Rick Carlisle lauds player on the Pacers' roster bubble

Earlier in the offseason, the Indiana Pacers signed sharpshooting forward Cole Swider to a non-guaranteed deal. Swider was brought in to compete for Indiana's 15th roster spot, likely battling Kendall Brown.

In his short time in the NBA, Swider has appeared in 25 total games over the past two seasons, splitting time with the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat in the regular season.

Though it is an incredibly small sample size, the Rhode Island native is a career 34,2% shooter from beyond the arc. However, playing 41 games between the G League's South Bay Lakers and Sioux Falls Skyforce, Swider shot a fantastic 46.1% from the three-point line.

As he battles for a roster spot in his third season, Swider appears to already have a fan in head coach Rick Carlisle.

Rick Carlisle praises Cole Swider, calls him 'a great addition'

In a recent press interview during training camp, Carlisle spoke about Swider and what he brings to the table. During the interview, Carlisle revealed that the Pacers "beat out three other teams" for his services and spoke about what Swider's presence has been like on the team.

"Cole's a third-year guy who's established himself as a specialist. He had some really good stretches last year with Miami. There were a lot of teams that were trying to get him into camp this year. We beat out three other teams, which was great. He's been here really on and off since August working out and learning how we do things and stuff like that. He's been a great addition," Carlisle said.

Swider is a legitimate candidate to take a roster spot on the Pacers for the 2024-25 season. As Carlisle says, he is a three-point specialist and has established himself as such. At best, Swider can become a reliable bench player (and their sixth man if we want to get really bold) for the Pacers and become a legitimate microwave sharpshooter in the lineup.

However, it seems more likely that, even if Swider does make the roster, he will assume a very small role, especially this season. His perimeter shooting is legitimate, and it would be fun to see him get the green light at times on the court. The Pacers, however, already have a ton of offense on the team, making it doubtful that the 25-year-old can crack the rotation immediately.

Nonetheless, there is a lot to be excited about in the case of Swider. He is only battling for the final roster spot and is an extremely low-risk, high-reward addition.

Ultimately, it may take some time before we know what kind of role Swider will play for the Pacers this season, if any at all. Regardless, his status throughout the remainder of training camp will be worth watching as he aims to make the Pacers roster and eventually work his way up the depth chart.