The Chicago Bulls walked out of the 2026 NBA Draft with two first-round picks. They hit a home run with the first one. The second one? Well, the fan reaction is all over the place.
At No. 4 overall, the Bulls grabbed North Carolina forward Caleb Wilson, a player widely considered a generational talent. That part was easy. Everyone cheered. But at No. 15, Chicago selected Dailyn Swain, a guard/forward out of Texas, and the internet had mixed feelings.
Swain is no scrub. In his lone season with the Longhorns, he averaged 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while shooting 54.2% from the field and 81.5% from the free-throw line. Scouts love his playmaking ability and his relentless rebounding. But for a fanbase that watched the team miss the playoffs for the third time in four years, the pick felt like a gamble.
On X (formerly Twitter), the reaction ranged from cautiously optimistic to openly frustrated.
“I know absolutely nothing about him but I fw it,” posted @ChiFanJustin.
Another fan struck a more measured tone: “We’ll take it. I’m not mad at it. Welcome to Chicago!” wrote @xPGelatox.
But the loudest complaints came from fans who wanted the Bulls to draft Cameron Carr, a guard who had been linked to Chicago in pre-draft rumors. Carr ended up going to the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 24.
“Why tf we didn’t get Carr!!!” posted @HEZIHIM23.
Another fan raised the stakes: “He better become Jalen Johnson level, we really wanted Cameron Carr,” wrote @OP_10122.
That kind of comparison is a lot to drop on a rookie. Jalen Johnson has turned into a borderline All-Star for the Atlanta Hawks. Expecting Swain to reach that level immediately is unfair, but that’s the pressure of a first-round pick in a market like Chicago.
The Bulls are in the middle of a full rebuild. New front office. New coach. Cap space to burn. They have the flexibility to make moves in free agency and trades. So maybe Swain isn’t the final piece. Maybe he’s a rotation guy who develops into something more. Or maybe he’s a guy who gets lost in the shuffle. Nobody really knows yet.
What we do know is that Swain can fill a stat sheet. He’s explosive in transition, crashes the offensive glass like a veteran, and has a game that translates to the modern NBA. But he’s also raw. He shot just 30% from three-point range in college, and the Bulls desperately need spacing around whoever they build around next.
Fans aren’t wrong to be skeptical. Every draft produces hits and misses. But the Bulls front office clearly saw something in Swain that made them comfortable passing on other options. Whether that turns into a steal or a reach is going to take a couple of seasons to figure out.
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