Colin Castleton earns standard contract with Raptors after successful 10-day deal in Philly

Colin Castleton’s string of 10-day contracts were so successful that he’s heading back to Toronto.

The 6-foot-11, 255-pound center was impressive in the 76ers’ 124-110 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center. He finished with a career-high 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting and paired that with eight rebounds and a steal during the ninth day of his deal.

Castleton previously tied another career high when he grabbed 14 rebounds in a road victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

“He’s going to play hard,” coach Nick Nurse said. “He’s going to rebound hard, pretty good passer. He’s got a decent feel. I just wasn’t quite sure what scoring ability he had. But he obviously tipped a few tonight. Hit a couple of half hook shots in there, too … So very good.”

However, the Raptors — not the Sixers — will be the team developing him.

Castleton’s 10-day contract with the Sixers was set to expire on Saturday. But because they have four hardship players, the Sixers were unable to re-sign him to a second 10-day deal that would have kept him around for Sunday’s season-finale against the Chicago Bulls.

With that, Castleton agreed to a two-year standard contract with the Raptors on Friday. He’s scheduled to fly to San Antonio at 7 a.m. Saturday to join the Raptors and be available for Sunday’s 3:30 p.m. game against the Spurs at Frost Bank Arena.

This will mark his second stint with Toronto this season. He had two 10-day contracts with the team before signing his deal with the Sixers on April 3. Castleton began the season as a two-way player with the Memphis Grizzlies before being waived on Jan. 10.

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“I’m just getting an opportunity,” he said. “I’m just thankful for it. The two 10-days I had and this 10-day kind of helped build a little bit of film and a little bit of being able to showcase my game. Things I’ve been developing and working on my year with the [Los Angeles Lakers as a two-way player in 2023-24], and then with Memphis.

“I obviously got waived there. That was a let down, but that fueled me a little bit, obviously motivation.”

After being waived, Castleton said he spent a lot of time in the gym. He was determined to make the most of his next opportunities.

The 24-year-old averaged career highs of 6.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in 10 games — including four starts — with the Raptors. Then he averaged 6.0 points and 7.4 rebounds in five games with the Sixers.

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During his time in Philly, it didn’t take long to realize that Castleton plays with an edge. He yelled and pointed toward the Sixers bench after dunks or impactful plays.

“That’s my M.O.,” he said. “That’s something I have to do to make it in this league, to stick. Some people might say undersized or not as big. But I got heart. That’s something a lot of guys don’t know every night, every single minute. And that’s something I’m trying to pride myself on to stick.”