One exceeds expectations, the other falls short of them.

You can't help but believe there's a karmic balance in the draft. The Bulls' two first-round picks this year: the fourth overall pick, Wilson, has surprised everyone with his shooting ability, making him the biggest surprise among the first-rounders. The other, the 15th pick, Dairyn Swain, has disappointed many.

In three Summer League games, Swain shot 10-of-3 in the first game (3-of-0 from three, 1-of-1 free throws) for 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. That performance certainly wasn't outstanding, but it turned out to be the best of the three games.

In the second game, Swain shot 0-of-9 (0-of-2 from three, 2-of-3 free throws) for 4 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, and 3 turnovers. Today, he was scoreless again, shooting 0-of-7 (0-of-2 from three, 1-of-2 free throws) for 2 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block. To put it bluntly, Bulls fans were already prepared for Swain to lack shooting, but being this bad—missing every shot—is still shocking.

Over three games, Swain shot a combined 3-of-26 from the field and 0-of-7 from three, totaling 13 points. Honestly, this might be the worst Summer League performance I've ever seen from a first-round pick, given that Summer League is already the lowest level of NBA competition, even lower than the G League in intensity.

Splitter wanted Swain to play as a tall point guard, but when Swain handles the ball, his main role is just to bring it past half-court, and he's useless otherwise. Without any shooting threat, he can't drive either. It's not just missing threes—he can't make any shots at all, going scoreless in two games. I can't imagine what the criticism would be if Yang Hansen had such a performance.

Swain's draft position is just one spot ahead of Yang Hansen. The Bulls picking him at 15 was arguably the biggest reach in the first round. He was originally projected as a first-rounder, but mostly in the late 20s. It's said that the Bulls received information that the Thunder, picking later, were planning to select Swain, so the Bulls took him proactively. Presti's reputation is still too strong.

Swain is 2.01 meters tall, weighs 96 kg, with a 2.08-meter wingspan. His playing style is compared to Evan Turner—simply put, a wing with playmaking ability. Swain spent his first two years at Xavier University, where he was mainly a defensive stopper. In his sophomore year, he got more ball-handling duties, averaging 11 points. After transferring to the University of Texas for his junior year, he made a leap, averaging 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals, shooting 54.2% from the field and 34.4% from three.

Swain's biggest selling points are his size and his ball-handling ability, which is why Splitter tried to have him, a small forward-sized player, play point guard. After all, tall point guards are considered a version of the meta answer.

Unfortunately, even in college, Swain couldn't consistently blow past defenders. His driving ability is decent, but he relies on rhythm, often failing to get separation initially. His strength lies in secondary moves after contact with the defender.

Of course, many of his makes come from contested drives and pull-ups, which also reflects his lack of explosiveness. His defense is his foundation—he can match up against most forwards and switch onto guards. At least in Summer League, his defense was passable.

The biggest concern about him is his shooting. A ball-handler without elite speed, if his shooting is also poor, he can only rely on his size to bully opponents, which bodes ill for his NBA prospects. At Xavier, his three-point percentage was around 20%. After transferring, it "skyrocketed" to 34%, but that's still mediocre, and it's a small sample size.

His shooting form looks a bit awkward, not very smooth, with a slight hitch, and his release is slow. With his shooting ability, playing off the ball is disastrous—he can only cut to the basket for opportunities. In college, he handled the ball a lot, but with the Bulls, the ball will be concentrated in Giddey's hands.

Transitioning from college to the NBA is a huge challenge for Swain. In college, he could use his size to bully smaller guards, but in the NBA, his size advantage will be diminished, and his physicality is also lacking. For a player who relies heavily on drives and fast breaks, insufficient physicality at the NBA level could be fatal.

Summer League doesn't tell the whole story, but if you can't make shots in Summer League, the difficulty of adapting to the NBA is obvious.