Swain has a higher ceiling than your usual 15th overall pick. Here's what we would like to see from Swain during his time in the 2026 NBA Summer League.
The Chicago Bulls drafted Dailyn Swain out of Texas with the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The multi-skilled, 6-foot-7 wing has a sky-high ceiling that is mostly tied to his incredible ball-handling ability and isolation scoring.
Swain--along with No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson--gives you a crystal-clear vision of the type of team that executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham is trying to build.
Graham appears to be assembling a squad stacked with lanky wings who should be able to hold up defensively as they fill out their frame. Offensively, the Bulls roster looks to be short on floor-spacing even after the addition of Norman Powell. This leads directly into the question of what does Swain reaching his ceiling look like?
The answer to that question is quite simple. Swain's slashing and playmaking are tailor-made for today's NBA, but his shooting is not. To be the best version of himself, he needs to shore up the clear weaknesses in his game.
Summer League is the time to experiment with your game in a low-stakes setting. It's also a place for your top incoming talents to showcase their clear-cut strengths. Here is what I'd like to see from Swain over his time at the 2026 NBA Summer League.
Top-3 Finish in APG on Summer League Roster
The raw number of assists Swain racks up at summer league isn't important. What is important is that Swain's assists rank among the top-three on the Bulls' summer league roster. Obviously this has no actual make-or-break importance, but it would be nice to see Swain assert himself as one of the top offensive options in this setting.
At 6-foot-7, Swain isn't a good ball-handler, he's a special ball-handler. His ability to get to his spots on the floor with ease--especially one-on-one--lends itself to being the lead playmaker for a team.
He likely won't get that opportunity right out of the gate in Chicago, with incumbent PG Josh Giddey running the show. So it would be excellent for Bulls management to get a chance to see Swain acting as "big PG" for an extended stretch. Even dating back to his time at Xavier where he was less of an on-ball player, Swain showed the ability to make nice reads as a passer.
Having faith in Swain running the second unit as a lead ball-handler could open a host of opportunities for the Bulls front office. Summer league is their first chance to get a look at the former Texas wing in this role as a member of the Bulls organization.
Aggressive Shooting From the 3-PT Range
The clear weakness in Swain's game is an unorthodox jumpshot that doesn't look like it will translate at the NBA level. He shot a career-high 2.6 attempts per game from 3-pt range his last collegiate year at Texas, knocking them down at a 34.4% clip.
At summer league, there is almost no number of Swain 3-pt attempts that would make me uncomfortable. Swain should be taking 6+ attempts per game from 3-point range if he can over the summer league.
The low-stake setting is the perfect place for him to see how comfortable he feels taking that volume of shots from 3-pt range.
It's an obvious statement, but Swain becoming a league-average 3-point shooter would take his game to the next level.
Strong Defensive Rebounding Numbers
This one should be a simple ask, as Swain averaged 7.5 RPG at Texas, 5.8 of those being defensive rebounds. But assuming the Bulls regular season roster is mostly set and Swain is a part of it, he will be needed to do some heavy lifting on the glass.
Chicago acquired Nic Claxton in a low stakes trade early in the offseason. Claxton--even a diminished version of himself--figures to be an improvement to their roster in terms of rim protection, but he hasn't averaged over six defensive rebounds since the 2024 season.
Caleb Wilson and Swain--despite being rookies--will probably be leaned on to help the Bulls effectively rebound-by-committee. A (consistently) healthy Jalen Smith and Zach Collins would make my concerns on this issue overblown.
During summer league, it would be encouraging to see Swain active on the defensive glass and subsequently pushing the fastbreak.
The best version of this upcoming season's Chicago Bulls will be at their most dangerous when players like Swain, Wilson and Buzelis are grabbing the rebound and immediately flying up the court. With Swain (and Wilson) leading the way, the summer league Bulls will be Chicago's first look at a versatile and athletic core group of players that could cover for any perceived rebounding weakness.
