Fortunately for Swider, the 24-year-old didn’t stay unemployed for long, with the Miami Heat deciding to bring him in.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Heat have signed Swider to a deal.

Ex-Lakers G/F Cole Swider is signing a deal with the Miami Heat, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 6, 2023

This tweet from Charania is pretty vague, so it’s uncertain what kind of deal Swider sign to join Jimmy Butler and company in Miami. It could be a training camp deal, with the Heat trying to fill out the roster ahead of the NBA preseason, which will get underway at the beginning of October.

Usually, NBA teams don’t begin filling out their roster for the preseason and training camp until September, so this seems a little early, which could mean Swider will have a more significant role than just another body on the team that will likely get cut before the start of the regular season in late October.

Swider was initially thought to be an ideal addition for the Lakers, with the team actively looking for shooters over the past couple of years. Unfortunately, he never really got much of a shot to showcase his skills with limited playing time in Los Angeles, as he played in only seven games last year with an average of less than six minutes on the floor at a time, meaning it was most garbage time for the Syracuse product.

Fortunately for Swider, he’ll likely have an opportunity to show what he can do in South Beach, with the Heat always turning players’ careers around, with quite a few success stories like Duncan Robinson, Gabe Vincent and Max Strus.

Fudge Signs Two-Way Deal With Lakers

After Summer League came to an end for the Lakers, the team made some unexpected moves, as they parted ways with sharpshooter Cole Swider and replaced him with forward Alex Fudge.

Fudge was one of the bright spots on the Summer League roster for the Lakers, along with Max Christie, Colin Castleton and D’Moi Hodge.

Usually, two-way players don’t get much time to shine, but the Lakers have had a lot of success with players in that position over the last few years, with Alex Caruso and Austin Reaves becoming legitimate starters and signing lucrative long-term deals as a result.

On Tuesday, the Lakers introduced the two players they selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, with Pelinka fielding questions from the media after their roles and upcoming free agency, which gets underway this weekend.

Pelinka made it abundantly clear that the front office is intent on keeping the core of this team together moving forward, following the success they had during the NBA playoffs.

“I think we’re at the doorstep of free agency, and we’ve been pretty clear since our last game, with the success of making it to the Western Conference Finals,” Pelinka said.” We want to try our hardest to keep this core of guys together and also improve around the edges and on the margins to not only get back to where we were last year but hopefully take the next step and get into the NBA Finals.”

With the Lakers bringing in two promising young players, Pelinka acknowledged that rookies could have an impact in their first season like Christian Braun didn’t for the Denver Nuggets during their championship run.

“I think the league is full of young players that can surprise even in the playoffs,” Pelinka said. “The team that beat us, Denver, had a guy last year that was in their rotation, so I don’t want to put a limit on what either of these guys can do for Coach Ham and the team. I think they’re going to start with the foundation of work, and if they earn minutes in our rotation, that’s because they put in the work to do it, but I do think guys can be impactful in this league, even young players.”

As a result of what he saw during the postseason, Pelinka has put an emphasis on defense and rebounding, as he believes that’s what can help a team win championships in today’s game moving forward.

“I think we believe in the proof of concept of this group, and we saw defensively what we were able to do to finish the season out, and I think defense and rebounding wins championships,” Pelinka said. “That’s the core of Darvin’s system and our identity. We want to lean into that.”

As free agency draws near, Pelinka and company are keeping their options open as the team looks for ways to improve the squad this summer, with the ultimate goal remaining the same.

“I think if there’s ways we can improve the roster, of course, we’re going to do that. I think probably less focus of ‘Hey, what is Team X or Team Y doing?’ And more focus on how can we optimize us,” Pelinka said of free agency. “We say it all the time, but we have one singular goal. It’s to add the 18th banner, and that’s our focus heading into the next couple of days we’re going to do all we can to maximize that opportunity, and yes, teams are going to be aggressive. There’s a lot of parity in the league right now, and everyone smells an opportunity to chase a championship, but we’re going to try our best to stay in that pack or at the head of that pack.”

NBA free agency will get underway on Friday, June 30, at 3 p.m. PST, with the Lakers having some work to do to keep this roster intact and explore options to upgrade ahead of next season.

Fortunately for the Lakers, rookie Maxwell Lewis seems to be one of those fans, as he has made it clear that he and his family love the team and were avid fans of five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant.

During his introductory press conference on Tuesday at the team’s practice facility, Lewis reflected on the surreal moment of hearing his name and Lakers in the same sentence when he was drafted by Los Angeles.

“That night, I just remember the Lakers and my name. It’s just really surreal,” Lewis said during his introductory press conference.

“My pops is from Inglewood, California. I just have so many family that’s from Las Vegas that’s Lakers fans.

“The history, Kobe [Bryant], so much about the Lakers is surreal, and it’s a blessing just to be on this team.”

It seems to be a dream come true for Lewis as he makes the transition from Pepperdine University, which isn’t far from the training facility in El Segundo, to the bright lights of Los Angeles to eventually showcase his skills on the hardwood at Crypto.com Arena.

Although there’s no telling when Lewis might get his time to shine in a Lakers uniform, the 20-year-old rookie is clearly on cloud nine at the moment and loving the experience of being one of the two players selected by the storied franchise in the 2023 NBA Draft.

With the introductory presser in the books, Lewis and fellow rookie Jalen Hood-Schifino will turn their attention to getting ready for the California Classic, which gets underway on July 1 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Lakers will play two games on the Sacramento Kings’ home floor against the Miami Heat on July 3 and Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs on July 5 before heading to Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League.

In Las Vegas, the Lakers will play at least five games and more if they advance to the later rounds of the tournament. It remains to be seen whether Hood-Schifino and Lewis will see considerable time on the floor in Las Vegas, but there’s a decent chance they’ll play the majority of the games, so the team can get a feel for what they in these two 20-year-old rookies.

Shortly after hearing his name being called to go to the Lakers at No. 17 overall on Thursday night, Hood-Schifino addressed the media and talked about what it’s like to be drafted by the 17-time NBA champions.

“It’s honestly really crazy and kind of hard to say how I feel because growing up, I was a big Kobe fan,” Hood-Schifino said.” I was always watching his videos, watching the Lakers. For me to get drafted by the Lakers is kind of surreal and kind of crazy.”

Most players in this draft class grew up watching Kobe Bryant win titles with the Lakers while playing alongside Pau Gasol, which makes it no surprise they may idolize and or be a fan of the Hall of Famer.

Along with being a massive Bryant fan, Hood-Schifino will likely win over most of the Lakers faithful due to his confidence heading into his rookie campaign with the purple and gold.

Hood-Schifino let it be known what he’ll bring to the team moving forward.

“Yeah, for one, thank you to the Lakers’ organization for obviously selecting me,” Hood-Schifino said. “But to my teammates and the fans there, they’re getting a big-time player and even better person. Just somebody who is going to bring it every day, push the people around me. Just someone that is going to work hard.”

That kind of mentality always tends to do well in Los Angeles, as it will almost certainly help win over the avid fans of the iconic franchise while potentially leaving an impression on the coaching staff, teammates and front office.

Along with seemingly having the right mindset heading into the next step of his basketball journey, Hood-Schifino can’t wait to soak up the knowledge from superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

“I just got drafted to obviously a historic and great organization,” Hood-Schifino said.  “The organization is only getting better and better. Obviously, they’re competing for championships.

“For me to get drafted there, I’m going to bring it every day, like I said, try to impact as much as I can and learn from the guys that are there, especially for one of the all-time greats, LeBron James, and AD and the rest of the guys. It’s going to be great.”

Although Hood-Schifino is arguably a lottery-level talent, it remains to be seen whether he can make enough of an impression on the coaching staff to merit playing time during his rookie campaign, especially with the team yet to dive into NBA free agency to address needs on the roster.

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LeBron James and Austin Reaves get things started for the Los Angeles Lakers some solid play on both ends of the basketball floor to give the team a 6-0 lead. The crowd at Crypto.com Arena sounded louder than ever, cheering on the purple and gold for the first time in the postseason at the iconic building since 2013.

The electric crowd at Crypto continued to fuel this team leading to an impressive 20-4 start about halfway through the first quarter. Los Angeles was locked in on both ends of the floor, with the Grizzlies looked clueless about how to slow down Darvin Ham’s squad.

The Lakers continued to crush the visiting Grizzlies finishing the first quarter with a commanding lead, 35-9.

Rui Hachimura came out firing in the second quarter, extending the lead to 29 points by hitting from outside. Memphis struck back with a few buckets but couldn’t keep the Lakers from putting a few more baskets on the board.

With more than eight minutes left in the second quarter, Jaren Jackson Jr. headed to the bench with three fouls, which was costly, to say the least, having the team’s best defender already in foul trouble.

The scoring slowed a bit halfway through the second quarter, but the Lakers still finished the half strong (53-37) with James (12), Rui Hachimura (12), Anthony Davis (11) and D’Angelo Russell (10) already in double figures.

As if this game didn’t need any more drama from James and Dillon Brooks, the Grizzlies star struck the future Hall of Famer below the belt and, as a result, was assessed a flagrant two and was thrown out of the game.

What a way to start the second half, right?

Unfortunately for the Lakers, the ejection of Brooks motivated the Grizzlies leading to Morant and company going on a bit of a run in the third quarter, which has infamously been where the Lakers can take their foot off the gas.

Although the Grizzlies appeared to be making a run at considerably cutting the lead, the Lakers controlled the pace and imposed their will on both ends to keep Memphis at bay.

Things started to get heated late in the third quarter, with Hachimura getting hit with a technical after getting fouled consecutive by Grizzlies players on the way to the basket.

Regardless of the dust-up, the Lakers finished the third quarter with a 20-point lead, 88-68.

Outside of a few drives and surprising three-pointers from Morant, it was an onslaught of three-pointers; the Lakers were in complete control in the fourth quarter, with Davis putting on a show with some impressive stats from top to bottom.

Ultimately, the Lakers prevented a late-game collapse and won at home.

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