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 below the NBA regular-season limit, the Heat lack the luxury-tax space under the highly punitive second apron of the new collective-bargaining agreement to add another such player before midseason.
Beyond that, while teams can carry up to three two-way contracts — deals that pay half the veteran minimum and allow for only 50 games on the active roster over the 82-game regular season — the Heat already have those spots filled with returning guard Dru Smith and undrafted prospects Zyon Pullin, the guard out of Florida, and Keshad Johnson, the forward out of Arizona.
With two seasons of NBA experience, Swider could still qualify for another two-way contract, a door he has left open. His 9-of-16 3-point shooting during the Heat’s play at California Classic in San Francisco earlier in the week certainly did not diminish his resume.
“That’s not up for me to decide, right?” he said. “I’m just going to go out there, play as hard as I can, play to the best of my ability and make it hard on all these teams not to give me a contract.”
In effect, for the balance of summer league he could be auditioning for another team even more so than for the Heat.
All of that said, Heat assistant Dan Bisaccio, who is guiding the team’s summer roster, said Swider has remained the consummate professional.
“Cole, he’s been a leader from Day 1,” Bisaccio said. “He’s really in the guys’ ear. He’s helping to keep them organized. But then he’s also going out there and he’s working extremely hard. Whether it’s just a shooting drill or a defensive drill, you can just feel his intensity out there.”
And yet the Rhode Island native finds himself in an uneasy waiting game, similar to Heat summer teammate Alondes Williams, with both having their Heat qualifying offers rescinded this week, at the moment with no contractual ties to the Heat.
“For them, both of those guys, it really speaks to their character,” Bisaccio said, as the two play on with the Heat. “Day in and day out, they come in with that demeanor of, ‘I’m working to get better. How can I help this team and how can I improve?’ ”
Cain moves on
Without an offer from the Heat after two seasons with the team on a two-way contract, forward Jamal Cain has moved on to a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Based on what happens with Swider and Williams, all three players who closed last season on Heat two-way deals could be elsewhere in training camp.
Cain did not play Friday in the Pelicans’ summer-league opener.
Robinson debut
In his debut with the Houston Rockets after being waived by the Heat, center Orlando Robinson had 11 points and five rebounds off the bench in 15:12 in a Friday summer-league victory over the Lakers, shooting 3 of 4 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line.
The Tournament
The Heat received their draw for the NBA’s second in-season tournament, with games in the NBA Cup also to count in the regular-season standings.
The Heat’s initial pool group also includes the Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons. Those pool games will be played in November and December as part of the regular-season schedule, with the schedule yet to be released.
Quarterfinal play will follow at team arenas, with the semifinals and final in December in Las Vegas.
The Heat did not advance out of pool play in last season’s inaugural event.
Players on the winning team in last year’s inaugural event, the Los Angeles Lakers, each received $500,000.
