Tiago Splitter's biggest challenge in his first season as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, somewhat obviously, will be racking up enough wins to stay out of the basement of the Eastern Conference and avoid the jaws of the new Draft Lottery system. Chicago has been blown out against the two contenders they've played so far, and that seems to be the result they're trending towards on Wednesday night against the New York Knicks.
His second biggest challenge will be sorting out this rotation. The Bulls, at the very least, have an intriguing mix of young and veteran talent, and the priority this season should be the development of those young pieces. As expected, we've seen plenty of minutes for Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis so far—although it's reasonable to assume that Buzelis will see more touches over the course of the season.
But Dailyn Swain, who came to Chicago as the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, has been decidedly sidelined so far. His only minutes came in the fourth quarter of the blowout loss to the Boston Celtics. He missed the opener against the Toronto Raptors with an illness, but his other two games have been registered as DNP-CDs.
Given Swain's struggles as a shooter in Summer League and the preseason, this is a stance that makes sense in the early parts of the season. He's simply not ready to take on significant minutes in an NBA backcourt.
But if the Bulls haven't made room for him by the end of the season by moving on from either Buddy Hield or Norman Powell, that will be a failure of their developmental program and their front office.
Dailyn Swain deserves his opportunity with the Bulls—he's simply not ready yet
Given new lead executive Bryson Graham's clear emphasis on defense and physicality, the selection of Swain in the middle of the first round made perfect sense. Although he was somewhat hesitant as a perimeter shooter and a self-creator during his time and college, he has the archetypal frame and athleticism—plus some major ball-handling upside—to project him as a long-term option as a 3-and-D wing piece.
But those shooting concerns certainly bared their teeth during his Summer League and preseason performances. Swain shot an abysmal 12.9% from the field across his four Summer League appearances, and although he looked more confident during the preseason, he failed to knock down a single perimeter shot across those appearances.
With the way the backcourt is constructed right now, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Swain has been sidelined to this point in the season. Powell and Hield have taken on a combined average of 42.3 minutes at the shooting guard position this season, while Isaac Okoro has often been one of the first players off the bench for the Bulls as an additional wing presence. Chicago also has Jaylin Sellers and Jordan Hawkins in the fold on two-way contracts—both of whom are capable of playing that spot in certain scenarios.
But this is a rebuilding season for the Bulls. Keeping a first-round pick on the bench for the duration of the campaign simply isn't a viable option.
The good news for Swain, though, is that this situation will likely change.
Hield was brought in essentially as a walking trade chip. Even with the player option this offseason, his contract is immanently movable. Powell's fit, meanwhile, within the Bulls offense has been questionable through four games, and his contract is designed with a team option that makes him a trade asset this season as well. Moving on from either player would put Swain in a position to claim some serious backcourt minutes off the bench.
What Swain needs this season is reps—he needs opportunities to break out of whatever shooting slump affected him this offseason and he needs a chance to acclimate to the flow of an NBA offense. Through four games, it seems clear that he won't get that with the way this rotation is currently structured.
But if we can see any development from him at all in terms of his shooting and comfort as a ball handler this season, that should open the door for him to change that by the end of the campaign.
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