It's difficult to overstate how important the 2026 NBA Draft was to the Chicago Bulls.
After jumping up to fourth overall in the Draft Lottery, their possession of two first-round picks (including the 15th overall selection from their trade with the Portland Trail Blazers during last year's Draft) afforded them an unmistakable opportunity. With their rebuild well underway, the Bulls had to nail both of those selections.
So far, it seems like they've done that. Both Caleb Wilson and Dailyn Swain fit perfectly into Bryson Graham's defensive and athleticism-dominated vision for the future of the organization. If those two players can stay on track in their development and Chicago can add one or two more pieces to complement Matas Buzelis and their budding young core, the team will suddenly be on track for competitiveness.
The key to this, though, is that the Bulls need to have nailed both of their 2026 selections. Now that Wilson has shown his scoring chops in his summer league breakout, the pressure is now on Swain to do the same.
Caleb Wilson already looks like a future star— what can Dailyn Swain ultimately be for Chicago?
To be clear, it's not wise to draw long-ranging conclusions from summer league performances. The stakes are too low, the competition too weak, to put real stock in any individual outing. But it's hard to ignore what Wilson did in his debut.
In Chicago's 97-96 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies, Wilson posted 35 points, five rebounds, two steals, and three blocks, hitting seven of his 11 3-point attempts in 33 minutes on the court. For a player whose biggest concern coming into the league is the polish of his offensive game, Wilson certainly looked like a league-ready star.
Wilson has, in a sense, already assuaged any doubts that may have arisen from a weaker set of summer league performances. While Swain was also solid in the Bulls' opener— posting seven points, four rebounds, and three assists— he has not accomplished that feat yet.
Swain's biggest concerns coming into the NBA center around his perimeter shot and his explosiveness off the dribble. In the summer league opener, he seemed aggressive in taking the ball into the paint and pushing the pace in transition, which is exactly what the Bulls should be looking for.
But if Swain is going to take on a guard role full-time, Chicago needs to see more flashes out of him as a self-creator and a capable shooter from beyond the arc. With his breakout performance, Wilson has now shifted the eyes off of himself and onto Swain.
Even if it's an unfair mantle to place upon the rookie, the pressure is now on Swain to show flashes of these skills over the Bulls' remaining three summer league matchups.
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