
There will be more additions to the team leading up to training camp -- the roster stands at 18 with room for two more. And the exhibit 10 contracts will surely flip throughout camp too as the Magic work to fill out their G-League roster.
The signing of Castleton to an Exhibit 10 deserved special attention.
Magic are set at center
Colin Castleton is a 6-foot-11 center and former second-round pick by the Los Angeles Lakers. He grew up in Florida, having been born in South Florida, and he went to high school in Daytona Beach. He played his college basketball at Michigan before transferring to Florida.
There is certainly some sentimentality for having Castleton in the system.
The Osceola Magic acquired Castleton last year, and he was a strong player for them, averaging 17.4 points and 10.6 rebounds per game in 17 games in Osceola. He was quickly signed to a 10-day contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors, finishing the season in Toronto.
Casleton seemed like a good candidate to get a two-way contract last year. He is clearly knocking on the door and played well with both the Sixers and Raptors, averaging 6.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in five games with the Sixers and 7.2 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in 11 games with the Raptors.
That he is playing for the Magic, a team already with a big on a two-way contract, was a seemingly puzzling decision. The opportunities for Castleton to play with the Magic are small.
The one thing Orlando does not need right now is a center. The team has an embarrassment of riches at that spot. Or relative riches.
Wendell Carter is established as the starting center. And while fans may have questions about his long-term prospects, the Magic are very comfortable with his defense and everything he can do on that end.
Moe Wagner is a solid scorer off the bench. The Magic are eager to see him return from his torn ACL later this year. Goga Bitadze is a great fill-in starter and a luxury for a Magic team that is well over the tax.
The team added Orlando Robinson as an emergency center on a two-way contract.
So where is Castleton supposed to fit?
Castleton is more insurance
While the Orlando Magic seemingly have an embarrassment of riches at the center position, they also need some insurance.
Moe Wagner is not going to be available until December most likely. The Magic are likely to burn a lot of Orlando Robinson's two-way contract early in the season to have a third center available in case there is an injury to Wendell Carter or Goga Bitadze -- both players who have missed time in their careers.
Colin Castleton then is even more insurance. He is a dependable starting center for the Osceola Magic to help them remain competitive while their two-way player is with the main roster.
Castleton, after all, reserves the ability to sign with any team in the league, even on an Exhibit 10 contract. That contract ends once camp concludes and he moves to Osceola.
That is what happened last year when Castleton jumped to the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors. It was still puzzling why Osceola moved to acquire Castleton's G-League rights and then Orlando did not use its open two-way spot to solidify the center position with Wagner out for the year.
Castleton is likely to spend a good chunk of the year in the G-League again. He is likely to be one of the first players teams reach out to when 10-day contracts become available in January or to fill roster spots after the trade deadline.
The one place he may not find much of a home is with the Orlando Magic. The team is set at center. And Castleton is merely extra insurance and a starting center for Osceola if its two-way center is with the main roster for most of the season.