Chicago Bulls: Cristiano Felicio regressing in Year 3

Chicago Bulls center Cristiano Felicio is not living up to expectations following an offseason in which he signed a lucrative multi-year deal.

Back in 2015, Chicago Bulls forward Cristiano Felicio was not a household name by any stretch of the imagination. But thanks to a solid work ethic, that soon changed.

In 31 games during the 2015-16 season (including four appearances in the starting lineup), Felicio averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per contest while converting 55.6 percent of his attempts from the field. He followed that up with even better numbers the following season.

During the 2016-17 campaign, Felicio compiled averages of 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game on an efficient 57.9 percent shooting from the field. Based on the consistency he showed during his first two years with the Bulls, the front office decided Felicio was a player who was worth investing in.

Bearing this in mind, one of the first moves the Bulls made during the offseason was signing Felicio to a four-year deal worth $32 million.

When the two sides agreed on the multi-year deal, the consensus was the Bulls were overpaying for Felicio’s services. However, considering Shaun Livingston – who comes off the bench for the defending champion Golden State Warriors and averaged 5.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game last season – signed a three-year deal totaling $24 million, the Bulls may have felt justified in their decision, considering the production between the two players was similar, even if Livingston possesses the greater skill-set.

Along with that, the Bulls were confident in the fact that Felicio would continue to improve as he became more familiar with the NBA game.

Fast forward to the present, though, and it appears the Bulls may be experiencing a bit of buyer’s remorse. For starters, Felicio has racked up 17 DNP-CDs and both his scoring (3.8 points per outing) and rebounding (2.7 per contest) are noticeably lower than the numbers he posted last season.

On top of that, Felicio has played in just six games dating back to Dec. 1 and has seen only 12 minutes of action combined over his last three outings. This includes a six-minute stint against the Boston Celtics on Dec. 23 – a game in which he scored just one point and missed his lone shot attempt.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the Bulls recently send the third-year center to the G League in an effort to refine his game. The good news is Felicio produced 18 points and 15 rebounds in his first game with the Windy City Bulls.

On the other hand, it is not certain as to when the team will call him back up. Despite the fact that Felicio has had his fair share of struggles this season, head coach Fred Hoiberg believes Felicio will turn things around and that he will be given ample opportunity to do so.

"“Cris obviously played early for us, and he struggled,’’ Hoiberg told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I think he’ll be the first one to admit that. Now it’s about continuing to keep his timing and stay in shape as much as he can. The Windy City option is a good one for him.‘‘Everyone that’s on the roster will get their opportunity, based on the length of the season and different types of things that come up, different circumstances, injuries and that type of thing.”"

While it is important that Felicio still has the backing of the coaching staff, the reality of it is that may not be enough. As the roster stands right now, Felicio is the odd man out within a crowded frontcourt that includes Robin Lopez, Nikola Mirotic, Bobby Portis and rookie forward Lauri Markkanen, all of whom are playing well.

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Unless one of these players is moved before the trade deadline – which is a definitely a possibility – the chances of Felicio getting significant playing time are very slim.