Julian Phillips becomes Tennessee's seventh NBA Draft pick during the Rick Barnes era
Julian Phillips on Thursday night became the seventh Tennessee basketball player during the Rick Barnes era to hear his name called in the NBA Draft, when he was selected in the second round by the Chicago Bulls with No. 35 overall pick.
Barnes, dating back to the 2019 NBA Draft, has now produced three first-round picks and four second-round picks, starting with Grant Williams in the first round in 2019. Williams, Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone were all picked in 2019, a Tennessee record in the modern era of the NBA Draft.
Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer were both first-round picks in 2021 and Kennedy Chandler was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies early in the second round last summer.
Tennessee has now had 53 players in program history selected in the NBA Draft, dating back to 1948, with 11 players selected in the first round and 14 players selected in the second round.
Tennessee Basketball’s NBA Draft History During the Rick Barnes Era
2022
Kennedy Chander | No. 38 Overall, Second Round | Memphis Grizzlies
Chandler was drafted by his hometown Memphis Grizzlies in the second round last summer and played in 36 games as a rookie, averaging 2.2 points, 1.6 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 7.8 minutes per game. He was waived by the Grizzlies in April, making the move to sign rookie Kenneth Lofton Jr. and add him to the playoff roster after Steven Adams was injured. Chandler was on a four-year deal with the Grizzlies worth $4.9 million after signing in July 2022. He made $1.2 million before being waived. Chandler played in seven games for the Memphis Hustle in the G League last season, averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per game.
2021
Keon Johnson | No. 21 Overall, First Round | Los Angeles Clippers
Johnson in 77 career games in the NBA has averaged 5.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists, shooting 36.2 percent form the field and 34.3 percent from the 3-point line while averaging 10.4 minutes per game. Johnson 15 games for the Clippers during the 2021-22 season before being traded to the Portland Trailblazers in February 2022, a deal that sent Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow and a 2025 second-round pick along with Johnson to Portland in exchange for Robert Covington and Norman Powell. Johnson has played in 62 games with the Blazers, averaging 6.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game. Johnson’s current contract, according to Spotrac, with worth $12.5 million over four years. He’ll become a restricted free agent in 2025 and through two seasons has earned an estimated $5.2 million.
Jaden Springer | No. 28 Overall, First Round | Philadelphia 76ers
Springer has appeared 18 games during his two-year NBA career, playing in two games during the 2021-22 season and 16 games this season. He has averaged 2.4 points, 0.9 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 0.4 steals in 5.3 minutes per game. Sportrac numbers show Springer is currently in the middle of a four-year contract with Philadelphia worth $10,393,483. His estimated earnings to date are $4,148,880. Springer has averaged 18.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists for the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League dating back to 2021.
2019
Grant Williams | No. 22 overall, First Round | Boston Celtics
Williams opted to leave Tennessee after his junior season — after twice being named the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American — and the decision paid off. Williams was picked at No. 22 overall by the Boston Celtics and in 288 career NBA games has averaged 6.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from the 3-point line. This season Williams played in 79 games, averaging 8.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists, shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from three. Williams becomes a restricted free agent this offseason and, according to Spotrac, has earned just under $12 million over the last four years in Boston.
Admiral Schofield | No. 42 Overall, Second Round | Washington Wizards
Schofield has played in 108 games over three seasons in the NBA, averaging 3.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11.9 minutes per game, shooting 42.0 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from the 3-point line. He spent his rookie season with the Wizards, making two starts in 33 games played, and spent the last two seasons with the Orlando Magic, playing 75 games and averaging 12.3 minutes per game. Schofield was traded from Washington to the Oklahoma City Thunder in November 2020. He was then waived by the Thunder in December 2020 and signed by the Magic in October 2021. He signed two 10-day contracts with the Magic in December 2021, signed another one in January 2022 and another in July 2022. He had his two-way contract converted to a regular NBA contract by the Magic in February. Schofield spent time in the G League with the Capital City GoGo, the Greensboro Swarm and the Lakeland Magic. Schofield has made an estimated $3.4 million dating back to 2019, according to Spotrac.
Jordan Bone | No. 57 Overall, Second Round | Detroit Pistons
Bone went viral on draft night in a video showing his older brother, former Tennessee basketball guard Josh Bone, thanking family and friends for coming to his draft party, with the assumption late in the night that he wouldn’t be hearing his name called. Then with the 57th overall pick, the fourth to last pick in the draft, the New Orleans Pelicans selected the former Tennessee standout point guard. A slew of draft night trades sent Bone from the Pelicans to the Atlanta Hawks, then to the Philadelphia 76ers and ultimately to the Detroit Pistons. Bone played in 24 games in the NBA in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons with the Pistons (10 games in 2019-20) and the Orlando Magic (14 games in 2020-21), averaging 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 10.4 minutes per game. Bone played in Turkey in 2021, Spain in 2021-22 and has played in the G League for the Grand Rapids Drive (Pistons), Delaware Blue Coats (76ers), Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee Bucks) and the Fort Wayne Ants (Indianapolis Pacers).
