Last offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers used one of their two-way contracts on former Syracuse sharpshooter Cole Swider. For a team that struggled with their 3-point shooting, trying to develop Swider made a lot of sense and he even made a couple of appearances during the regular season.
The Lakers originally signed Swider to a two-year two-way contract and he had a solid showing in Summer League this offseason as well, averaging 15.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in Las Vegas while knocking down 42.5% from 3-point range. But the Lakers chose to release him afterwards, giving their now open two-way contract to Alex Fudge.
Swider would go on to sign a deal with the Miami Heat and now details on the contract have emerged as Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports that it is an Exhibit 10 deal the former Laker has agreed to:
Cole Swider agreed to sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Heat, according to a source. He'll have a chance to compete for a two-way contract or possibly a spot on the 15-man roster in camp.
— Anthony Chiang (@Anthony_Chiang) August 6, 2023
An Exhibit 10 contract is a one-year minimum deal that can be converted to a two-way contract as long as it is done before the season. It also comes with a bonus that incentivizes the player to remain on the team’s G League affiliate should he be released.
For Swider, this is an opportunity to either make the roster or earn another two-way deal with the Heat. Miami currently has 13 players under contract and has an open two-way spot as well. And with the potential Damian Lillard trade still looming, some more roster spots could open up and the league always has a need for shooting.
For the Lakers, they simply felt it was time to move on from Swider and that their two-way would be better served elsewhere. Colin Castleton and D’Moi Hodge were both extremely impressive during Summer League and Fudge’s athleticism and defensive potential was enough for the Lakers to feel he is worth trying to develop.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves enjoying learning from Team USA teammates
As far as the current Lakers go, one who will have much higher expectations this coming year is guard Austin Reaves, especially as he will be coming off a stint as a member of Team USA for the FIBA World Cup.
And Reaves is enjoying getting to know and learn from his international teammates, saying how he didn’t play much AAU growing up so he doesn’t know most of these guys. The Lakers guard added that the group is already gelling well and is working to really become one unit.
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