The Bulls’ rookie spotlight is already bright, but Dailyn Swain may not get the kind of stage some fans are expecting.
When Chicago gets to 2026-27, the attention will naturally land on its two rookie selections, Caleb Wilson and Swain. That’s how rebuilds work: the youngest names become the story, and every flash point gets magnified.
Wilson has already made his case in Summer League, especially after drilling seven 3-pointers in his debut. Swain, meanwhile, had a rough first impression, putting up just 4.2 points per game while shooting 12.9% from the field over four appearances.
That kind of showing can stir up alarm quickly, especially when a franchise is in the middle of a reset and asking its newest pieces to matter early. But Swain’s path may be quieter than that, even if he settles in better once the games count.
His Summer League struggles made some sense. Chicago put him in more of an on-ball role than the one he had at Texas, and he looked hesitant trying to get downhill and finish at the rim.
The regular season should be a better environment for him to find more efficiency. Still, the bigger point is that Swain was never really projected as an instant difference-maker.
At Texas, he averaged 17.3 points and shot 54.2% from the field, but the same concerns followed him there: an inconsistent jumper and a tendency to pass up shots in the halfcourt. What he does bring is speed and pop in transition. The rest of his game still needs work, especially when it comes to confidence with the ball and making an impact as an off-ball perimeter scorer.
The current roster picture also points toward a limited role. Chicago’s starting backcourt is expected to be Josh Giddey and Norman Powell, with Tre Jones, Rob Dillingham, Isaac Okoro, Swain, and Jaylin Sellers coming off the bench.
Jones appears headed for the sixth-man job and should have a long leash running the second unit. Dillingham, who is entering the penultimate season of his rookie contract, also has plenty riding on how Chicago views his future.
Okoro could end up soaking up a sizable share of wing minutes that might otherwise have gone to Swain.
So while the Bulls need to give Swain space to grow, that doesn’t mean he has to be pushed into a heavy workload right away. More than 20 minutes a night may not be necessary.
His rookie season figures to be about development, not production. The real evaluation comes later, in the second and third seasons of his rookie deal.
For 2026-27, patience looks like the right call.
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Dailyn Swains first run with the Bulls did not do much to quiet the questions around his long-term fit. Over four Summer League games, the rookie struggled to finish plays cleanly and never found any real rhythm, with erratic ball handling and shaky decisions making it hard to see an immediate path to steady NBA minutes. For a team looking to sort out the back end of its roster, that kind of showing matters, even in a setting where growth usually counts more than results.
The Bulls still have preseason chances to get a clearer read on how far Swain has to go and whether there is a role for him sooner rather than later. For now, the bigger issue is development, and there is already a sense among observers that a stint in the G League may be the best next step before he can be trusted with meaningful playing time in Chicago. [Read more 🡒]