Dailyn Swain enters his rookie year in Chicago with the kind of upside that makes teams patient - and the kind of depth chart that can make that patience hard to cash in.
The Bulls used a first-round pick on Swain, and while Caleb Wilson is the more obvious young headline as the fourth-overall selection, Swain is worth a real look too. The problem is that his Summer League showing did not help his case.
Over four games, he averaged 4.2 points, five rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting just 12.9% from the field. Every concern that followed him into the Draft - his reluctance to shoot and his inefficiency both outside and inside - showed up in full.
Still, Swain was never the kind of prospect who was supposed to arrive fully formed. At the Combine, he measured 6'6.5" with a 6'10" wingspan, and the long-term appeal is obvious enough: if he can become a reliable 3-point shooter and grow into a stronger on-ball defender, he has the frame and tools to settle in as a useful 3-and-D wing before his rookie contract runs out.
That kind of leap, though, depends heavily on opportunity. And right now, opportunity on the wing in Chicago is tied directly to what happens around the trade deadline.
Norman Powell and Matas Buzelis are set to open the season as the starters at shooting guard and small forward, and Isaac Okoro looks positioned to be the first wing off the bench. That already pushes Swain down the pecking order. He may not be buried, but he is clearly not near the top of the rotation either.
Okoro is the most obvious name to watch. He started all 62 of his appearances last season for Chicago and put up 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 33% from three.
He’s a better fit as a reserve wing, and Powell’s arrival gives the Bulls the freedom to use him that way. There’s also another layer here: Okoro is on the final year of the three-year, $33 million deal he signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers, which means Chicago could try to showcase him and, if his perimeter shot sharpens, turn him into a trade asset when contenders come calling for wing help.
Leonard Miller is part of the equation too, though more as a roster decision than a big trade chip. He’s in the final season of his rookie deal, and the Bulls still need to figure out whether he belongs in their long-term plans.
Patrick Williams is the trickiest piece of all. For Swain to climb the ladder, Chicago may need to move on from Williams somehow at the deadline.
Williams likely needs wing minutes himself if the Bulls want any chance of figuring out whether he can stick in the rotation. His shooting remains inconsistent, and his lateral quickness on defense isn’t where it needs to be.
Long term, he probably fits better as a four. But with Caleb Wilson and Jalen Smith lined up at power forward, the Bulls need to see whether there’s anything left to unlock under Tiago Splitter.
That leaves Swain as the fourth option on the wing for most of his rookie season. If the Bulls can get him real minutes before Christmas, and if Okoro is eventually moved at the deadline, the door could open for Swain to play extended, low-pressure minutes once Chicago is out of the playoff picture.
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Giddey talked about the partnership and his role in the process, which gives the shoe a personal layer beyond the usual endorsement rollout. PUMA has leaned into his connection to Australia, and the design is framed around that identity in a way that feels especially fitting for a player now trying to define his Bulls era. The full picture of how far his imprint reached on the final product is part of what makes this release worth watching. [Read more 🡒]