LAS VEGAS – An argument could be made that Cole Swider outperformed his contract based on his torrid 3-point shooting in the first of the Miami Heat’s two summer leagues. The problem is that he doesn’t have a contract , and, at the moment, there is no specific path back to a Heat contract. Confused? It’s all part of the NBA’s new luxury-tax aprons, the Heat’s salary structure, and, at the moment, no room to go back to the two-way contact he held with the team last season.
Against that backdrop, the 6-foot-8 forward who went undrafted out of Syracuse in 2022 is pushing forward, including in the Heat’s Saturday opener in the Las Vegas Summer League against the Boston Celtics. “I’ve learned not to expect anything,” Swider said after sweating through a practice with the Heat’s summer roster. “I’ve learned that throughout this whole entire process of being an undrafted guy, getting a two-way (with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022-23), getting cut last year, come into training camp and nothing was guaranteed, getting a two-way (with the Heat last season).
“I’ve learned you can’t expect anything. Even when you sign a contract, you can get traded. A lot of things can go on.
That’s every person in this business. It can be our equipment manager, it can be anyone. Anyone can get let go at any time.
I just try to stay true to the work, stay true to the process and just go one step at a time.” While the Heat have 14 players under standard contract, one be.