Cristiano Felicio, PF/C
The well-known contract that has unnecessarily anchored down the Bulls cap sheet in the last few years is the 28-year-old 6-foot-10 and 280 pound big man Cristiano Felicio. The playing time has greatly declined for Felicio as the coaching regimes have turned over the last three or four seasons.
It was the old front office regime in Chicago of GarPax that handed Felicio that way too sizable four-year contract worth $32 million four years ago. This is the final season that Felicio will remain on the books for the Bulls, so the conversation has finally stopped in regard to if it is worth stretching and waiving him.
Felicio has only played in 16 games for the Bulls this season and posted small production at that. Given that he is making more than $7 million dollars this season on his base salary, he is definitely not living up to the price tag he holds.
In the 16 games he has played in for the Bulls this season, Felicio averaged 0.9 points per game, 0.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.1 steals, and no blocks. And he’s shot 57.1 percent from the field, hasn’t made any of his attempts from beyond the arc, and 60.0 percent from the free-throw line.
Even with the Bulls parting ways with a trio of big men that includes third-year center Wendell Carter Jr., second-year center Daniel Gafford, and fourth-year center Luke Kornet, Felicio is still out of their frontcourt rotation down the stretch this season.