Cristiano Felicio, Bulls Reportedly Agree on 4-Year, $32 Million Contract
Restricted free-agent forward Cristiano Felicio and the Chicago Bulls agreed to terms on a four-year, $32 million deal Saturday morning, according to The Vertical's Shams Charania and Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson.
Felicio, 24, averaged 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 2016-17. An undrafted free agent signed out of Brazil, Felicio has emerged as a solid bench piece for the Bulls each of his two NBA seasons.
"He's really growing," Dwyane Wade said of Felicio in January, per Johnson. "He's doing a good job of bringing energy. He runs the floor, gets offensive rebounds. He's screening well to get guys open. He has been a positive."
The Bulls were a better defensive team with Felicio on the floor last season, per Basketball Reference, and there were points where he closed out games with the starters. Head coach Fred Hoiberg's always-juggling rotation gave him an inconsistent role, but Felicio showed promise as a bench big who can finish around the rim.
While teams have increasingly looked toward bigs to stretch the floor as five-out systems become the norm, Felicio's a young, improving player. Those guys aren't often available two years into their NBA careers, and he's been handed a solid offer sheet as a result.
Even though the Bulls are in a state of upheaval at this point, retaining a young player with Felicio's upside with the team moving in a new direction makes sense.
