Miami Heat and Cole Swider agree to an Exhibit 10 deal.

 

Former Los Angeles Lakers wing Cole Swider has signed a deal with the Miami Heat, NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported Sunday afternoon. According to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald, Swider agreed to an Exhibit 10 contract, meaning he’ll have an opportunity to compete for a two-way or standard contract in training camp.

The Heat currently have two 15-man roster spots and one two-way contract spot available for grabs.

Chiang subsequently noted that a team without 14 standard contracts on its roster cannot sign players to Exhibit 10 deals, stating that’s essentially a “verbal commitment” between the two sides, for now.

Swider played in just seven games with the Lakers as a rookie last season, totaling nine points, seven rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes, converting three of his eight 3-point attempts. He was released by the organization in late July.

Swider could essentially fill in as the Max Strus replacement with greater size, showcasing both stationary- and movement-shooting capabilities from distance while flashing some off-the-dribble chops at 6-foot-9.

In 27 games with the South Bay Lakers in the G-League last season, he averaged 17.1 points and 4.8 rebounds, shooting 50.6 percent, including 43.6 percent from 3-point range and 83.8 percent from the free-throw line.

He sported a 64.5 effective field goal percentage with a 68.5 true-shooting percentage—both well above average—while hoisting nearly 64 percent of his shot attempts from 3-point range. For perspective, only five Heat players featured a 3-point rate of at least 60.0 percent or greater:

 

Gabe Vincent — 61.7%

Kyle Lowry — 63.9%

Max Strus — 71.3%

Kevin Love — 72.7%

Duncan Robinson — 81.0%

The 24-year-old averaged 15.2 points on 45.6/42.5/87.5 shooting splits in five NBA 2K24 Summer League games in Las Vegas. Among those who attempted at least 30 triples, his 17 3-point makes were the seventh-most while his 42.5 3-point percentage was the fifth-highest.

Swider’s 3-point track record dates back to college, more so than Strus, who was sign-and-traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason for four years, $62.3 million

In four collegiate seasons at Villanova and Syracuse, Swider shot 38.1 percent from beyond the arc, including 40.8 percent on 4.9 triple tries across his final two seasons (58 games, 35 starts). Swider averaged 7.8 points on 56.9 percent true shooting in 110 collegiate games.