Indiana
Indiana Pacers Cole Swider Signing Suggests Roster Competition Coming
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 25: Cole Swider #21 of the Miami Heat dribbles the ball against the … [+]
INDIANAPOLIS — Perhaps the least discussed Indiana Pacers addition from the offseason was the signing of 25-year old wing Cole Swider. The sweet-shooting forward agreed to a one-year deal with the Pacers back in August.
Swider, a two-year NBA pro who has experience with both the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, went under the radar as a signing for many reasons. He agreed to a contract late in free agency, he isn’t a well-known name, and he might not even make the team.
That final point is what makes the agreement fascinating. Swider signed a one-year deal with the Pacers, and none of his contract is guaranteed. Yet there is no Exhibit 10 language in his deal — that means Swider can’t get a two-way deal and likely won’t end up in the G League if he’s waived. The Rhode Island native is betting on himself to make the Pacers final 15-man roster.
During his career, Swider has averaged 2.0 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game in 5.1 minutes per night. He’s appeared in 25 games across two seasons. Most of his performances in the pros have come in the G League, and he’s been a flamethrower at that level. Swider is 193/429 (45%) from deep. His averages are 19.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the G League.
Now, he comes to Indiana, and he will hope that shooting finally translates to the highest level. In his NBA time, only 34.2% of his outside shots have fallen so far. But if they do for the Pacers, then he’ll have a chance to make the team.
Swider’s signing does signal that there will be a battle for the final roster spot(s) in the Circle City. Were the Pacers comfortable with their top-15 talents, they wouldn’t have added someone else into the mix this summer. Yet they did, and the back end of the Pacers roster will be a storyline throughout training camp.
Swider isn’t the only player in Pacers camp on a contract that isn’t fully guaranteed for the coming season. James Johnson, who was signed in late July, has $750,000 guaranteed on his deal for 2024-25. The recently-added James Wiseman has $500,000 guaranteed, and Kendall Brown’s deal is fully non-guaranteed until opening night. Many players, including Swider, will be doing everything they can to earn money.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Cole Swider (20) plays against the Phoenix Suns during a preseason NBA … [+]
“Competition is a great thing. It, presumably, brings out the best in everybody,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on Monday. “This team has got a lot of depth and a lot of juice and a lot of guys that are going to be ready to play.”
While it’s possible all four players with non- or lightly-guaranteed contracts are battling to make Indiana’s final roster, it’s more likely that the final spot on the team will come down to Brown or Swider. Not only do Johnson and Wiseman have some guaranteed money in their contracts that Indiana would have to eat if they were waived, but those two also have more obvious roles within the team.
Brown has been with the blue and gold for the last two seasons, first on a two-way contract then a standard NBA deal. He entered the offseason the favorite to be the Pacers 15th man, but an unimpressive summer league showing hurt his stock. The athletic 21-year old has the tools to be a useful player in the open floor and on defense, but those skills haven’t surfaced yet. And Brown hasn’t been efficient enough as a play finisher to offset his lack of ability elsewhere.
The Baylor product is still a fascinating talent. He’s tall, fast, and extremely athletic. Indiana liked him enough to draft him 48th overall in 2022. But now, he and Swider are likely competing for a spot on the Pacers roster.
It’s possible that neither player makes the team. If they are both unimpressive during training camp, they could both get cut. Indiana could keep the spot open, or perhaps two-way contract forward Enrique Freeman keeps playing inspired basketball, like he did in summer league, and earns a promotion to the standard roster. There are many ways Indiana could opt to go.
The Swider signing means that there will be a battle, though. A few guys will be hoping to prove they belong on the Pacers roster once the regular season comes, and the early signs are that it could come down to Swider’s shooting vs Brown’s athleticism. It will be decided on the court during training camp and preseason action.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – The ‘Big Boy’ Locomotive is making its way back west from Philadelphia, and is in the area on Wednesday and Thursday.
It has a 30-minute stop tomorrow morning at 11:30 in Continental, Ohio, about an hour east of downtown Fort Wayne. Then, it will travel into New Haven from the east.
Recommended viewing spots are along Dawkins Road near Webster Road at Jefferson Township Park or in town at the New Haven City Hall parking lot.
Train officials remind spectators they should remain more than 25 feet away from the tracks to avoid trespassing and to stay safe.
After an overnight stay in New Haven, which is not open to the public, it will travel through downtown Fort Wayne around 9 am Thursday.
It will then make a 30-minute stop in Knox, Indiana, about 2 hours west of Fort Wayne, near South Bend and Valparaiso, which is open to the public at N. Main St. and W. Bender St. from 12:30 to 1p Central Time.
Crowds have been very large and officials suggest arriving early.
In June, Big Boy stopped here on its way to Philadelphia for the Fourth of July as part of the historic coast-to-coast tour in celebration of the United States of America’s 250th birthday.
Union Pacific’s ‘Big Boy’ No. 4014 is the world’s largest operating steam engine, weighing in at a whopping 1.2 million pounds. Twenty-five Big Boys were commissioned for Union Pacific, the first being delivered in 1941, where they were used to haul equipment in support of the war at the time.
You can track the historic locomotive through a live map of the train’s location, here.
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WSBT) — New standards are now in place for Indiana schools to request four day school week waivers.
Operation Education told you about the pilot program at Vinton Elementary near Lafayette back in 2024.
Operation Education: Indiana elementary pilots 4-day school week
That pilot program ends next spring.
It is the only school in Indiana operating on a four day week schedule.
The state’s new standards mean schools have to earn an “A” grade to be considered.
They also have to offer transportation for students who choose to attend a school on a five day schedule, pay teachers at least $45,000 a year, and offer enrichment and remediation at no cost to parents on the fifth day.
The State Board of Education would then decide if the school can move to a four day week.
More than 800 schools nationwide now operate on that schedule.
MONROE COUNTY, Ind. – The ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit over what it calls “unconstitutional conditions” at the Monroe County Jail.
This comes after the advocacy group previously suggested it would take legal action to resolve a lengthy dispute over the facility’s safety.
The federal lawsuit was filed on behalf of two individuals currently incarcerated at the jail. It cites chronic overcrowding, deteriorating infrastructure, unsafe living conditions and the county’s inability to remedy the problems.
The dispute originally flared in 2008, when the ACLU of Indiana filed a lawsuit challenging conditions at the jail. That led to a 2009 settlement in which county officials promised a long-term solution. Over the years, the deadline for improvements has been extended multiple times.
While the county appeared to embrace a brand-new justice complex near I-69 and State Road 46, those plans stalled when the county council voted down the project due to cost concerns.
The ACLU said the settlement has expired and the original lawsuit has been dismissed, necessitating the filing of a new one. The lawsuit claims conditions at the jail violate the 14th Amendment rights of people awaiting trial and 8th Amendment rights of people held after conviction.
The lawsuit names the Monroe County Council, Monroe County commissioners and Monroe County sheriff as defendants.
In a news release, the ACLU cited several problems at the jail, ranging from overcrowding to “extreme temperatures, broken plumbing, mold, crumbling walls, limited disability access, and failures to safely separate people with different medical and security needs.”
Ken Falk, legal director for the ACLU of Indiana, said officials have had long enough to fix the numerous issues.
“They have had nearly two decades to find a lasting solution, yet people are still being held in unconstitutional conditions that threaten their health and safety,” Falk said in a statement. “Studies have documented that the jail is dangerous and inadequate, and the sheriff has been candid about its many problems. However, the sheriff’s role under Indiana law is limited, and the county officials who could solve this problem have not listened.”
The ACLU is asking the court to certify the case as a class action and seeks a permanent injunction “requiring defendants to take all steps necessary to ensure that the conditions of confinement at the Monroe County Jail comply with the United States Constitution,” among other relief.
FOX59/CBS4 reached out to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office regarding this lawsuit. Officials with the office stated that they are “declining to comment on pending litigation.”
Read the full complaint here.
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