The Chicago Bulls have spent the last few years trying to build one of the youngest rosters in the NBA to jumpstart their rebuild.

With players like Caleb Wilson, Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey already expected to play major roles this season, and veterans like Tre Jones, Norman Powell and Jalen Smith filling out the rotation alongside them, there is little room for some of the Bulls' other key young players to receive ample opportunities to develop at the NBA level.

This is where the Windy City Bulls come in.

For the past decade, and especially last season, the Bulls have utilized their G-League affiliate in a unique way. Players like Mac McClung and Yuki Kawamura had already established themselves as quality G League players, but neither had much room left to develop into a key piece of an NBA roster. Meanwhile, last year's second-round pick Lachlan Olbrich dominated in the G-League, but his lack of traditional size and athleticism for an NBA center made his path toward becoming a legitimate NBA contributor difficult.

The Windy City Bulls have been entertaining and competitive, but they haven't consistently been used to develop players with legitimate chances of becoming important pieces of Chicago's future.

That needs to change if the Bulls want to maximize the young talent throughout the organization and give themselves the best chance at building a successful rebuild.

The G League has become an increasingly important developmental tool around the NBA. A record-tying 51% of players on opening-night NBA rosters last season had previous G League experience. During the 2024-25 season alone, 109 NBA players were assigned to the G League a total of 481 times.

It's time for the Bulls to take advantage of the NBA's farm system.

With Noa Essengue and Dailyn Swain potentially on the outside of Chicago's rotation to begin the season, the Bulls have two perfect candidates to start doing exactly that.

Swain was selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after a breakout junior season at Texas.

The 6-foot-8 wing averaged 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 54.2% from the field and 34.8% from three. His ability to get downhill, finish through contact and create for others made him one of the more interesting wings in the draft.

Summer League showed that there is still plenty of work to do.

Swain struggled offensively in Las Vegas, averaging just 1.5 points while shooting 11.5% from the field across four games. He also missed all nine of his three-point attempts. Head coach Tiago Splitter experimented with Swain as a primary ball-handler, and the rookie struggled at times with the pressure that came with that responsibility.

None of that means the Bulls should be concerned about Swain.

It means he needs reps.

Swain could spend most nights sitting behind more established players in Chicago or he could go to Hoffman Estates and play 30-plus minutes. He could handle the ball, initiate offense, defend opposing teams' best wings and continue working on the jumper that remains the biggest question surrounding his offensive game.

The Bulls drafted Swain after a season in which he was one of the best isolation players the NCAA has seen in a long time. In Las Vegas, he struggled in that same on-ball role he thrived in at Texas. He needs to learn how to adjust his game to compete against NBA caliber defenders and get back to being that confident on-ball player he was at Texas.

Windy City gives him a place to work toward it.

Essengue is in a slightly different situation.

The Bulls selected him No. 12 overall in 2025 knowing he would be a long-term project. He was one of the youngest players in his draft class and remains just 19 years old entering his second NBA season.

Unfortunately, his rookie year provided very little opportunity to develop.

Shoulder surgery in December limited Essengue to only two NBA appearances, meaning the 2026-27 season will almost serve as a second rookie season for the young French forward.

The good news is that Bulls fans have already gotten a glimpse of what Essengue can do in the G League.

In four games with Windy City last season, Essengue averaged 23.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in just under 31 minutes per game while shooting 50.8% from the field. He scored 28 points in his G-League debut against the Wisconsin Herd.

That's exactly what the Bulls should want to see again.

Essengue doesn't need five minutes at the end of an NBA game. He needs to play.

He needs opportunities to handle the basketball, take jumpers, defend different positions and make mistakes without worrying that one bad possession will send him back to the bench.

Chicago also has more competition for frontcourt minutes than it did when Essengue was drafted. Wilson has arrived as the No. 4 overall pick, Buzelis is entering a pivotal third season and the Bulls have several other forwards competing for minutes. Recent reporting has already suggested Essengue could begin the season outside Splitter's rotation and potentially back in the G-League.

That shouldn't be viewed as a failure.

There was once a stigma attached to an NBA first-round pick being sent to the G-League.

That shouldn't exist anymore.

Pascal Siakam spent time with Raptors 905 during his rookie season before becoming an NBA champion and All-NBA player. Rudy Gobert was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam as a rookie. CJ McCollum spent time with the Idaho Stampede, Clint Capela played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Terry Rozier was assigned to the Maine Red Claws.

More recent examples include players like Chicago's recent addition Norman Powell and Jordan Poole. The league also helped players such as Alex Caruso, Fred VanVleet, Duncan Robinson and Danny Green establish themselves before going on to have lengthy NBA careers.

Obviously, sending Swain or Essengue to Windy City doesn't guarantee either one becomes the next Siakam or Gobert.

That's not the point.

The point is that G-League basketball has become a legitimate part of NBA player development.

The Bulls also have an advantage because Windy City is their own affiliate. NBA organizations often implement the same terminology, offensive concepts and defensive systems with their G League teams, allowing young players to develop without being completely removed from what the NBA club is doing. Chicago can also recall an assigned player whenever it wants.

That makes Hoffman Estates an extension of the Bulls' developmental program rather than some separate destination.

There will naturally be fans disappointed if Swain and Essengue aren't playing significant minutes for Chicago this season.

That's understandable. They were first-round picks, and everyone wants to see what the young guys can do.

But rebuilding isn't about getting every prospect onto the NBA floor as quickly as possible.

It's about making sure they're ready when they get there.

Swain needs to develop his jumper and become more comfortable creating offense against professional defenders. Essengue needs to make up for nearly an entire season of lost development while continuing to expand an offensive game that remains extremely raw.

The Windy City Bulls can give both of them that opportunity.

If either player dominates the G League and forces Splitter to find him NBA minutes, great. If they spend most of the season in Hoffman Estates developing their games, that's fine too.

For a rebuilding team, development has to matter more than optics.

The Bulls don't need Swain and Essengue sitting on an NBA bench just so they can say their first-round picks are in the league.

They need them playing basketball.