Pacers waive Cole Swider, exercise three contract options, and Rick Carlisle returns to UVa
Indiana trimmed its roster to 14 standard contracts by waiving Cole Swider, then they picked up options for Mathurin, Walker, and Sheppard. Plus, Carlisle was back at UVa and a new ad for Haliburton.
The Pacers wrapped up their four-game exhibition slate Thursday with a win over the Charlotte Hornets in a wild fashion.
They trailed for the majority of the game, but scored six straight points in 14.4 seconds, including a four-point play from Ben Sheppard, to force overtime. From there, rookie Enrique Freeman scored nine of his 15 points to lead the Pacers to a 121-116 win.
The Pacers finished the preseason 2-2.
“We have a lot of work to do before next Wednesday,” head coach Rick Carlisle said afterward. “We're not where we need to be. I've got to really look at what's happening.”
With practice games behind them, they had some roster decisions to make this weekend.
Several days after waiving Kendall Brown, the Pacers elected to waive 6-foot-8 forward Cole Swider on Friday afternoon. Swider, who was on a two-way contract with the Miami Heat last season, was signed to a non-guaranteed camp deal.
Swider appeared in all four preseason games, averaging about 16 minutes per game. He adds size, shooting, and rebounding — and I’ve heard that he’s a great locker room guy.
The Pacers now have one of their coveted 15 roster spots open, along with a little more than the $2.1 million league minimum.
So what can they do?