We probably wouldn't have done this had the Miami thing not happened, but since it did, here we are.
After using a dollop of their cap space to sign Kyle Korver, Sam Smith now reports that the Bulls have reached an agreement with Omer Asik, the Turkish big man for whom they traded three second rounders on draft night 2008. The deal may not be consummated for a while, but it will be done.
The Bulls also reached agreement on a deal with big man Omer Asik of Turkey. Asik will play for Turkey in the World Championships and will not be with the team until then. The Bulls are quietly optimistic about Asik and believe he can be a high level reserve behind Joakim Noah, which reduces their concern about adding another big man.
The paragraph sounds more optimistic about Asik than I am. Asik may be a good backup one day, but it's a day that hasn't arrived yet. When Asik was drafted, he was done so on the distinct understanding that he needed to significantly improve his offense, and yet he simply hasn't done this. Last year in the Euroleague, Asik averaged 8.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 21.7 minutes per game, confirming his abilities as a near-7 footer rebounding and shotblocker. He also shot 61% from the field, which looks nice. But he did these things only because of baskets born out of offensive rebounding, good guard play to set him up, or opportunistic looks from broken plays. Asik can't create a damn thing for himself; this would be fine if he was good at anything other than the dunk. As it is, he's just sort of there.
Worse still, Asik shot 36% from the line. And it was no fluke, for he also shot 43% from there in the Turkish league. He was at only 35% before a 6-6 performance in his final game before injury.
The injury in question was a broken collarbone, and it ended Asik's season in early December. He is back to full health now, hence his summer time schedule of national team player; however, it's the second major injury Asik has had in the two years we've owned him. His 2008-09 was similarly abridged by torn knee ligaments that kept him on the shelf for several months, and the amount of downtime he's had because of the two injuries have limited both his court time and practice time. Because of that, Asik has not improved much. And because of that, I do not expect him to feature much next year.
Asik is a risk worth taking, and a player worth having. He is productive, if not offensively, and certainly equipped physically to play in the NBA. However, the short term returns will be (probably) sparse. And the price the Bulls pay must reflect that.
If the Bulls sign Asik to a deal similar to what Hamed Haddadi got from Memphis - three years and $4.8 million - that would be OK. Yet that would be about the top end of where they should go go. A deal more like that of Utah's Kyrylo Fesenko - 3 years and $2.5 million - makes more sense. And if they sign him for less than three years, they run the risk of having to repay him again just as he's starting to get somewhere.
As it is, no details of the deal are known. When I know, you'll know.
Filed under: Free Agency
Tags: chicago bulls, omer asik, Sam Smitj, Signings, Transactions
Move over Tiago Splitter!
The Chicago Bulls acquired the draft rights to center Omer Asik, the 36th selection in NBA Draft 2008, in a three-team deal with the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets.
The 7-0, 255-pound Asik is a 20-year-old native of Bursa, Turkey. A two-time Turkish League All-Star (2007, 2008), Asik split 30 games last year with Alpella and Fenerbahce, where he averaged 10.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, a league-high 1.90 bpg and 1.90 spg. In 2007-08 Euroleague action, he set a league record for blocked shots in a game with 19 rejections.
I have seen Asik play before in World championship. This guy is only 20 years old, and works hard under the basket. He is very quick considering his size, and he has a lot of potential. I think this is a very good signing for Bulls.
Hes not bad for cheap
whom we could have and should have acquired the year that the Spurs did, and now he would be joining us.
Well, some1 needs to get the team water.
I thought that was James Johnson?
James Johnson doesn't get water, he fetches the tears of the gods.
screw brad miller. he's broker than hinrich and a much bigger chucker.
We are looking at the CHICAGO JAZZ everyone.
Is Ronnie Brewer next?
We are a pathetically small team, we need some size to help Noah, Asik at what amounts to the veterans expception is perfectly acceptable to me.
$5million is way more than a dollop to me, and way too much for a guy who is incapable of being a starter, and may be the only guy in the NBA who is a worse defender than Ben Gordon.
Yea he is a fine signing. He won't be the only big we get.
What are we signing this guy for? We should be signing or resigning Brad Miller. From this article we are getting just a big bum by NBA standards. a sub 40% free throw shooter come on man why dont we go after the real big man Shaq for the mle we can get Noah a real back up
He's being signed for his D...not his playmaking ability. I think its good b/c he can rebound and block shots. He fills a particular need. Everyone can't be offensive players, role players build championship teams.
With the big contracts this off-season Brad Miller might be able to get a MLE sort of deal for a couple of years, we're talking about bringing someone in on the cheap here, so it's not really comparible.
Honestly I think we're probably going to have most of the 4/5 minutes eaten up by Noah/Boozer/Gibson, so it's OK to have a guy who is a bit of a prospect on the cheap to take the few minutes left.
"...maybe if he's healthy he has something left in the tank" seems a little strong for a guy who just turned 24. I understand the injuries but this guy was considered a riser and potential first rounder at one point.
If he is signing for something in the neighborhood of the veterans minimum and he plays defense and rebounds then the deal is a no brainer for a barely over 20 year old 7 footer. I'd rather have him then some left over 30 something fossil. At least he has some upside, and we need some additional length and athleticism in the front court, both to beat Miami and compete with the Lakers.
When will he joining us? Sam was saying he has to finish the season in Turkey or something.
Omer is a very special guy, and has great potential.. there is a lot he does that you ll never see in statistics and also that you ll never get from some selfish and problematic guys.. he has a soft face and soft character, but I wouldnt say that for his body and play.. he would be a top center in europe if he stayed, but he always had the ambition to be in NBA, even in cost of having problems that made him not play for half a season lately... if you stay patient to him, definitely he ll show his commitment to his ambition for basketball game
I see this blog post has attracted a more international audience...