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Swanigan's career has largely been struck in neutral over its first two seasons, with the 26th overall pick of the Trail Blazers in 2017 struggling to find any meaningful playing time in either Portland or his current NBA home, Sacramento. The Purdue product was thought to be a potential steal after declaring for the draft following two impressive college seasons, but he never managed to tunnel up the depth chart with the Blazers and then was traded to the Kings for fellow big Skal Labissiere in early February. Swanigan also put in time on the G League teams of both franchises over the last pair of seasons, with his eight-game Stockton Kings after arriving in Sacramento counting as his most successful at that level (15.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals across 29.5 minutes). Swanigan's biggest non-personnel-related obstacle to minutes thus far in his NBA tenure has likely been his highly inefficient shooting, as the 22-year-old forward has an unsightly 37.2 percent success rate from the floor, including 13.3 percent from three-point range, over his first pair of seasons. Looking ahead to the coming campaign, Swanigan didn't demonstrate any real progress in that regard during his five-game summer league stint this year, either, draining just 35.3 percent of his attempts over five games in the California Classic and Las Vegas tournaments. Therefore, he heads into training camp still facing quite the uphill battle for playing time at both frontcourt spots, with a mix of proven veterans and younger assets that includes Marvin Bagley, Nemanja Bjelica, Richaun Holmes, Trevor Ariza and Harry Giles among those ahead of him on the depth chart.
Swanigan averaged just seven minutes per contest over the 27 games he played during his rookie season, which unsurprisingly led to minimal production (2.3 points and 2.0 rebounds). The 26th overall pick in 2017 then saw plenty of run in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 26.3 minutes across seven games and hauling in an impressive 10.7 rebounds per contest. Swanigan should be primed for an uptick opportunity during the upcoming regular season as well, especially if Maurice Harkless spends the majority of his time at small forward. Such a development would likely leave Swanigan as Al-Farouq Aminu’s top backup at the four now that Ed Davis is in Brooklyn, presumably affording him double-digit minutes. Swanigan displayed some solid scoring skills in his college days at Purdue in addition to his strong work on the glass, so he could be sneaky late-ground grab if he shines in training camp and preseason.
Swanigan fell to the Trail Blazers late in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft, eventually being selected with the 26th overall pick after a standout two-year career at Purdue. The 6-foot-9 big man is well-known for his skills as an elite rebounder, but he's also a scorer and can stretch the floor, evidenced by his 44.7 percent clip from beyond the arc during his sophomore season at Purdue. The biggest beef with Swanigan's game is largely his lack of athleticism and speed, which could present a problem when trying to matchup with some of the quicker big men in the league. However, his impressive performance during the Las Vegas Summer League, which earned him First-Team All Summer League honors, provides some optimism for his transition. In eight games, Swanigan averaged 16.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals across 30.8 minutes. Swaningan's role for the upcoming season has plenty of question marks though. The Trail Blazers have a slew of bodies at power forward, including Maurice Harkless, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ed Davis and Noah Vonleh. That complicates Swanigan's path to early playing time and could mean a relatively small role once the season opens. That will sort itself out during training camp, but it's safe to assume Swanigan won't be forced into a significant role right away.