Chicago Bulls are not sure whether they will match Omer Asik`s offer from Houston Rockets – NBA Update
Following up to Houston Rockets offering Omer Asik a maximum deal worth $24.3 million for three years, Chicago Bulls general manager Gar Forman has broken the silence.
While praising the young big, he however did not shed light on any kind of negotiations taking place between the club and the player;
"I'm not going to talk about any type of negotiation or anything contractually until we see something," Forman said. "We've made it clear we value Omer and it's been our goal that Omer would stay with the Bulls."
If the Bulls fail to equal or better the Rockets offer in the coming two days, Asik is set to officially sign the deal on July 11th when free agencies moratorium period comes to an end.
From a financial point of view, it would be very hard for the Bulls to matchup the offer and considering they have Derrick Rose on $17.8 million and Joakim Noah on a $`12.2 million contracts in 2014-15.
It is highly unlikely that Chicago would choose to equal the Rockets offer which will rise up to $14.1 million and can go up to $14.9 million, depending on the salary cap in the third year of the contract offered.
There have been reports of Coach Tom Thibodeau going over to meet with Asik and offered him a three year deal on behalf of the Bulls. However, with the Rockets offer on the table, the chances of that happening are highly unlikely.
"Obviously, his defense, shot-blocking and rebounding is obvious. He anchors our second unit defensively with Taj (Gibson). Offensively, his ability to run the floor, screen, get to the offensive board, that's
what makes him so valuable to us. ... I'm sure we'll make a good decision in the end." - Thibodeau
As the current situation stand, if the Bulls fail to make an equal offer, Asik is looking at a contract worth $8.3 million in his first year which will go its maximum by the third year of the proposed contract. The player is interested
in the new offer and it remains to be seen whether the Bulls pursue him any longer or not.
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