To be clear before I go in on hating Felicio I have to say that I never thought he was given the fair chance to start and that with the right coach he could maybe still be good.
Felicio was here from the start, that is the start of these five years.
The Brazilian center made his debut in 2015 for the Chicago Bulls with a size that was like Shaq’s and a similar game to go along with it.
While Felicio spent a good part of his first season in the D-League, he was able to make his mark as an efficient big man and even started when Gasol could not play. In 31 games he averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds with a field goal percentage of 55.6.
Many rookies have done worse and the next season he improved to 4.8 points a contest and played in 66 games.
That was the highlight of his career so far, and with a limited amount of exposure in the NBA, the Bulls had decided that they had seen enough and paid Felicio.
They paid him a whole lot too, 32 million over four years to be exact.
A lot of the blame and hate Felicio gets is a little unfair because he didn’t ask for a massive contract, I’m sure he would have still played for a lot less money, it is the owner and GM’s fault for overpaying him
Felicio has been fine in the past three seasons, his numbers never went up and he has spent more and more time in the G-League as a result.
Felicio was known as the third-string center for the 2019-20 season when the team picked up another lowly center in Luke Kornet.
On the bright side, Felicio improved his percent’s and won back his backup spot when Wendell Carter Jr. got injured this season.
The Bulls just blew this whole Felicio deal, he was an okay rookie who had a possible bright future and they instead now have paid and will continue to pay, him for mediocre basketball.
These types of moves are why the team is in such a disappointment and in need of drastic change if they are going to be a contender.