Cole Swider Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Contract Details: Mykhailiuk, Eubanks, Swider, Two-Ways

August 12th, 2024 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

The four-year contract that veteran swingman Svi Mykhailiuk signed with the Jazz only includes $3.5MM in guaranteed money, Hoops Rumors has learned — that $3.5MM is the salary Mykhailiuk will earn in 2024/25.

The second and third years of Mykhailiuk’s deal, worth $3.675MM and $3.85MM respectively, are non-guaranteed, as is his $4.025MM team option for the 2027/28 season. The 27-year-old could earn up to a total of $15.05MM if he plays out the entire contract, but $11.55MM of that money is non-guaranteed.

June 30 represents Mykhailiuk’s annual salary guarantee date, so the Jazz would have to waive him by June 30, 2025 to avoid being on the hook for his full ’25/26 salary. That deadline also applies to each of the following two seasons.

Here are more details on recently signed contracts from around the NBA:

Drew Eubanks will earn a $5MM guaranteed salary from the Jazz this season, with a $4.75MM non-guaranteed salary for 2025/26, Hoops Rumors has learned. Both Mykahiliuk and Eubanks were signed using a portion of Utah’s leftover cap room.
Cole Swider‘s one-year, non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers is worth the minimum salary and includes Exhibit 9 language, Hoops Rumors has learned. It doesn’t feature Exhibit 10 language, which suggests the plan probably isn’t for Swider to join Indiana’s G League team if he’s waived during training camp. The third-year forward vie for a spot on the Pacers’ 15-man regular season roster.
The two-way contracts recently signed by Enrique Freeman with the Pacers and Anzejs Pasecniks with the Bucks are each one-year deals, so both players will be eligible for restricted free agency in 2025.

Pacers Sign Enrique Freeman To Two-Way Deal

August 8th, 2024 at 1:55pm CST by Rory Maher

1:55pm: Freeman’s two-way deal is now official, the Pacers announced in a press release. Cole Swider‘s non-guaranteed standard contract is also official, per the team.

12:40pm: The Pacers are signing Enrique Freeman to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Freeman was the No. 50 overall pick of June’s draft.

Freeman is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, who played five years of college basketball at Akron, where he had highly decorated career. The 24-year-old forward made the MAC All-Defensive team four consecutive times, was a three-time All-Conference honoree, was MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2021/22 and the conference’s Player of the Year in ’23/24.

As a senior last season for the Zips, Freeman averaged 18.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on .584/.370/.728 shooting in 35 games (32.5 minutes per contest).

Freeman had been one of a handful of 2024 draft picks who remained unsigned. Now that he’s inking a two-way deal, that list is down to three players: Duke big man Kyle Filipowski, the No. 32 pick (Jazz); Serbian guard Nikola Djurisic, the No. 43 pick (Hawks) who recently underwent surgery for a broken foot; and Dutch big man Quinten Post, the No. 52 pick (Warriors) who played college basketball at Mississippi State and Boston College.

As for Indiana, Freeman will fill the team’s third and final two-way spot, with guards Quenton Jackson and Tristen Newton also on two-way contracts.

The Pacers still have a two-way qualifying offer out to Oscar Tshiebwe as well, but since two-way deals can be swapped in and out and don’t count against the salary cap, they could potentially release him if he accepts the QO and isn’t in their long-term plans. Newton and Freeman’s roster spots are probably a little more secure than Jackson’s since they were just selected in the second round (Newton was the No. 49 pick).

Heat Notes: Mills, Jovic, Adebayo, Swider, Williams

August 6th, 2024 at 5:26pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Unrestricted free agent and Australian national team guard Patty Mills, who finished last season with the Heat, turned back the clock in an Olympic quarterfinal game against Serbia on Tuesday. He made 11 of his 21 shots to finish with 26 points in a 95-90 overtime loss to Serbia.

“I mean, he deserved better,” Australian teammate Josh Giddey said, per The Athletic’s David Aldridge.

Mills scored 12 of his points in the first quarter and knocked down a shot over Nikola Jokic that forced overtime.

“I thought we threw everything at them in the first half,” Mills said. “You’re playing against world-class individuals, world-class teams, world-class coaches. And this is why you play international basketball. It’s a different sport than any other league around the world. It brings the best out of everyone. I think for us, we just threw everything we could at them, and maybe nothing left in the tank at the end of the day. Full credit to what Serbia was able to do — get us out of our comfort zone. And in international basketball, once you lose that momentum, it’s hard to get it back.”

The 35-year-old guard signed with the Heat toward the end of the 2023/24 regular season after being waived by the Hawks and immediately stepped into a sizable role. He started in five of his 13 appearances with the team and appeared in three playoff games.

However, barring a trade, Mills is unlikely to be back with Miami, at least for the first part of the season. Due to their positioning against the second apron, the Heat don’t appear willing to add a 15th player to their roster to begin the year.

We have more on the Heat:

Heat forward Nikola Jovic missed Serbia’s win over Australia due to an illness, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel reports. Jovic’s offseason has been marred with an ankle sprain that threatened his Olympic availability and now an illness.
If Jovic is healthy, he and Heat teammate Bam Adebayo will face off for the third time this summer in the Olympic semifinal round, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald observes. Team USA defeated Brazil on Tuesday, with Adebayo finishing with nine points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes. Adebayo is averaging 8.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in the Olympics while Jovic has averaged 7.0 points for Serbia. The two previously matched up in an exhibition on July 17 and the group stage opener on July 28. The U.S. won each game by more than 20 points.
Due to the fact that the Heat don’t seem to be bringing in a 15th player on a standard contract to begin the season, it was always unlikely they’d be able to funnel all the talented pieces who brought home a summer league championship to their G League affiliate. That rang true when Cole Swider signed with the Pacers after averaging 13.5 points on 49.1% shooting from deep in eight summer league games. In a recent mailbag, Winderman explores Swider’s departure, ultimately concluding that the Heat rarely play pure shooters and that Duncan Robinson‘s minutes only came around when he developed other areas of his game. While the exact details of Swider’s deal with Indy are unknown, it’s possible he competes for a standard roster spot if not a two-way pact, giving him a higher likelihood of ending up with the NBA team than if he came back to Miami.
Unrestricted free agent Alondes Williams, who – alongside Swider – finished last season on a two-way deal with the Heat, finds himself in a similar position. Williams had an impressive summer league, averaging 11.5 points and 4.4 assists in eight games but remains unsigned. The Heat currently have Keshad Johnson, Josh Christopher and Dru Smith on two-way deals. However, Isaiah Stevens also positioned himself well to compete for and potentially replace one of the Heat’s two-way players, giving Williams an outside shot to earn back his spot on the roster. If he doesn’t end up signing a standard contract elsewhere, Winderman is optimistic Williams would get the chance to compete for a two-way deal in training camp.

Central Notes: Allen, Pistons, Swider, Brown

August 4th, 2024 at 7:09pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The three-year, $91MM contract extension that Jarrett Allen signed on Friday gave the Cavaliers more flexibility if they later decide to break up the Allen-Evan Mobley frontcourt next season, according to Marc Stein in his latest Substack post.

Allen is eligible to traded on February 2 — four days before next season’s deadline. It’s believed that the veteran center was essentially obligated to sign the deal before August 6 as a condition of Cleveland extending him at the maximum amount, Stein adds. If he’d signed his new deal after Aug. 6, Allen would have been ineligible to be traded until the summer of 2025.

We have more from the Central Division:

In his Eastern Conference power rankings, Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press places the Pistons at No. 12 — ahead of the Hornets, Nets and Wizards. While Detroit endured its worst season in franchise history, it shouldn’t be the worst team in the conference next season after a series of offseason moves. Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malik Beasley should significantly upgrade the outside shooting, Sankofa notes, and Paul Reed adds depth at center. The team’s young core should continue to grow, particularly Cade Cunningham with more help around him.
Former Heat forward Cole Swider agreed to a non-guaranteed contract with the Pacers on Saturday. He could be in a competition with Kendall Brown for the 15th spot on the roster, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star opines. Brown, who is also on a non-guaranteed deal, struggled with his perimeter shooting in the Summer League and committed 12 turnovers in five games. Swider, in contrast, played a key role in the Heat’s run to the Summer League title in Las Vegas.
In case you missed it, the Bulls reportedly haven’t halted their efforts to find a trade partners for Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic.

Cole Swider Agrees To One-Year Contract With Pacers

August 3rd, 2024 at 11:16am CST by Dana Gauruder

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.

Heat Notes: Summer League, Christoper, Larsson, Ware

July 23rd, 2024 at 8:27pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat won the Las Vegas Summer League championship with a dramatic 120-118 overtime victory over the Grizzlies on Monday. The Heat won all six of their games in Vegas, plus the last two in the California Classic. Second-rounder Pelle Larsson made the game-winning shot.

“By the end of this (Monday), a lot of us coaches, we were really hoping that it wouldn’t be over,” Summer League coach Dan Bisaccio said, per Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “Obviously, yes the priority is we want to win the championship. But at the same time, this journey that we were on with this group was amazing. It was something truly special.

“I understand this is summer league. But the fact that these guys came together as a group like that, they kind of put aside their individual goals for the better of the team. I just think that speaks volumes to who they are and what their character is.”

We have more on the Heat:

The team has 14 players on standard contracts and don’t plan to add a 15th player until later in the regular season due to tax apron concerns. They also have all three two-way slots filled. Those two-way spots could change — they don’t count against the cap — in the aftermath of Summer League performances. Josh Christopher, Caleb Daniels, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams — all of whom are free agents at the moment — made compelling cases to receive a two-way deal or at least a training camp invite, according to Chiang.
Speaking of Christopher, he was named Most Valuable Player of the championship game, Chiang tweets. The former first-round pick scored a team-high 24 points, including six 3-pointers. He also added four rebounds, one assist, three steals and two blocks. “I think this Heat culture thing just brought the best out of me. I don’t think I’ve had a series of games better than this in my life, honestly,” Christopher said.
Larsson signed a three-year contract prior to summer competition and impressed the coaches in a number of ways, according to Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He’s a tireless worker,” Bisaccio said. “He’s a great leader on the floor and he’s just got a really good disposition and he’s a man of a craft, is the word I’m looking for. Behind the scenes, he’s always trying to work on his shot. He’s always trying to find that new angle that he can give you, that extra detail on a pick and roll.”
First-round pick Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez and Keshad Johnson earned A grades on Winderman’s Summer League report card.

Heat Notes: Stevens, Two-Way Competition, Larsson, Bisaccio, Trades

July 20th, 2024 at 11:13am CST by Tristan Tucker

Heat guard Isaiah Stevens continues to impress in Summer League after inking an Exhibit 10 contract with the organization, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Despite being undersized, Stevens is looking like a possible solution at the backup point guard position for Miami while registering a league-high 8.5 assists.

He’s a massive reason the Heat’s summer league team is dominating in Las Vegas. The Heat went 4-0 in Vegas and advanced to a semifinal game against the Warriors after blowing out the Raptors 109-73 on Friday. Several players on the roster are popping and Stevens’ ability to find them in their spots is a big reason why.

“First and foremost, he’s doing his thing really,” Heat summer league coach Dan Bisaccio said. “Not listening to me, being who he is. Being a player. He does such a great job of getting our offense organized. I have complete trust in him with that. I love the fact that he really picks and chooses his opportunities when to be aggressive and when to be a play-maker. Then when we need to settle, he settles.”

Stevens has recorded 41 assists to 12 turnovers in his last five summer league performances (including the California Classic).

“I’ve been playing the point guard position a long time,” Stevens said. “So far to this point, I’ve been able to have a lot of team success in that way and I think it comes from being unselfish at the helm. Just trying to get guys opportunities, I feel like it makes them want to play with you even more, it makes them want to play harder because they know they actually have an opportunity of being rewarded at the end of a cut, when they’re open, as they’re moving. So I think it just brings the team together when that’s your style of play.”

The Heat have incredibly difficult decisions to make with their developmental players. As it stands, Miami can’t sign a 15th player on a standard contract without crossing the second apron. The Heat have also filled out their two-way roster spots with Keshad Johnson, Zyon Pullin and Dru Smith.

Pullin has shown flashes in summer league, but Stevens has played more, meaning the latter may replace the former on a two-way deal. Stevens’ Exhibit 10 deal makes him eligible to be converted to a two-way. Even still, the Heat clearly had a high grade on Pullin and broke their tradition of having players battle it out for two-way deals by giving the Florida guard one right after the draft. If he’s waived, another team may sign him.

That doesn’t even address the impressive play of Josh Christopher, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams, — the latter two finished last season on two-way deals with Miami. Swider and Williams had their qualifying offers pulled and are free to sign with other teams, but could also re-sign to Exhibit 10 deals with the Heat. Christopher is also free to sign with another team but his high-level scoring should have him in strong consideration for a two-way from Miami.

Johnson’s two-way deal is safe, and Smith is someone the organization is clearly invested in. In all, the Heat have at least seven players who are worthy of two-way consideration on their summer roster and aren’t guaranteed of funneling the four who don’t make the roster to their developmental system in Sioux Falls.

We have more from the Heat:

Heat second round rookie Pelle Larsson joined first-rounder Kel’el Ware and the two-way competitors in impressing against the Raptors, Chiang observes in a separate piece. Larsson’s averaging 12.5 PPG in his last two summer league games and finishing Friday with four assists and two triples. “He’s getting more confident in his ability to attack the paint and make plays for himself and also others,” Bisaccio said. “So we’re going to continue to look for him to continue to find that confidence and continue to find his role.”
Bisaccio has been with the organization since 2014 and was rewarded for his hard work by being promoted to head coach of the Skyforce. He expressed gratitude for the Heat organization for continuing to believe in him and work with him when he went through a life-threatening illness in 2018, Ira Winderman of South Florida’s Sun Sentinel writes. “Coach Spo, (GM) Andy Elisburg, (president of basketball operations Pat) Riley, all these guys visited me,” Bisaccio said. “They put together flights, hotels for my family. They were in constant communication.“
The Heat aren’t in a position to make a big trade this offseason but they’ll have some optionality when the players they re-signed become trade eligible this season, Winderman writes in a separate piece. If Miami ultimately decides to part with Jimmy Butler, that’s something that becomes more feasible when all players are eligible to be traded. The same goes for any potential deals that revolve around their larger contracts like Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier or Duncan Robinson.

Heat Notes: Bisaccio, Powell, Christopher, Swider, Williams, Stevens, Rozier, Jones

July 16th, 2024 at 5:51pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat have officially promoted player development coach, Dan Bisaccio, naming him the head coach of the G League’s Sioux Falls Skyforce, according to a team press release. Bisaccio, who is also currently serving as the Heat’s Summer League coach, has been with the organization for 10 years. Former Skyforce head coach, Kasib Powell, is joining Erik Spoelstra‘s staff as a player development coach.

We have more on the Heat:

Josh Christopher has averaged 21.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in two Las Vegas Summer League contests. Christopher, who appeared in 138 games with Houston from 2021-23, had a two-way contract with Utah last season but was waived before seeing any NBA action. The 22-year-old is trying to catch the attention of the Heat or another team in his quest for another NBA deal. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get back to where I need to be because I know I belong,” Christopher told Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “I’m extremely hungry.”
Cole Swider and Alondes Williams, who finished last season on two-way contracts, are also on the Summer League squad. Both players are unrestricted free agents after Miami withdrew qualifying offers to both players last week. The Heat have filled all their two-way slots, so Swider and Williams are also trying to earn another NBA contract, Chiang writes. Both players have yet to sign a standard NBA deal in their careers. “I’ve learned not to expect anything. I’ve learned that throughout this whole entire process of being an undrafted guy, getting a two-way, getting cut last year, coming into training camp and nothing was guaranteed, getting a two-way,” Swider said.
Undrafted Colorado State guard Isaiah Stevens has made a favorable impression in Summer League action. He racked up 11 assists with only one turnover in 27 minutes against Boston over the weekend. “First and foremost, it’s doing his thing, not listening to me, being who he is, being a player,” said Bisaccio, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “He does such a great job of getting our offense organized. I have complete trust in him with that.”
Even if the team hadn’t traded away Kyle Lowry‘s expiring contract as part of the Terry Rozier deal last season, Miami’s offseason moves wouldn’t have looked much different, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The Heat still wouldn’t have had cap space even if they had held onto Lowry’s contract, plus the non-taxpayer mid-level exception wouldn’t have netted them anyone as good as Rozier, Jackson notes.
The Heat had strong interest last season in point guard Tyus Jones — who remains on the free agent market — and had talks with Washington before landing Rozier, Jackson adds, but there’s no realistic pathway for Miami to acquire Jones now.

Heat Notes: Jovic, Swider, Williams, Jaquez

July 13th, 2024 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

A report from Serbian outlet Meridian Sport (hat tip to Eurohoops) suggests that forward Nikola Jovic suffered a fracture in his ankle joint in the spring, but the Heat continue to refer to Jovic’s injury – which he sustained last month during a drill at Kaseya Center – as a left ankle sprain and a fractured toe, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

According to Chiang, the injury has improved in recent weeks and the Heat expect the former first-round pick to be available when training camps tip off this fall. However, Jovic’s status for the Olympics remains up in the air.

The Heat haven’t ruled out the possibility of medically clearing Jovic prior to the Olympics, a league source tells Chiang, but that clearance hasn’t happened yet. And even if the team does clear him, the Serbian basketball federation will make the final decision on Jovic’s status for the Paris Games, Chiang adds.

According to Meridian Sport, Jovic didn’t travel with the Serbian national team for its exhibition games in France (on July 12) and in Abu Dhabi (vs. Australia and the U.S. on July 16-17).

Here’s more on the Heat:

In a separate story for The Miami Herald, Chiang examines what it means for the Heat’s roster that they withdrew their qualifying offers to Cole Swider and Alondes Williams. As Chiang details, Miami doesn’t have room under the second tax apron to add a 15th man at this point, but could still rotate players in and out of its two-way contract slots. While the Heat aren’t technically hard-capped at the second apron, they’ve made it clear they have no desire to surpass that threshold unless it’s to acquire a star player.
The Heat made an early playoff exit this spring and haven’t done much to upgrade their roster this summer, but they still believe they’re capable of contending if they stay healthy, writes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Jackson isn’t so sure, arguing that Miami isn’t among the top tier of Eastern Conference teams and making the case that the front office should at least consider the possibility of a Jimmy Butler trade before the season begins.
Second-year forward Jaime Jaquez isn’t concerned about the Heat’s relatively quiet offseason, suggesting that the front office’s lack of major moves reflects its confidence in the current group — and in the team’s developmental prowess. “I think when you look at what they’ve been doing in the offseason, they’re betting on the guys that they’ve brought in here, guys that they have drafted,” Jaquez said this week, according to Chiang. “As a player, you got to respect that and you want to make good on their bets. Betting on us, so it’s our job, especially us younger guys like myself and (Jovic), to step up into these roles and take that challenge. I think we’re both ready for it.”
Jaquez, who is on the Heat’s Summer League roster in Las Vegas, added that he’s going to work on improving his “leadership skills” this month.

Heat Withdraw Two-Way Qualifying Offers To Swider, Williams

July 11th, 2024 at 12:48pm CST by Rory Maher

The Heat have withdrawn their two-way qualifying offers to Cole Swider and Alondes Williams, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Both players are now unrestricted free agents instead of restricted.

Swider and Williams finished the 2023/24 season on two-way contracts with Miami before they were tendered qualifying offers. Those QOs were for two-way deals covering one year.

However, all three of the Heat’s two-way slots are currently occupied (by Keshad Johnson, Zyon Pullin and Dru Smith), and the team can’t sign another player to a standard contract without going over the second tax apron, notes Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald (via Twitter). Both Swider and Williams are playing for Miami’s summer league squad.

Swider, a 6’9″ forward, and Williams, a 6’4″ guard, went undrafted in 2022 out of Syracuse and Wake Forest, respectively. While neither player made much of an impact for the Heat in ’23/24, combining for a total of just 103 NBA minutes, both excelled playing for Miami’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Williams was named the NBAGL’s Most Improved Player and was runner-up for the MVP award while earning a spot on the All-NBA G League First Team. Swider 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 Skyforce (38.3 MPG).

It’s possible that Swider or Williams — or even both — could eventually re-sign with Miami on two-way deals if the team decides to make changes to those roster spots. Two-way contracts don’t count against the salary cap or luxury tax and players can be swapped in and out until late in the regular season.

Both players are 25 years old.