Just like that, the 2023 NBA Draft came and went.

The Bulls entered the 2023 draft with a need for extra long-range shooting. Chicago ended last season with a 36.1% average from beyond the 3-point arc, putting them at 16th in the NBA, according to NBA.com.

Chicago took Arizona guard Dalen Terry with the No. 18 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. He averaged 2.2 points and one rebound in the limited time he saw on the floor. The Bulls took Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu with the 38th pick the year before. Dosunmu has played in 157 games and started in 91 for Chicago, earning averages of 8.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.

Nine players, including guard Zach LaVine, will at least have the option of returning to the Bulls next season, according to sports contract and salaries website Spotrac. LaVine shot at a 37.5% rate from the 3-point line last season. Guard Coby White, who hit 37.2% of his long-range shot attempts last season, is listed as a restricted free agent in 2023.

Who did Chicago select in the 2023 NBA Draft? How will they fit with a Bulls squad looking to make its way back into the NBA playoffs?

Pick No. 35: Julian Phillips, F, Tennessee

The Bulls took Tennessee forward Julian Phillips with the No. 35 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Chicago traded “a couple of second-rounders” to acquire the No. 35 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft, according to a tweet from The Athletic Senior lead NBA Insider Shams Charania.

Phillips, a former five-star recruit from Blythewood, S.C., committed to Tennessee's 2022 recruiting class over offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, LSU, USC, Alabama, Boston College, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, UCLA and Xavier, among others, according to 247Sports. He joined a Tennessee recruiting class that took 11th place nationwide and featured five enrollees.

The 6-foot-8-inch forward averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in 32 games played and 25 starts. The 2023 All-SEC Freshman Team selection shot at an inefficient 41.1% from the field and 23.9% from the 3-point line, but scored as many as 25 points during a 73-66 win over USC in November.

Kansas State assistant coach Rodney Perry highlighted Phillips's work ethic in a Saturday article from The Athletic.

“He has a routine and a regimen that he sticks with every single day,” Perry said, via The Athletic. “No matter what his day looks like he's going to do the same thing.

“His work ethic is what separates him. There were plenty of days where we'd have a pretty full day and guys would be worn out. But no matter what, he still went to the gym and got his work in while other guys would go to bed or relax. … So you can expect him to have that military work ethic too.”

Bulls Vice President of Basketball Operations Artūras Karnišovas highlighted Phillips's defense after Chicago selected him with the 35th pick.

“Our group liked him,” Karnišovas said of Phillips, via NBC Sports. “He's an ex-McDonald's All-American. Freshman. 19 years old. Multi-positional defender. One of the best athletes in the draft. 43-inch vertical.

“He can step in right now and probably can defend on our level. He has a lot of things to obviously improve. We're looking forward to it. He's very young but he's very talented.”

Tennessee's defense ranked third in the nation with 57.9 points per game, taking spots ahead of Virginia, UCLA and Mississippi State, according to NCAA.com. The Volunteers held the Duke Blue Devils to 52 points in the second round of the NCAA tournament, a game they would end up winning before falling to Florida Atlantic in the Sweet 16.