The Los Angeles Lakers have signed center Rafael Castro to an Exhibit 10 contract and waived William Kyle III in a corresponding roster move, the team officially announced.
Castro, a 6-foot-10, 224-pound big man, joins Los Angeles after already spending time with two NBA organizations since going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Shortly after the draft, Castro signed a two-way contract with the Milwaukee Bucks and later played for their Summer League team.
Milwaukee waived him in August before he signed another two-way deal with the Houston Rockets on Aug. 26. Houston waived Castro on Oct. 1, clearing the way for his move to Los Angeles.
The 23-year-old spent his final two college seasons at George Washington after beginning his career at Providence.
In 2025-26, he started all 29 games and averaged 15.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.7 blocks in 27.3 minutes while shooting 62.7% from the field.
Castro was a two-time Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team selection and a finalist for the 2025-26 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Play
Lakers waive William Kyle III
To make room for Castro, the Lakers waived Kyle less than two weeks after signing him to an Exhibit 10 deal on Sept. 27.
Kyle went undrafted in 2026 after finishing his college career at Syracuse, where he started all 32 games as a senior and averaged 8.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.0 steal, and 2.5 blocks while shooting 66.1% from the field.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound big man had previously played at South Dakota State and UCLA.
Kyle had already been familiar with the Lakers organization before training camp, appearing for Los Angeles in Summer League and averaging 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds across seven games between the California Classic and Las Vegas.
He also appeared briefly in the Lakers' preseason game against the Sacramento Kings, playing three minutes and finishing with 2 points and 1 block before his release.