Cole Swider is the Lakers rookie to watch this season
Looking at the Los Angeles Lakers roster, they have an obvious need for some shooting once again to start the season. This has been an issue for the Lakers for quite some time, and it will be even worse this year because their three best 3-point shooters by percentage from last season Malik Monk, Avery Bradley, and Carmelo Anthony are not coming back.
Three of the Lakers free agent signings Juan Toscano-Anderson, Lonny Walker, and Thomas Bryant have all shot 40 percent from three in a season, but none of them have ever hit over 41 total 3-pointers in a season.
This opens the door for a player like Swider, who shot 50 percent from 3-point range in five Summer League games and hit over three 3-pointers a game.
That makes Cole Swider the Lakers rookie to watch this season.
Compare those numbers to the player the Lakers traded into the second round to draft, Max Christie, and it is clear who fits better in a rotation that lacks shooting. Christie shot 22 percent from three in the Vegas Summer League demonstrating his lack of ability to stretch the floor at this stage of his career.
When asked for an NBA player comp to his game in a Summer League post-game interview, Swider confidently replied, Duncan Robinson. He also gave props to Robinson for possibly being one of the reasons he got a shot with the Lakers in the first place, saying,
"“Because of guys like Duncan Robinson, like Joe Harris, like all these guys throughout the NBA that have proven that you need a movement shooter like that who you can run actions for.”"
His Duncan Robinson comparison would have been more favorable before last season when he could hardly get off the bench for Miami in the playoffs because of his defensive limitations. However, Swider believes that with his 6’9″ frame he will be able to compete on defense with the ability to match up with bigger forwards.
Swider signed a two-way contract with the Lakers this offseason that will only allow him to play 50 games this year, and it would also limit him from playing in the playoffs. But if he gets an opportunity to play and shoots the ball well it would not be a surprise for him to get offered a guaranteed full-time NBA deal with the Lakers by season’s end.
He will have the opportunity to be the Lakers’ next two-way player to turn into a regular rotation guy like Austin Reaves and Alex Caruso were able to do before him. He comes into the league with plenty of major college basketball experience having played at both Villanova and Syracuse, so he might be able to step in right away and fill a role.
In college, he had the talent to start games at both of those blue blood programs, but it was not until Syracuse his Senior year where he got a bigger role that he showed his true potential. He was second on the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game, had the best 3-point shooting percentage on the team, and even put up 36 points against North Carolina.
The majority of Swider’s points in Summer League were on catch-and-shoot threes, but he also demonstrated he can do more than just be a spot up shooter.
He showed great off-ball instincts to come off screens and fill the lane on fast breaks. He can even put the ball on the floor for the one dribble pull-up or to get to the rim.
That offensive skillset has been proven to work along with LeBron James who is sure to still be the primary playmaker on offense for the Lakers this season.
Swider might be the Lakers’ biggest boom or bust player heading into next season. With his shooting touch, he has the chance to quickly find a spot in the rotation. However, with his lack of NBA experience and athletic limitations he could end up being a forgotten player in playing most of his minutes in South Bay in the G League.
Expectations might be too high for someone who went undrafted and even the Lakers passed up. His Summer League performance could have just been a mirage in the deserted shooter’s wasteland that seems to be the Lakers roster year after year.
Only time will tell if he ends up being the latest success story of the Lakers scouting department who has shown a knack for finding diamonds in the rough with undrafted free agents. The Lakers should surely hope that he turns into the 3-point sniper they desperately need but putting the hopes of that on an undrafted rookie should say a ton about the look of their roster heading into this season.