Billy Donovan believes rookie big man Julian Phillips has "good upside"

Rookie forward Julian Phillips may not be seeing much playing time due to the Chicago Bulls’ crowded frontcourt rotation, but coach Billy Donovan has seen enough for the former Tennessee star to realize how much potential he has.

“I think [Phillips has] really good upside," Donovan said of the 6-foot-8 forward who the Bulls took in the second round of this year’s NBA Draft.

Acclimation is key

The transition from the NCAA to the NBA life can be rough. According to Donovan, one of the crucial steps they took to help develop the 20-year-old was to get him up to speed with how professional basketball is.

“I think one of things we tried to do early in training camp was get [Phillips] acclimated to an NBA schedule, NBA routine, NBA practice," Donovan said. “There will be a time when he will go [to Windy City] and start playing because he needs to be on the floor playing."

So far, Phillips has played sparingly, appearing in only four out of the team’s first nine games, playing a little over two minutes per game. Despite the limited minutes, Donovan shared Phillips is steadily developing his skills at this level.

“He does a lot of things instinctively for his position. Besides the skill set of putting the ball on the floor and shooting, I think a big part for guys like him that are wing players, a power forward, being able to cut and move and just randomly play and read things quickly, he really has a good knack for that.”

Happy 20th Birthday to the rookie, Julian Phillips! #BullsNation | #SeeRed pic.twitter.com/UzUuqnQCSH
— Bulls Nation (@BullNationCHI) November 5, 2023

Learning the game

Phillips knows the situation he got drafted into. With a frontcourt that features former All-Stars Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, young forward Patrick Williams, and veteran Torrey Craig, not to mention Alex Caruso, who at times, is slotted at the four, the opportunity to contribute could be hard to come by. He’s using practice and film study to give him a chance to prove he can play at this level.

“I definitely think my development has improved since I got here, finding a routine that I like," Phillips said. “Just even not playing a lot but still getting to learn a lot from the game, seeing it from a different point of view, seeing how the older guys approach the game, watching the preparation they use and seeing how that translates on the court, all of it is a huge help with my development."

Phillips shooting form, release, speed all very encouraging pic.twitter.com/F3qetoLnBm
— Will Gottlieb (@Will_Gottlieb) October 20, 2023

Acclimation is key

Learning the game

Patrick Williams says he wants to remain a Chicago Bull for the foreseeable future