The Chicago Bulls wrap up their Las Vegas Summer League journey on Friday as they face the Cleveland Cavaliers. Caleb Wilson stole all the headlines for Chicago as he looked like a potential future superstar in his four games.
However, that is not the only takeaway from Vegas. Fellow first-round pick Dailyn Swain and last year's lottery pick Noa Essengue also took the stage for Chicago. They are lucky that Wilson was so dominant that their disastrous performances may have gone under the radar.
Essengue and Swain struggled so immensely that Patrick Williams ended up being one of the biggest winners of the summer for the Bulls. Neither player looked ready to challenge for a rotation role next season, clearing the path for Williams to play a ton of minutes off the bench.
Swain & Essengue's struggles pave the way for more Patrick Williams next season
Swain averaged 4.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 28 minutes per game, and was statistically one of the worst players in Las Vegas. He went 4/31 from the field, including 0/7 from downtown. He had his moments on the ball and on the defensive end, but Swain mostly looked lost offensively. The 15th-overall pick may need some time before he gets NBA reps as a rookie.
Essengue wasn't as bad as Swain statistically, but he was a source of frustration for the Bulls' coaching staff. After playing 29 minutes in the first game against Memphis, his playing time went down in each game.
In the second game against Utah, Essengue was benched to start the second half. He later told the press that head coach Tiago Splitter told him he wanted more energy and leadership on the floor. The French forward then proceeded to come off the bench in the next two games, averaging 13.5 minutes.
A 19-year-old with good physical and athletic tools getting benched for lack of energy in the Summer League is not ideal. That is the one thing you need to be bringing to the floor at all times as a young player.
If he is frustrating Splitter in these games, it's difficult to imagine he will be high on the pecking order when the season starts. Given how it was the previous regime that drafted Essengue, the former 12th-overall pick may have some work to do to impress the Bulls' top brass.
This means that Essengue and Swain are unlikely to have a big role, at least to start the season. This leaves a hole on the wing behind Caleb Wilson and Matas Buzelis. Patrick Williams will be the main beneficiary of this hole.
As disappointing as Williams has been so far, the Bulls are stuck with him. His contract prevents the Bulls from being able to trade him. Plus, he is probably still an upgrade over Swain and Essengue, given their Summer League performances. So, unless Chicago makes some moves to address the forward depth or the youngsters take a big step forward, Bulls fans should prepare for more Patrick Williams minutes than they would like.
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