Why Cole Swider chose the Miami Heat

As tempting as other offers from the Bucks and Celtics may have been, Cole Swider chose the Miami Heat because of their track record of development.

When Cole Swider first arrived at the Miami Heat’s facility in downtown Miami early this month, he was promptly directed upstairs to the practice floor for a conditioning test.

Now, if you know anything about the Heat, then you know these drills are part of the organization’s lore. Players have done well and thrived in Miami, others have seen their time stunted. When Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra say, “We’re not for everybody,” they are to some degree referencing the conditioning demands.

Swider was measured. “The body-fat stuff, the weight,” he told me in an interview on the Locked On Heat podcast that was published this week. Then came the full-court sprints.

“It’s unbelievable. The Miami Heat culture is real,” Swider…