Lakers Sign Scotty Pippen Jr. and Cole Swider to Two-Way Contracts
Just because the Lakers only had one draft pick on Thursday didn't meant that they couldn't keep trying to make additions to the roster. After drafting project swingman Max Christie with the 35th pick, the Lakers signed a pair of players to two-way contracts. One of which is a name you've definitely heard of.
ESPN's Dave McMenamin was one of the first to report that the Lakers had agreed to terms with Vanderbilt guard Scotty Pippen Jr. and Syracuse forward Cole Swider.
Scotty Pippen Jr.
Pippen Jr. was ranked as the 88th best prospect by The Athletic's Sam Vecenie and was ranked #174 in the 2019 class by Draft Express. Swider was not listed in Vecenie's top 100, but was ranked #60 in the 2018 class.
Pippen Jr. played his high school ball at Sierra Canyon, the same school that both of LeBron James' sons, Bronny James and Bryce James, currently attend (had to get a LeBron reference in here somehow).
Curiously, Pippen Jr. is listed as 6'2" on Vecenie's guide, 6'1" on Basketball Reference, and 6'3" on the Vanderbilt media guide. Apparently, it's up for debate.
During his three years at University of Vanderbilt, the 6'2" (we'll split the difference) son of the NBA Hall-of-Famer was a two-time All-SEC selection at Vanderbilt and also earned SEC All-Freshman honors. He led the SEC in scoring (20.4), a league which included Auburn star Jabari Smith (16.9 PPG) who was taken third overall by the Houston Rockets, and was fourth in steals per game (1.9).
In his lone game against Auburn, a school that had two players selected in the top 25 on draft night, Pippen Jr. dropped 29 points. The guard also piled up five steals, six assists, and five rebounds. He didn't shoot the ball particularly well (7-for-18), but he converted a staggering 14 of his 16 free throw attempts in the game.
One game doesn't make a career, but those types are performances are probably why the Lakers and Rob Pelinka decided to sign him as an undrafted free agent.
Cole Swider
Swider spent his first three years at Villanova before transferring to Syracuse for his senior season.
As an Orangeman, Swider averaged 13.9 points per game and shot 41.1% from three. He finished his collegiate career shooting 38.1% from three and it was by no means a small sample size (438 attempts).
He logged a season high 36 points against UNC, converting 7 of his 11 three-point shots. In the first round of the NCAA tournament, Swider hung 28 on Florida State to setup a showdown with a Duke team loaded with NBA talent. Swider shot poorly in the loss (4-for-15) which is a bit of a concern since five of those Duke players were selected on Thursday night.
The 6'9" forward was earned ACC All-Academic honors and was the 2016-2017 Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior.
He projects as a gunner who might struggle to defend at the NBA level.
