Lakers Summer League Highlights: Cole Swider Ends Summer Strong In Loss To Nuggets

This was the final opportunity for players to showcase their skills this summer in front of the coaching staff and front office, but a number of key Lakers players did not suit up. That list included Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Trey Jemison, Darius Bazley and Arthur Kaluma.

As a result, the Lakers struggled defensively for much of the night and wound up suffering a 106-84 loss. Overall on the summer, the Lakers finish with a 3-5 record between Las Vegas and the California Classic.

Cole Swider was one of L.A.’s biggest bright spots all summer and that continued in this one. He made his first five shots and had 14 points in the first quarter alone. He cooled off from there but still wound up with 17 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block on 6-of-15 shooting.

RJ Davis, Sir’Jabari Rice and Ethan Taylor all got extended looks off the bench and were able to showcase their offensive ability.

Davis had 17 points, one rebound, three assists and a steal while also contributing a rebound and a steal. Rice had 14 points and three rebounds of his own on 4-of-6 shooting.

Taylor hadn’t gotten many opportunities in Summer League before this game but caught fire in the second half. He wound up finishing with 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steal while making five of his eight 3-point attempts.

The Nuggets had a balanced scoring effort but were led by Curtis Jones, who was the game’s leading scoring with 22 points to go with five rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one block. Denver had seven players with at least eight points in the victory.

What’s next for the Lakers…

Fans won’t see the Lakers in action again until training camp and the preseason, which begins in October. In the meantime, the players can take the feedback they received during Summer League and apply it to their offseason workouts in hopes of improving to the point of earning a roster spot.

The Lakers currently have an open roster spots and will be able to give out Exhibit 10 contracts for training camp, so it will be interesting to see who made enough of an impression to earn a longer look with the organization.