Cole Swider has agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Swider played on a two-way contract with the Heat last season. He became an unrestricted free agent when Miami withdrew its two-way qualifying offer.
Despite that, Swider was a member of the Heat’s Summer League squad. The 6’9” forward played well in the Heat’s run to a Las Vegas title, averaging 13.5 points while shooting 49.1% on 3-point attempts.
The Heat filled their two-way slots with three other players and don’t want to add another player to the official roster during the offseason due to second tax apron restrictions.
Swider, who played seven games with the Lakers in 2022/23, saw action in 18 Heat games last season.
His stints were mostly cameos but he saw extensive action in the G League. He impressed with his long-distance marksmanship, averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists on .485/.471/.846 shooting in 21 Showcase Cup and regular season contests for the Sioux Falls Skyforce (38.3 MPG).
The addition of Swider will give the Pacers 18 players on the roster, including 16 on standard contracts, though four of those deals are partially or non-guaranteed. They have two players signed to two-way deals.
Additionally, the Pacers have an unsigned draft pick in Enrique Freeman as well as restricted free agent Oscar Tshiebwe, who was on a two-way deal last season. Josiah-Jordan James and Keisei Tominaga are also expected to sign Exhibit 10 contracts.
We kept this dude over Drew Peterson………..