Julian Phillips

Bulls Notes: Dosunmu, Terry, Phillips, Craig

When Bulls coach Billy Donovan opened camp by placing an emphasis on offensive rebounding, Ayo Dosunmu volunteered to be one of his “go-guys,” writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Go-guys” are the ones who will hit the boards on missed shots, as Donovan pushes the team to improve after finishing 28th in the league in offensive rebounds last season.

“You either have the chance to be a ‘get-back’ guy, get back on the shot, or a ‘go-guy’ and crash offensive rebounds,’’ Dosunmu explained. “I just think that being a ‘go-guy’ will give us the chance to have more opportunities in offensive rebounds. I have a knack to go get the ball.’’

The third-year guard is looking for a way to carve out playing time in a crowded backcourt after re-signing with Chicago this summer. He pulled down three of the team’s 26 offensive boards in Thursday’s win against Denver.

“When the defense is set and you get caught playing in the mid-range, generally it’s man-on-man and it’s really hard to rebound from those spots, so I give Ayo a lot of credit,” Donovan said. “He took a lot of ownership in being a guy that wanted to go to the glass. We need guys to have that kind of mentality.’’

There’s more on the Bulls:

  • Donovan is encouraging recent draft picks Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips to remain patient as they wait for playing time, Cowley adds. Terry, a first-round pick in 2022, and Phillips, a second-rounder this year, don’t appear to have a path to the rotation, but Donovan said things can change quickly. “I don’t like necessarily passing judgment on what will happen when the season starts because a lot of people felt that Ayo wouldn’t have gotten a lot of playing time his rookie year,’’ Donovan said. “Then with the injuries to Alex (Caruso) and Lonzo (Ball) a huge hole opened up. I think it’s the responsibility of all of us to keep those guys working and keep them ready, help them get better.”
  • Torrey Craig came to Chicago in free agency after spending last season with a Phoenix team that was expected to be a title contender. The Bulls aren’t viewed in that category after missing the playoffs, but Craig tells K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago that there’s enough talent on hand to surprise the league. “We have defenders. We have scorers. We have shooters. We have a great coaching staff,” Craig said. “So if we put all that together, we can win every single night in this league. It just comes down to how consistent we’re going to be.”
  • Donovan is also emphasizing three-point shooting, Johnson states in a separate story. After being the only team not to reach at least 30 long-range shots in any game last season, the Bulls have topped that mark in both of their preseason contests.

Trade Breakdown: Kristaps Porzingis To The Celtics

This is the first entry in our series breaking down the significant trades of the 2023 offseason. As opposed to giving out grades, this series explores why the teams were motivated to make the moves. Let’s dive into a three-team blockbuster between the Celtics, Grizzlies and Wizards…


On June 23:


The Celtics’ perspective:

Dealing away one of the longest-tenured players in the league, an accomplished veteran who won Defensive Player of the Year just two seasons ago, certainly wasn’t an easy decision for Boston. It’s pretty clear that moving Smart wasn’t the team’s top priority, as an earlier version of this trade involved Malcolm Brogdon instead, but it was reportedly scuttled because the Clippers didn’t have time to evaluate the Sixth Man of the Year’s elbow (Brogdon was later flipped to Portland in the Jrue Holiday blockbuster).

Smart has long been considered the heart of the Celtics due to his consistent effort, energy and intensity. Who will fill his leadership void? They’re hoping that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown step up to the plate; we’ll see how that plays out.

That’s not to say Smart is without flaws. He has never been an efficient scorer, and has had an unfortunate penchant for forcing out-of-rhythm shots at the end of games throughout his career.

While he wasn’t directly involved in this transaction, you could easily argue that later moving off Grant Williams was a financial byproduct of the deal. The Celtics added a little over $7MM to their salary cap figure (and far more to their luxury tax bill) by trading for Porzingis, which made going further into the tax to pay Williams less palatable.

It’s worth noting that this trade framework would not have been possible for the Celtics if Porzingis had declined his option and entered free agency. The deal was made in June, when the old CBA was in effect — it was more lenient for teams above the first tax apron.

If the Celtics had tried to do a sign-and-trade for Porzingis a couple weeks later, they would have been required to add more money for salary-matching purposes, and that could have been a deal-breaker for Washington (Boston also would have been hard-capped in that scenario, another significant obstacle).

Gallinari never suited up for Boston after tearing his ACL last year, and Muscala was a trade deadline acquisition who wasn’t in the team’s postseason rotation. Given their advancing ages (Gallinari is 35; Muscala 32) and defensive limitations, neither were likely to be around beyond this season.

Porzingis, on the other hand, just turned 28 and is coming off a career year in which he averaged 23.2 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 2.7 APG and 1.5 BPG on .498/.385/.851 shooting in 65 games (32.6 MPG). He’s theoretically entering his prime. The Celtics have never had a frontcourt player who can score like the 7’3″ big man during the Tatum/Brown era.

Porzingis’ size, timing and willingness to contest shots makes him a formidable rim protector defensively, but he’s not particularly agile and isn’t a great rebounder. Asking him to patrol the perimeter doesn’t play to his strengths on that end, but he can make a real impact roaming and in the paint.

Offensively, Porzingis is an incredibly difficult cover if he’s hot on a given day, because he can simply shoot over the grand majority of players. He has deep range from beyond the arc and can score from all over the court, and is good at leveraging the threat of his shooting to drive and draw fouls. He has to be accounted for at all times.

Actually getting Porzingis the ball to maximize his impact on that end might be an issue. With Tatum, Brown, Porzingis and now Holiday in the mix, the Celtics have a lot of players who like to shoot. It will be interesting to see how the team’s shot distribution shakes out.

Porzingis picked up his $36MM player option as part of the deal, and the Celtics later signed him to a two-year, $60MM extension, seemingly making him a franchise cornerstone for the next three years.

Boston also received the draft rights to Marcus Sasser (the No. 25 pick) and Golden State’s 2024 first-rounder (top-four protected) from Memphis, while sending Julian Phillips (the No. 35 pick) to Washington (Phillips was later flipped to Chicago). The Celtics made multiple draft-night deals and accumulated several future second-round picks, ultimately sending Sasser to Detroit while selecting Jordan Walsh.

That Warriors pick has some upside, but the 2024 draft class is considered pretty weak right now. Golden State’s core is aging and Stephen Curry has missed a significant amount of time over the past handful of seasons – depending on health, there’s a chance it could be a lottery pick, though it could also end up being a late first-rounder if everything goes right for the Warriors.

Instead of keeping the pick, the Celtics used it as part of the package for Holiday, doubling down on their aggressive offseason overhaul by once again sacrificing depth for top-end talent.

The Porzingis trade carries a good deal of risk for Boston. That risk comes in multiple forms.

For starters, Porzingis has been injury prone over the course of his career, making him an inherently high-risk, high-reward player. He was held out of the World Cup for Lativa due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which was concerning, but he says he’s “totally fine” now.

Porzingis’ lengthy injury history ties into Boston’s depth, or lack thereof. Boston’s six-man group of Derrick White, Holiday, Brown, Tatum, Porzingis and Al Horford has as much two-way talent as any team in the league. But Horford is 37 years old, and there are major question marks beyond those six players.

Still, it’s not like the Celtics are any different in that regard than the Bucks, Nuggets and other contenders who have elite top-end talent but shaky depth. And if Boston is healthy entering the playoffs, it will be on a very short list of favorites for its 18th NBA title.

The other primary risk of the deal is that the Celtics added a lot of salary – both now and in the future – by trading for and then extending Porzingis. Their financial commitments will only grow over time, as Brown received a super-max extension that will kick in starting in 2024/25, while Tatum will likely receive his own super-max deal next summer (that will begin in ‘25/26). Holiday is also up for a new deal; he could be a free agent in 2024 if he declines his player option.

Most teams decided to shed long-term salaries this offseason in an effort to avoid the punitive second tax apron. The Celtics obviously felt that adding Porzingis (and later Holiday) to a talented roster increased their championship odds, a gamble deemed necessary after losing in the NBA Finals in ‘21/22 and falling in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.


The Grizzlies’ perspective:

Initially, I was surprised that the Grizzlies were willing to give up a fairly strong haul of assets to acquire Smart. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

Jones has been a valuable role player for Memphis over the past four seasons. He’s historically great at taking care of the basketball, having led the league in assist-to-turnover ratio each of the past five seasons. His steady presence was a nice complement to Ja Morant’s risk-taking play-style.

However, he’s on an expiring $14MM contract, while Smart won’t become a free agent until 2026 — he’ll earn $60.6MM over the next three years. Having long-term team control is important for small market franchises like the Grizzlies, as they aren’t a free agent (or trade request) destination.

There’s no question that Smart is a direct upgrade over Jones defensively. He’s bigger, stronger and much more versatile – capable of switching across four positions. Jones is solid at defending smaller guards, but lacks the size and strength to defend up the positional spectrum.

That versatility should allow Smart to play alongside Morant more comfortably than Jones could. It was a nice change of pace offensively to have Morant off the ball at times, but it made Memphis far more exploitable on the other end when Morant and Jones were on the court together.

Smart is also better at creating his own shot on offense than Jones, and is a quality play-maker in his own right, even if his shooting is extremely streaky from game to game.

One of the best attributes that Smart will bring to Memphis is his leadership and willingness to hold teammates accountable. Given Morant’s well-documented off-court troubles over the past year-plus, adding a vocal veteran leader like Smart makes a lot of sense. That’s not to say Jones isn’t a leader in his own right, but the Grizzlies clearly needed to shake things up after a disappointing playoff run saw them lose to the Lakers in the first round.

Late first-round picks like Sasser are a crapshoot – they can be hidden gems, or out of the league after a few years. The Grizzlies have plenty of youth on their roster, so consolidating some of their assets for a proven veteran was a logical choice.

As discussed above, the Warriors pick the Grizzlies sent out does have some upside value, but the 2024 draft currently isn’t viewed favorably, and Memphis still controls all of its own future first-round picks. This trade won’t prevent the Grizzlies from making a major all-in move down the line, if they choose to go that route.

Another angle to consider is Jones may have wanted — or at least been open to — a change of scenery. Despite being one of the top backups in the league, his earning potential would always have been limited in Memphis playing behind Morant. The star guard’s 25-game suspension doesn’t change that.

Jones will have an opportunity for a bigger role in Washington, and the Grizzlies may have increased their championship odds by adding Smart, who has won a ton of games over the years and been a part of several deep playoff runs with the Celtics.


The Wizards’ perspective:

A career backup, a couple of big men who can shoot but have major defensive limitations, a second-round pick, and a mid-sized traded player exception for a borderline All-Star? That’s all the Wizards could get for Porzingis?

That’s one (rather shortsighted) way to look at this trade. The other is Washington’s new front office simply got what it could, when it could for a player who was facing an imminent decision on his $36MM option. Had Porzingis declined his option and entered unrestricted free agency, he could have left the Wizards with nothing in return.

The Wizards picked up a proven point guard in Jones who should be a nice offensive complement alongside another new addition in Jordan Poole. One of Poole’s biggest weaknesses is turning the ball over, which is Jones’ greatest strength.

You could argue that acquiring Jones while later moving off Monte Morris — a player on a cheaper contract with similar strengths and weaknesses – doesn’t make much sense. However, the Wizards did receive a future second-round pick for Morris, and Jones has higher upside as a play-maker, even if his shot hasn’t been as consistent.

Since Jones, Gallinari and Muscala are all on expiring contracts, it’s certainly possible that all three players could be on the move before the February trade deadline. The Wizards are in the early stages of retooling their roster after dealing away Porzingis and Bradley Beal; continuing to accumulate assets is the most prudent course of action. If they can get positive returns, they might take them.

If Jones has a big year, maybe that means they re-sign him and trade him down the line. Maybe they just keep him for a few years – he’s only 27. There’s plenty of flexibility to work with there, which is valuable when the roster isn’t close to contention.

It’s hard to envision Gallinari having much value at his age and coming off a major injury, even if he’s had a long and very productive career. Still, maybe someone will bite and give up a second-rounder or two if he shows he’s healthy after a second ACL tear.

As for Muscala, he showed last season he could have positive trade value – the Celtics gave up a couple second-round picks to land him from OKC. His $3.5MM contract is the most affordable of the three players, which makes matching salaries easier as well, especially for the league’s top spenders.

By almost every metric, Porzingis was Washington’s best player last season. But the Wizards have been mired in mediocrity for years, and the old roster wasn’t going anywhere. The new front office had to make changes. They decided to accommodate Porzingis’ desire to go to Boston and tried to extract as much value for him as they could, given their limited leverage.

Contract Details: Okogie, Phillips, Schröder, Williams, Stewart, Wagner

Suns wing Josh Okogie received a Non-Bird deal when he re-signed with the team, according to Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link). Rather than earning the veteran’s minimum, Okogie will make 20% above the minimum on his new two-year contract, which includes a second-year player option. His salary in 2023/24 is $2,815,937, while his ’24/25 player option is worth $2,956,734.

As Marks notes, the Suns have now signed six free agents to two-year contracts with second-year player options — Okogie joins Keita Bates-Diop, Drew Eubanks, Eric Gordon, Damion Lee, and Yuta Watanabe in that group. The other five players received minimum-salary deals.

The offers, which include some security beyond 2023/24, may have helped the Suns land their preferred targets on the free agent market. However, they’ll also increase the club’s total salary and end-of-season luxury tax bill. As we’ve previously outlined, the NBA covers of portion of veteran’s minimum salaries for players who sign for a single season, but not for players who sign multiyear minimum contracts.

For instance, Gordon would have earned a $3,196,448 salary in 2023/24 regardless of whether he signed for one year or two. But because he received a second year, Phoenix will be responsible for paying that full salary (and the accompanying tax penalty based on that full salary). On a one-year deal, the Suns would’ve paid Gordon a reduced amount ($2,019,706), with the league making up the difference.

Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:

  • Julian Phillipsfirst NBA contract is a four-year deal, according to Marks (Twitter link), who says the Bulls second-round pick will earn $1.6MM in year one and the minimum in the following three seasons. The deal, which was completed using the NBA’s new second-round pick exception, will include a fourth-year team option but is guaranteed for the first three years. As Marks observes, Phillips will receive the second-most guaranteed money of any 2023 second-rounders who have signed so far, behind only No. 32 pick Jalen Pickett.
  • Dennis Schröder‘s two-year deal with the Raptors is worth the full mid-level amount, Hoops Rumors has confirmed: $12,405,000 in year one and $13,025,250 in year two. Grant Williams‘ fully guaranteed four-year contract with the Mavericks is also worth the exact amount of the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($53,341,500 in total), though Dallas acquired him via sign-and-trade and still has its MLE available.
  • Isaiah Stewart‘s four-year, $60MM extension with the Pistons and Moritz Wagner‘s two-year, $16MM deal with the Magic each have flat annual cap hits – $15MM each year for Stewart and $8MM each year for Wagner – with team options on the final season. As previously reported, Stewart’s deal also includes $1MM per year in incentives, so it could be worth up to $64MM. Meanwhile, as part of his agreement with Orlando, Wagner waived his right to veto a trade during the 2023/24 season, becoming the third player to do so under the new CBA.

Bulls Sign Second-Round Pick Julian Phillips

The Bulls have officially signed second-round pick Julian Phillips to his first NBA contract, the team announced today (via Twitter).

There’s no word yet on the terms of Phillips’ deal, but players drafted as high as he was (No. 35) typically sign standard contracts, and the Bulls’ announcement doesn’t say anything about it being a two-way pact. I imagine the club used the new second-round pick exception to sign him to a three- or four-year contract that includes at least one or two guaranteed seasons.

[RELATED: 2023 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

A 6’8″ forward, Phillips spent just one year in college before declaring for the draft as an early entrant. As a freshman at Tennessee in 2022/23, he averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 points, and 1.4 assists in 24.1 minutes per contest (32 games), earning SEC All-Freshman honors.

Phillips ‘ shot needs work (he made just 11-of-46 three-pointers at Tennessee), but he possesses intriguing length and athleticism.

Assuming Phillips signed a standard contract, the Bulls will have 13 players on their 15-man roster once Torrey Craig officially completes his reported deal with the team. That roster count includes Carlik Jones‘ non-guaranteed contract, but doesn’t include Ayo Dosunmu, who is still a restricted free agent.

Bulls Trade Into Draft, Select Julian Phillips At No. 35

JUNE 28: The deal is official, according to the Wizards, who announced that they received the Bulls’ 2026 and 2027 second-round picks in the swap.


JUNE 22: The Bulls are trading into the second round of tonight’s draft, Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) reports.

Per Charania, Chicago flipped two future second round draft picks to the Wizards for Washington’s No. 35 pick, which it will use on Tennessee small forward Julian Phillips.

The 6’8″ forward was an SEC All-Freshman selection during his lone college season in 2022/23. Across 32 healthy games, including 25 starts, the 19-year-old averaged 8.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG and 0.5 BPG.

As K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago (via Twitter) notes, Phillips logged a 43-inch vertical at this year’s draft combine, the best among this rookie class. He also boasts a 6’11 1/2″ wingspan. Like several other recent draft picks by team president Arturas Karnisovas, Phillips is big for his position and fairly athletic, but lacks a consistent jump shot.

Even though the Bulls took the fewest three-point attempts of any team in the league last year and desperately need more volume shooting, it appears the team will need to look elsewhere this offseason to address that clear need.

Draft Notes: Nuggets, Appleby, Wembanyama, Tshiebwe, Dick, Clippers

The Nuggets agreed to a draft-pick trade with the Thunder during the Finals, acquiring this year’s No. 37 selection, the least favorable of the Thunder’s 2024 first-round picks, and a 2024 second-rounder in exchange for a 2029 first-round pick. They are continuing to look to add a first-round pick in this year’s draft, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets, using the 2024 first-round pick they received from Oklahoma City as bait.

With salary-cap concerns, Denver is trying to add low-cost options to round out its bench as it pursues a repeat. In another draft-related development, the Nuggets will work out Wake Forest point guard Tyree Appleby on Tuesday, Singer reports in another tweet.

We have more updates with the draft approaching on Thursday:

  • Victor Wembanyama, a mortal lock to be the first player off the board, has arrived in the United States from France, Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports. He flew into Newark (N.J.) Airport on Monday. Wembanyama has a scheduled pre-draft media session on Wednesday before the Spurs officially secure his services on Thursday night.
  • Kentucky star forward Oscar Tshiebwe has been one of the busiest prospects over the past month. He’s finishing up his workout schedule by visiting the Cavaliers and Celtics, Adam Zagoria tweets. Tshiebwe’s visit with Boston’s brass will be his second there. He has worked out for approximately half the teams in the league.
  • Kansas wing Gradey Dick, who is projected to go in the second half in the lottery, told The Athletic’s Shams Charania that he will be a team player wherever he winds up (Twitter link). “I’m going to go into any organization, any city, and really just buy into the team. I’m the type of player where I honestly don’t care what my role is,” Dick said.
  • The Clippers’ staff had a busy Monday, evaluating 10 prospects in two separate workouts, Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times tweets. The visitors included Tyger Campbell (UCLA), Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State) Seth Lundy (Penn State), Nathan Mensah (San Diego State), Mike Miles (TCU), Omari Moore, (San Jose State), Julian Phillips (Tennessee), Ben Sheppard (Belmont), Grant Sherfield (Oklahoma) and Jordan Walsh (Arkansas).

Eastern Notes: Pacers, Quickley, Hawks, Bucks, Beal

No team holds more picks in the 2023 NBA draft than the Pacers, who have had another full week of pre-draft workouts at the Ascension St. Vincent Center in Indianapolis.

The Pacers hosted Marcus Carr (Texas), Kendric Davis (Memphis), Zvonimir Ivisic (Croatia), Drew Peterson (USC), Julian Phillips (Tennessee), and Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) for a group workout on Monday, then brought in D’Moi Hodge (Missouri), Colby Jones (Xavier), Omari Moore (San Jose State), Kevin Obanor (Texas Tech), Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette), and Malachi Smith (Gonzaga) on Tuesday.

The most notable workout of the team’s week so far is happening on Thursday, with the Pacers scheduled to host Gradey Dick. The Kansas guard could be a player Indiana considers with its lottery pick at No. 7.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • With Immanuel Quickley becoming eligible next month for a rookie scale extension, Fred Katz of The Athletic polled 15 front office members around the NBA to get a sense of what a “fair” extension for the Knicks guard would look like. Of those 15 participants, 11 projected an annual salary between $16-20MM, with five specifically suggesting $72MM over four years.
  • Discussing his newly completed coaching staff, Hawks head coach Quin Snyder told Lauren Williams of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he wanted a strong player development group made up of “selfless” individuals who would help instill that philosophy in Atlanta’s players. “It’s like putting any team together that whether it’s, tactical experience, analytics experience, literally different cultures and genders and all the different things that go into making a unique, strong group,” Snyder said. “But ‘The Thin Red Line’ to me that runs through all of it was, just selfless people that are able to put the group in front of themselves and I really want our staff to model that because that’s what we’re asking of our team.”
  • Eric Nehm of The Athletic breaks down the rumor identifying the Bucks as a possible Bradley Beal suitor, examining how Milwaukee could build a package to acquire Beal and weighing whether or not the star guard would actually make a better long-term building block than Jrue Holiday or Khris Middleton. As Nehm notes, while Beal is younger than Holiday or Middleton, he’s not as solid a defender as either of those current Bucks.

Draft Notes: Henderson, Top Prospects, Magic, Pacers, Jazz

In a short written piece alongside a longer video for The Players’ Tribune, G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson details how his father helped him develop into the player he has become. Henderson, who is projected a top-three pick for the upcoming 2023 NBA draft, also explains his desire to achieve greatness.

I want this,” Henderson writes. “I don’t ever want somebody to think they’re better than me. All of my idols have a killer mentality. Kobe (Bryant), (Russell) Westbrook, (Stephen) Curry…. I’ve always admired players with a drive that takes them beyond what the average person is willing to do to succeed. I think you have to be kind of crazy, if I’m being honest. All the greats are. And my dad wanted me to know that.

“I want to go beyond what it takes to be in the league. I’m not just looking for a roster spot — I’m searching for greatness. So, no, actually … with all respect to my dad…. I don’t just want this. I need this. See you at the draft.

Here are a few more notes on the draft:

  • While Victor Wembanyama, Henderson and Brandon Miller are widely considered the draft’s “big three,” that doesn’t mean they’ll ultimately be the three best NBA players. Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo of ESPN.com (Insider link) examine four prospects who could feasibly become one of the draft’s top three players down the line, weighing the pros and cons of each player as well as their ideal fits with teams. At the top of the list is Overtime Elite’s Amen Thompson, whose explosive athleticism, body control, ability to change speeds, vision and defensive flashes give him the highest upside in the draft outside of Wembanyama, according to Givony. Thompson is ranked No. 4 on ESPN’s big board, but Givony believes the Wizards (No. 8) or Jazz (No. 9) might be the best long-term situations for the young guard.
  • In the latest aggregate mock draft for HoopsHype, Michael Scotto reports that rival teams believe the Magic might be open to packaging their two lottery picks (Nos. 6 and 11) in order to move into the 3-5 range. According to Scotto, the Pacers might gauge the value of the No. 7 pick in a potential win-now move for a forward, while the Mavericks have been shopping their own lottery pick, 10th overall, in an effort to find an impact veteran.
  • As Rafael Barlowe of NBA Big Board writes, although rivals front offices have been expecting the Jazz to pursue a point guard with their lottery pick, there are rumors they might target French wing Bilal Coulibaly instead. Coulibaly has been shining in the LNB Pro A playoffs alongside his Metropolitans 92 teammate, Wembanyama. Barlowe also hears the Jazz are high on Tennessee wing Julian Phillips, whose stock is rising after strong measurements and athletic testing at the draft combine. Utah controls three first-rounders: Nos. 9, 16 and 28.

Draft Notes: Hawks, Hornets, Smith Jr., Heat, Delaire, Gardner

Kentucky guard Cason Wallace, who worked out for the Wizards on Monday, will not participate in his previously scheduled workout for the Hawks on Tuesday, Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tweets. Sincere Carry (Kent State), Armaan Franklin (Virginia), Seneca Knight (Illinois State), Xavier Castaneda (Akron), Toumani Camara (Dayton) and Vincent Valerio-Bodon (Sopron KC) will visit Atlanta on Tuesday. The Hawks hold the No. 15 pick in the first round.

We have more draft-related news:

  • Camara and Franklin were among the prospects who visited the Hornets on Monday, the team’s PR department tweets. Colby Jones (Xavier), Justyn Mutts (Virginia Tech), Julian Phillips (Tennessee) and Daivien Williamson (Wake Forest) also worked out for Charlotte. Jones and Phillips are considered potential first-round picks.
  • Arkansas guard Nick Smith Jr., a potential lottery pick, will visit the Heat in the near future, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Smith worked out for Washington on Monday.
  • San Diego Jaiden Delaire will remain in the draft, according to Zagoria. Delaire, who averaged 9.2 PPG and 5.3 RPG last season at San Diego, had his waiver request to play another college season denied by the NCAA. Delaire appeared in just 12 games last season due to broken toe and broken thumb but is “100% healthy now,” he told Zagoria (Twitter link).
  • Marist center Patrick Gardner has worked out for the Warriors, Nets and Magic, Zagoria reports in another tweet. He also has workouts scheduled with the Wizards, Bucks, Cavaliers, Pelicans and Celtics. Gardner averaged 19.1 PPG, 6.6 RPG and shot 38.3% from 3-point range last season.

Draft Decisions: Tshiebwe, Phillips, Brown, More

In one of this year’s most anticipated decisions, Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe announced that he will keep his name in the NBA draft pool, tweets Jeff Goodman of Stadium.

Tshiebwe was selected as the national player of the year in 2022 after averaging 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds per game as a junior, and he was an All-American again this season with 16.5 PPG and 13.7 RPG. Despite his lofty college status, Tshiebwe isn’t a sure thing to get drafted, ranking 75th on ESPN’s big board.

“What makes me decide what I’m going to do today is not about me,” Tshiebwe said in his press conference, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer. “Most of the time I pray and I follow the discernment of God. It’s just I am following what God has put in place, because the decision, if you feel peace and joy and happiness in your heart, that’s what you’ve got to go with.”

A few more high-profile players have decided to remain in the draft ahead of the 11:59 pm EDT deadline to withdraw and retain their NCAA eligibility. Among them are Tennessee’s Julian Phillips, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter link). The freshman small forward has gotten positive feedback from NBA teams during the pre-draft process, Givony adds. Phillips, 19, is listed at 34th on ESPN’s rankings, making him a potential late first-round pick.

Also staying in the draft is Kobe Brown of Missouri, tweets Matt Norlander of CBS Sports. Norlander considers the senior power forward a possible second-round pick, and ESPN has him listed at No. 46.

Baylor’s Adam Flagler, who has one year of eligibility remaining, has decided to remain in the draft as well, Goodman tweets. The shooting guard is listed as No. 80 by ESPN.

Among those deciding to withdraw from the draft, today’s most significant decisions involved Florida Atlantic guards Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin, who helped the Owls reach the Final Four in March, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. He projects that their return will make FAU a preseason top-five team for next season.

According to Woj, Martin worked out for the Mavericks, Celtics, Bulls and Clippers, while Davis had sessions with the Celtics, Kings, Bucks, Jazz, Sixers and Pacers.

Here are a few more early entrants who have decided to return to school: