It was undoubtedly helpful for Cole Swider, who entered the NBA as one of the best shooters in college basketball (he hit 41.1% from the arc as a senior at Syracuse) and earned the title after competing in several G League seasons. During his numerous G League appearances, he bounced from South Bay to Sioux Falls to Motor City, but after beginning his NBA career with the Lakers organization, it seems he may have concluded it there as well.
Veteran reporter Marc Stein claims that Swider is close to signing a contract with the Turkish powerhouse Anadolu Efes. The Eurohoops website verified the report and stated that the deal will cost $600,000 and last for one year.
Following spells with the Lakers, Heat, Pistons, and Raptors, Stein writes on Twitter/X: “Swider is set to join the increasing number of NBA players who are relocating to the EuroLeague and playing for former Suns coach Igor Kokoskov.”
Cole Swider performed admirably for the Lakers’ summer squad.
Swider never had a direct playing relationship with Koskoskov, but Koskokov has a long history as an NBA assistant coach, including a catastrophic 19-win season as head coach in Phoenix.
In contrast, Swider is among the greatest shooters in G League history. Although it’s a tiny sample size, Swider has a lifetime 3-point percentage of 45.5% in 59 games and has never shot below 43.6% from the 3-point line in all of his minor league appearances.
But in the NBA, he was never able to equal it. Swider only made 35 appearances on the court during three seasons with four NBA teams. He only made 85 3-point tries and had a 32.9% 3-point shooting percentage in the NBA.
following Swider scored 17.6 points and made 40.9% of his 8.8 3-point tries per game in the Las Vegas summer league, there was some hope for him this summer. However, no NBA deal came up following that performance, so he is going abroad.
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