Training camp is a building block for most NBA teams and players. But for Chicago Bulls rookie Dailyn Swain, it’s also an all-out war for recognition.
While No. 4 draft pick Caleb Wilson is expected to slot directly into the starting lineup, the Bulls haven’t decided how — or where — they plan to play No. 15 pick Swain this season. That’s a benefit for Swain, who faces two major goals in the preseason:
1. Erase all memories of his summer league debut.
2. Prove to coach Tiago Splitter that he’s ready to play for the Bulls.
Despite being a rebuilding team, the Bulls didn’t come into training camp with a ton of leeway in their main rotation. Young centerpieces Wilson, Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey are expected to start alongside center Nic Claxton and shooting guard Norman Powell.
Tre Jones will run the point off the bench, with Zach Collins and Jalen Smith filling in the frontcourt for the second unit. That leaves only two spots in the 10-man rotation.
In recent seasons, those spots would have seemed cut and dried. The Bulls traded for shooting guard Buddy Hield and brought back small forward Isaac Okoro. Both veterans are reliable at their specialties: 3-point shooting for Hield, defense for Okoro.
But the new front office and coaching staff understand their duty to prioritize youth development, so Splitter is likelier to tinker with rotations to provide young players minutes rather than squeezing them out to focus on wins and losses.
Swain’s job over the next few weeks — and the rest of the season — is to beat out one of those veterans.
“That’s something I carry within myself,” Swain said. ‘‘I want to impact the game on defense and guard the best player. The offense will come, but the main thing is being a stopper.’’
The discomfort of summer league wasn’t accidental. An off-ball guard with strong one-on-one skills, Swain never has been a pass-first facilitator. But Splitter chose to push him into a primary ballhandler role, opting not to bring additional point guards to Las Vegas in order to force Swain into a growth opportunity.
Splitter put Swain in a position to sink or swim. For the most part, the rookie sank.
Swain went 4-for-31 (12.9%) from the field with seven turnovers in four summer league games, coughing up the ball repeatedly as he struggled in the on-ball role. In one game against the Utah Jazz, he went 0-for-9 from the field and turned the ball over three times.
He never showed flashes of the one-on-one skills that made him the best isolation scorer in the country last season at Texas. At times he seemed lost, allowing Wilson to take over facilitation at times to alleviate some of the pressure clearly weighing down Swain.
Former NBA player Carlos Boozer, left, reaches out to stop a ball as it goes out of bounds next to Bulls rookies Dailyn Swain, top, and Caleb Wilson in the first half of a summer league game against the Grizzlies on July 10, 2026, in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty)
Wilson offered encouragement to his fellow rookie in the final days of summer league, saying Swain would shake off those poor outings and learn from the experience. Swain gave the same assurances, although more muted. And in the weeks since, the Bulls have been buoyed to see Swain turn the page on a frustrating first outing.
“It’s night and day,” Splitter said. “It’s not even close. He was not himself at summer league. We all understand that.
“He’s been great. He’s been going through the little stuff to prove what he’s got to do. … Once he’s acclimated and feeling good about himself and confident, he’s a different player. And that’s what we expect.”
Swain won’t be asked to handle the ball in the regular season. If he is going to make it off the bench, he will earn those minutes through off-ball contributions: moving well to create space, keeping the ball moving in the half-court offense, knocking down open shots and making an impact on the boards and on defense. Consistency will be mandatory to make an impression.
The rotation, of course, is not set in stone. No team makes it through a season without players experiencing lulls, injuries and absences. If Swain doesn’t fit into the opening-day rotation, he still can work into the group by biding his time and slotting in when other backcourt players need relief.
G League minutes with the Windy City Bulls likely will be mandatory for Swain to get a reasonable chunk of playing time this season. But the summer league outing also suggests he wouldn’t necessarily benefit as much from that setting, in which his isolation scoring might stand out significantly more.
Swain needs to be tested in the NBA, which will expose his necessary areas for growth. His rookie season will be defined by whether he can earn the opportunity for that next challenge.
“I’m welcoming any form of development,” Swain said. “However it has to happen. I’m willing to get better so I’m open to that.”