On the day of the 2025 NBA trade deadline, Tim Connelly unsurprisingly worked the phones and was able to acquire Ayo Dosunmu from the Chicago Bulls. He fit in well, and the team rewarded Dosunmu with a new five-year contract before free agency began.
Also included in that deal was Julian Phillips. He was essentially a throw-in along with Dosunmu, and he didn’t play all that much for Minnesota. Somewhat quietly, he has found a new home with the Houston Rockets.
Timberwolves could have brought Phillips back for cheap, but they decided against it
The transaction didn’t receive a tweet from Shams Charania. However, on Friday, the Rockets announced that they had officially signed Phillips. Terms weren’t disclosed, but it’s expected to be a non-guaranteed deal.
The Timberwolves had a team option on the 6-foot-6 forward for the 2026–27 season. Despite being worth just $2.4 million, Minnesota declined it, making Phillips an unrestricted free agent.
After joining the Wolves last February, Phillips made only 13 regular-season appearances for the club, playing just 94 total minutes. He scored 41 points during that time, 16 of which came in the final game, where the majority of the rotation sat out. Phillips also played very little in the postseason—appearing in five games for 25 minutes and only receiving garbage-time minutes.
Phillips will likely have to earn a roster spot on Houston by outplaying Isaiah Crawford and J.D. Davison, who are also on non-guaranteed deals, as well as Jae’Sean Tate, who is on a partially guaranteed contract. All three of those players were part of the Rockets’ team last season, so it might be an uphill climb for Phillips to overtake those that the Houston coaching staff are already familiar with.
An early second-round pick—the 35th overall selection—in the 2023 NBA Draft, Phillips entered the league after just one year of college basketball with the Tennessee Volunteers. In 167 NBA regular-season games, Phillips has pedestrian career averages of 3.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in 11.2 minutes.
While Phillips is just 22 years old—he turns 23 on November 5—it’s starting to feel as if his NBA career is hanging by a thread. Starting the year in the G League, or heading overseas to play, is a possibility. Even if he doesn’t make the Rockets’ roster, it’s important for him to showcase some potential if he remains under contract during the preseason in a game setting for the other teams throughout the league to see.
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