What Would A Successful G-League Stint Look Like For Bulls' Dailyn Swain?

The Chicago Bulls got a boost to their rebuild when the lottery-protected pick they owned finally conveyed, landing them Texas Longhorns' wing Dailyn Swain with the 15th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. 

Chicago owned the 15th pick via the Portland Trail Blazers, a byproduct of the Lauri Markkanen-Derrick Jones Jr.-Larry Nance Jr. trade in 2021. Swain joins No. 4 overall pick Caleb Wilson to form a draft class that could go a long way torwards shaping the future of the franchise. 

Unlike Wilson, who dominated Summer League to the tune of 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game, Texas Longhorns' product Swain struggled mightily in Las Vegas. 

Swain had a now infamously-bad summer league, in which he averaged 4.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting a catastrophically bad 12.9% from the field and failing to make a single 3-pointer. 

Of course, summer league is laughably early to write off a prospect. That didn't stop many from giving up on Swain prematurely. 

And while the summer is too early to give up on a prospect, it is only fair to analyze what we saw, and what we saw was not good to say the least. 

Over four games, we didn't see any of the things that made Swain such an appealing prospect in the first place. The biggest selling points on Swain were his ability to handle the ball and run the offense as a wing-sized player, and his ability to finish efficiently in the paint.

The weaknesses were well-publicized, in terms of Swain's extremely unorthodox jump shot and tendency to disappear on offense. We mostly saw the weaknesses on display in Las Vegas. Swain wasn't aggressive as a shot-taker over summer league, taking just under 8 FGA per game despite he and Wilson being the main attractions for Chicago.

Swain didn't create a ton of open looks for others--he averaged 2.25 APG vs. 1.75 TOPG--and mostly took a backseat to Wilson and Jaylin Sellers.

Chicago wrapped up their first preseason game, a 124-117 win over the Phoenix Suns. Over 22 minutes, Swain had a performance more along the lines of what was expected with 10 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Swain's versatile statline showcases exactly what we should expect from him over any developmental time he spends in the G League. 

In any time spent with the Windy City Bulls, the first thing to look for Swain is assertiveness. 

Obviously, players are human and getting fatigued is a factor, but there should never be long stretches where Swain isn't making some kind of impact on the game. In his first NBA preseason action, he took 3 FGAs, 4 FTAs, and had 6 assists vs. 3 turnovers. The statline and the eye tests backs up the idea that Swain was very involved in the action while he was on the floor. That is going to be necessary every night, even more so considering the Bulls using high draft captial (No. 15 pick) to acquire him. 

Turnovers are expected as Swain grows more comfortable running an offense at the professional level. But as simple as it sounds, there should always be a nice mixture of points, rebounds and assists for a player with such a versatile skill set. 

The 3-point jumper will be a long-term battle, something that can't simply be fixed overnight. But Wednesday night showed that Swain knows how to be opportunistic, choosing the right times to attack in transition vs. when to pull the ball back out and reset the halfcourt offense. 

The NBA G-League is a faster-paced, more up-and-down game with less passing and more one-on-one offense. While a healthy amount of 3-point attempts would be nice, physical on-ball defense and a solid assist rate from the wing is what will show us if Swain is truly making strides in the right direction.