Why the Chicago Bulls traded to get Julian Phillips in the second round of the NBA Draft

There was never any question about the freakish athleticism of Julian Phillips. Just how elite of an athlete he is showed up on Day 1 at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, when he led both the running vertical leap, at 43 inches, and the standing vertical, at 37 inches. 

Now Phillips, the former five-star freshman Tennessee wing, is headed back to Chicago as the newest member of the Chicago Bulls. He was the 35th overall pick in Thursday night’s NBA Draft, selected in the second round with a pick that originally belonged to the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics traded the pick to the Washington Wizards as part of the deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards to the Celtics and Marcus Smart from the Celtics to the Grizzlies. 

The Bulls, who entered Thursday without a pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, traded two future second-round picks to jump into the second round and grab Phillips. 

They did so because of his elite athleticism and impressive defensive numbers. 

“Our group liked him,” Artūras Karnišovas, the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Bulls, said according to the Chicago Tribune. “He’s (an) ex-McDonalds All-American. Multi-positional defender. He’s one of the best athletes in the draft. He can step in right now, probably can defend on our level.”

Julian Phillips averaged 8.3 points per game as a freshman, shooting 41.1% from the field and 23.9% from the 3-point line

Defense was never an issue for Phillips, who analytically was one of the best defenders on a Tennessee defense that was ranked No. 1 in defensive efficiency most of last season. On the offensive end, though, Phillips averaged 8.3 points in 24.1 minutes per game, shooting 41.1 percent from the field but just 23.9 percent from the 3-point line. 

“He has a lot of things to improve,” Karnišovas said, “but we’re looking forward to it. He’s very young and very talented.”

Phillips was projected as a late pick in the second round after finishing his freshman season at Tennessee, but climbed back toward the top of the second round after turning heads with his workout numbers at the combine. 

Along with his 8.3 points per game, Phillips averaged 4.7 rebounds, was fourth on the team in total rebounds (150) and led the Vols in free throws made (97) and free throws attempted (150).

He scored a season-high 25 points against USC in November in the Battle 4 Atlantis and had 18 points and 11 rebounds in a Tennessee win at Mississippi State in January. But he also went scoreless in 12 minutes against Florida Atlantic in the Sweet Sixteen, taking just two shots and grabbing just one rebound in the loss. 

Phillips had only four points and four rebounds in 45 minutes over three NCAA Tournament games. He scored in double-figures 13 times, but only three times over his final 13 games.

Bulls looking to develop players on the offensive end

Chicago selected a similar player last summer, taking Arizona sophomore wing Dalen Terry at No. 18 overall. The 6-foot-7, 195-pound Terry averaged 6.6 points per game during two seasons of college basketball, shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from the 3-point line while more known for his athleticism and defense on the wing.

The Bulls are focusing on player development, “with an emphasis on 3-point shooting,” according to the Chicago Tribune report, through general manager Marc Eversley and his staff. 

“When we both showed up here a few years ago, we talked a lot about player development and internal growth,” Eversley said according to the Tribune. “We recently hired a new director of player development (Peter Patton) to focus just on that shooting and being shot ready and being ready to shoot the ball when you’re open.

“It’s something that’s very important to us. We’ll continue to work on it every single day.”