Rockets Offer Omer Asik 3 Year $25 Million, Bulls Dont Match

[key2win]

Free-agent center Omer Asik agrees to $25 million offer sheet with Rockets - Yahoo! Sports

Really? I know he has a lot of potential, but throwing him this kind of money. Ugh, why did the NBA have a lockout for again? LOL! Its guaranteed the Bulls are going to let him go.

The Houston Rockets have reached agreement on a three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet with Chicago Bulls free-agent center Omer Asik, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Asik will sign the offer sheet on July 11 and the Bulls will have three days to match or lose him to the Rockets.

This is a steep price for Chicago to pay for its backup center, and the Rockets knew it.

All three years on the contract are fully guaranteed, a source said.

The Rockets have tried to acquire Asik in a trade for over a year, but finally forced the Bulls to have to commit to more than $8 million annually to keep him. The contract is back-loaded, and Asik's salary in the third season of the deal would hit Chicago's books at $15 million.

Asik plays behind starter Joakim Noah. Despite limited offensive skills, Asik's defense, rebounding and toughness make him a favorite of Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

A native of Turkey, Asik just completed his second NBA season. He averaged 3.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 14.7 minutes a game last season.

[gladdyontherise]

The 3rd year on the deal would be worth $15 million

[arod1973]

Wow...I like Asik but I am hoping the Bulls are not crazy enough to match that..

Now we will need to find another backup C..

[key2win]

Chicago Bulls will not match Houston Rockets' offer to Omer Asik - ESPN Chicago

Bulls were smart not to match this.

The Chicago Bulls will not match the Houston Rockets' three-year, $25.1 million offer to Omer Asik, the team announced via its website Tuesday morning.

"It was a difficult decision because Omer did a nice job for us," Bulls general manager Gar Forman told the team's website Tuesday. "Matching the offer for Omer could have put us in a difficult position going forward in trying to acquire high-level talent. We wish Omer good luck and continued success."

The deal that the Rockets structured would have meant the Bulls would have been on the hook for a cap hit of almost $15 million in the final year of the contract. The Bulls decided they did not want to absorb such a substantial penalty, given their current cap situation.