Rockets sign free agent forward Julian Phillips

Jul 24, 2026 - 23:55

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As their latest free agency addition, the Houston Rockets announced the signing of 22-year-old forward Julian Phillips. At 6-foot-8 and 201 pounds, Phillips is well regarded for his elite athleticism and 7-foot-1 wing span.

Following one collegiate season at Tennessee, Phillips was the No. 35 overall pick by Boston in the 2023 NBA draft. From there, he spent his first two-and-a-half seasons with Chicago before being acquired by Minnesota via a February trade.

In 167 career games with seven starts, Phillips has averaged 11.4 points (43.5% FG, 32.0% on 3-pointers), 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 made 3-pointers per 36 minutes. He has also appeared in 12 G League games, averaging 19.0 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 41.4% from 3-point range.

At the 2023 NBA draft combine, Phillips recorded the highest standing vertical leap (36.0 inches) and the best max vertical leap (43.0 inches) of any participant. He was a McDonald’s All-American in 2022.

Between Tuesday and Friday, the Rockets officially added Isaiah Crawford, Jae’Sean Tate, Oscar Tshiebwe, and now Phillips to their 2026-27 offseason roster. All will be evaluated during the team’s upcoming training camp, which begins in late September.

Financial terms were not disclosed in any of the announcements, though Crawford, Tshiebwe, and Phillips are all believed to be on non-guaranteed deals entering camp. Tate has a small portion of his deal guaranteed.

NBA teams can carry up to 21 players on their roster during each offseason. For the regular season, that figure drops to a maximum of 15 standard contracts and three two-way contracts, and that typically leads to roster consolidation at the end of the preseason.

Should they not be claimed by another team at the NBA level, young players released at the October roster deadline (just prior to the regular-season opener) could then become candidates to join Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers.

But the obvious goal for each young player is to turn enough heads over the offseason and preseason to earn an NBA role, and that’s what Phillips will attempt to do in Houston over the weeks and months ahead.