Chicago Bulls: 3 free agent targets to replace Cristiano Felicio

1) Chicago Bulls free agent targets to replace Felicio: Jahlil Okafor

Exploring any possibilities that the Bulls have among really underrated big men is a good way for newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley to go in free agency this offseason. And where the Bulls could look in this regard to potentially replace Felicio is with the former Duke Blue Devils 6-foot-10 and 270 pound center Jahlil Okafor.

What’s crazy about Okafor, along with the other two impending free agent big men on this list, is the fact that each is paid well under the dollar amount that Felicio got last season. Okafor played in 30 games during the shortened 2019-20 regular season with the Pelicans (nine of which he started in).

And Okafor averaged 8.1 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.2 steals, and 0.7 blocks. He shot 62.3 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from beyond the arc, and 64.5 percent from the free-throw line. That amounted to a career-best -0.2 box plus/minus rating, 0.2 value over replacement player rating, .133 win shares per 48 minutes, 64.2 true shooting percentage, and 18.3 player efficiency rating.

Okafor was due just shy of $2 million last season with the Pelicans. While the former third overall pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft has steadily gotten better in each year of his career, he’s largely forgotten in the league’s landscape at this point. The Bulls might be able to take advantage of a solid value find in the unrestricted free agent market if they can sign Okafor.