Tag: Julian Phillips

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Heading into the offseason, the Chicago Bulls prioritized improvement. After getting eliminated in the play-in tournament by the Miami Heat, the Bulls could have hit the reset button, but they didn’t. Instead, Arturas Karnisovas set his sights on running back the roster with a revamped squad.

However, the NBA draft also provided Chicago with an important opportunity. While it decided to remain competitive, adding young talent was still crucial to secure a bright future. The Bulls didn’t have any picks going into the event, but Chicago traded into the draft to select Tennessee forward Julian Phillips.

At summer league, Keith Smith of Spotrac spoke to members of Chicago’s staff, who remained anonymous. One staffer he talked to spoke highly of Phillips, noting how excited the Bulls are to have him on board.

“Julian Phillips can do a lot of different things,” the staffer told Smith. “We’re excited about what he brings to our roster.”

Obviously, most teams who just made a draft pick will be high on the player they selected, but Phillips’ athleticism and defensive potential became clear during summer league.

While he wasn’t as productive as some fans may have hoped, he still put together a solid run on very efficient splits. In four summer league games, Phillips averaged 8.8 points and 3 rebounds while shooting 52% from the floor and 44.4% from behind the 3-point line.

With the way the Chicago depth chart is shaping up and Derrick Jones Jr.’s departure, Phillips could have a chance to earn real minutes next year.

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At the end of last season, the Chicago Bulls were sent home in a state of disappointment, as they lost in the Play-In Tournaments at the hands of the Miami Heat. But instead of tearing down the roster, Arturas Karnisovas made it clear that the team was going to push forward rather than enter a rebuild.

So far this summer, they have stuck with this plan. Chicago re-signed Nikola Vucevic and Coby White and then signed Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig in free agency. And on top of that, they brought in rookies Julian Phillips and Adama Sanogo via the draft and undrafted free agency.

And according to Elias Schuster of Bleacher Nation, Phillips (and Craig) have a real chance to make an impact for the Bulls next year.

“This continues to be an area where I think the Bulls can improve somewhat significantly this season,” Schuster wrote. “They finished 28th in OREB% in each of the past two seasons. As elite as both Andre Drummond and Nikola Vucevic can be on the glass, one player on the court can’t be doing all the work. Anyway, we also touched on this a bit in yesterday’s bullets, so I won’t dwell on it. But I do think adding guys like Torrey Craig and Julian Phillips can help give this team a much-needed boost when it comes to creating extra possessions.”

Plus, if Phillips can improve his shot, his ceiling will skyrocket.

“Phillips didn’t blow me away in his third Summer League game, but he made some solid plays and continued to get to the free-throw line” Schuster wrote. “The lack of an ability to create his own shot off the dribble remains a relatively big concern. But there remains plenty of potential for his jumper to improve, especially since he’s a pretty good free-throw shooter.”

Will Phillips earn a rotational role for the Bulls next season?

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