Omer Asik gets a three year contract offer from Houston Rockets – NBA News
The Houston Rockets have always pursued aggressive trades and signings be it the trade deadline, the off season trade or free agency windows. They have continued their reputation this free agency as well after finalizing a deal with Chicago Bulls reserve centre Omer Asik.
The Rockets and Asik have reportedly agreed to a three year $25 million deal that will see Asik in the Rockets uniform next season.
Asik is a restricted free agent with the Chicago Bulls which means the Bulls have 3 days to match the offer of the Rockets or let Asik go. The news will come as a blow to the Bulls plans for the offseason as one of their main priorities was to retain Asik. With an already stretched salary cap, it is unlikely they will match the offer of the Rockets.
The Rockets have been searching for a centre ever since their All Star Center Yao Ming retired last summer after suffering from injuries. They were rumoured to be trying to land Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard and were believed to be collecting draft picks for an exchange. However, that deal did not go through and the Rockets used all three of their draft picks in the Draft on Thursday.
Asik played professional basketball in Turkey before being picked by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2008 draft. He was immediately traded to Chicago in a three team deal and saw much acceptance in the Bulls franchise. He was a reserve player on a deep Bulls roster that helped them finish with the best record in the league the past two seasons.
Asik averaged 3.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1 block per game this past season and earned a name for himself as a solid role player in the Bulls line up.
If the deal goes through, the Bulls will lose an integral part of their reserve line up, but it will free up some much needed cap space. The Bulls are going through a tough period with their All Star point guard Derrick Rose sidelined for 8 to 10 months as he recovers from a knee injury. In his absence, the Bulls are trying to build a roster capable of ensuring a playoff berth till the time Rose returns.
Tags: