Ranking the 4 most-likely options for the Lakers last roster spot

By Jason Reed | Jul 28, 2022

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3. Cole Swider

Carmelo Anthony seems to be the safety option that the Lakers want to be able to fall back on and seems like the more likely addition to the team at this point in time. That is a shame, as the Lakers have a much better option that they could fall back on for the 15th roster spot in sharpshooter Cole Swider.

Nothing against Carmelo but there are at least growth possibilities present with Swider. The undrafted free agent shot 41.1% from three at Syracuse last season and went to Vegas to be the best three-point shooter in the entire Summer League.

He has a smooth stroke and while nobody would call him a defensive menace, Swider does show effort on the defensive end that does make him a better presence on that end than Carmelo. The two players would essentially fill the same role for the Lakers and Swider is someone who can be a rotation player for years to come. That is not the case with Carmelo.

Swider is currently on a two-way contract and the team has given itself an easy way to promote him to a standard deal. Los Angeles signed Jay Huff to an exhibit-10 contract, which allows them to convert it to a two-way deal. Swider could get elevated to a standard contract while Huff essentially takes his two-way contract.

That might only happen in the top two options on this list do not happen, though.

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