cole swider
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Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Cole Swider.
Cole Swider first came into the NBA as an undrafted free agent of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022. He has bounced between the NBA and the G League throughout his career.
Swider spent a portion of last season with the South Bay Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors, but only played in 10 NBA games. He’s now going to move on from the NBA for the time being.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Swider is signing with Anadolu Efes S.K. in Turkey, which is part of the EuroLeague. Igor Kokoskov is the head coach of Anadolu Efes S.K., who used to be the head coach of the Phoenix Suns during the 2018-19 season.
He only lasted one season before getting fired, but he has several years of experience coaching in the NBA. Swider wasn’t making much progress in the NBA, so playing in the EuroLeague should present an easier opportunity to get on the court. Swider is only 26, so a return to the NBA could still be in his future.
LeBron James Supportive of Lakers
The Lakers have had an eventful offseason. LeBron James‘ future is in flux, but Luka Doncic signed a long-term contract extension.
There has been talk about James wanting to get traded now that he’s no longer the face of the franchise, but a deal never materialized. However, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, James is supportive of the Lakers going forward.
“So, Luka Doncic is the face of this franchise. So, this means that LeBron James, for the first time in his career, he’s entering a very interesting ground here,” Charania said on “Get Up,” via Bleacher Report. “It’s a tough line these sides are trying to cross here because we’ve never seen this, a player in Year 23 is an NBA record. He’s about to be 41 years old in December. We’ve never seen a player play at this level for this long and it’s a tough throughline to cross because on one hand, the moment you make this trade for Luka Doncic he’s your face of the franchise for the next 10 years. And so, LeBron James is supportive, he’s understanding where this Lakers organization is going toward. It’s going toward Luka Doncic. So, LeBron James himself has to make some decisions because, ‘how long do I have to play?’ That’s the biggest one of all. Is this the last year of his career or does he have a couple of more years left?”
Will James Finish Season With Lakers?
For now, James is playing nice with the Lakers, but he wants to compete for championships while he still plays. On paper, Los Angeles should be one of the best spots for him to play if the goal is to win a championship.
Doncic is one of the four best players in the world, and the team added Deandre Ayton and Marcus Smart in free agency. If things go wrong early in the season, James might seek a trade, but it seems more likely that he plays out his contract and enters free agency next year.