EJ Liddell is a talented young forward that the Hawks acquired in the Dejounte Murray trade earlier this summer, but he didn’t stay with the Hawks for long. Liddell was traded to the Phoenix Suns for forward David Roddy, but Liddell was released by Phoenix. According to Michael Scott of Hoopshype, Liddell is signing with the Chicago Bulls today.
Chicago Bulls have reached agreement with EJ Liddell, league sources say @hoopshype. Liddell, an Illinois native, played for the New Orleans Pelicans last season and was the 41st overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/NmFyy6sTZA
-Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 7, 2024
It was a curious move for the Hawks to make when Liddell was traded. He’s a prospect who has shown promise and Roddy is a more expensive (slightly) and arguably less valuable player to have. He won’t play many minutes barring injury, but one could argue that the Hawks shouldn’t have made the trade.
Roddy played in 65 games (including 13 as a start) in the 2023-24 season with Memphis (48 games) and Phoenix (17 games), averaging 6.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.1 minutes (.403 FG%, .691 FT%). He scored double-digits in 18 games last season and tied his career high by tying 10 rebounds twice. In his 13 starts, Roddy averaged 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 29.9 minutes (.410 FG%, .667 FT%). In his second start of the season on Nov. 29 against Utah, the 6-foot-5 forward scored a season-high 19 points and made a career-high five triples in a 105-91 victory over the Jazz.
He recently played five games (all as a starter) with Phoenix during the NBA 2K25 Summer League, recording 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.5 minutes (.458 FG%, .367 3FG%, .818 FT%).
Selected by Philadelphia with the 23rd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Roddy’s draft rights were acquired by Memphis, along with Danny Green from the 76ers, in exchange for De’Anthony Melton. Roddy has appeared in 135 career games (17 starts) for Memphis and Phoenix, averaging 6.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.0 minutes (.416 FG%, .301 3FG%, .662 FT%). He has appeared in eight career postseason games, scoring 2.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 9.9 minutes of play. Roddy has also appeared in four career NBA G League games with the Memphis Hustle, averaging 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 33.0 minutes.
Roddy enjoyed a three-year collegiate career at Colorado State from 2019-22. Over his three seasons, he played in 91 games (76 starts), averaging 15.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 29.9 minutes (.522 FG%, .319 3FG%, .739 FT%). In his final season at Colorado State, the Minneapolis, Minnesota native was named the 2021-22 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year.