http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310317017 Damn. No wonder the Rockets wanted him at the trade deadline.
He is so beast off the bench and he only played 25minutes. I wish we had him instead of Brad Miller...
This is the issue with a lot of fans, we don't see the guy play and assume he is a scrub because we don't see him on ESPN every night. Asik and Gibson make a DOMINATE defensive frontline coming off their bench. I think Asik is going to become the new Gortat, just waiting for the moment to shine. Honestly, thought we would get him as the Bulls REALLY need a starting caliber 2-gaurd and Lee was such a perfect fit. Noah and Boozer are signed long-term so i'd imagine they will use him for bait down the road but still a ballsy move to not pull the trigger on a Lee for Asik deal.
Exactly. This is why I was repeatedly saying that Lee for Asik was a no go at the deadline, it just didn't make sense for Chicago. They can make up for the lack of pts comin from the 2 guard due to a strong bench, but a big is always valued in this league. Rumor has it around Chicago that Bulls might look to trade Boozer down the road for the 2 guard (older), and keep Asik and Noah around on the frontline, and that they're grooming Asik for that starting role.
Yes having a 7' version of Chuck Hayes would make use formidable. In that scenario we got Asik instead of Miller we would still be screwed by having a less than adequate Jordan Hill and Hasheem Thabeet. Plus you forget the fact that Miller is a set it up passing 7'er from the top of the key and was crucial in a couple of wins this year. So I don't know. I think we break even this year... We need a passing big 6'10" and taller to compete with the Lakers who have all their bigs capable of that as well as the traditional shot blocking post play.
Hopefully we'll open up negotiations with them again this summer (assuming we don't have a lockout). Maybe we were hesitant to give up anything more than Lee, but if he plays well the rest of the year that might change.
I really really dont want this guy, especially at the expense of Lee. We can seriously do better We can go after gortat; invest in thabeet, go after gasol, try to trade for Hibbet and Granger, dalembert's also available, etc, Some options here are worse than others but the point is Asik isnt all that worth it, he especially doesnt deserve Rudy-gay-regret
Is it the fact that this guy seems like he might get injured just like that from observing his play? I feel like that somewhat.. It's hard to judge. Or do you look at this guy and see a Nenad Kristic or Zaza Pachulia? Gortat is probably a top 5 - 10 most wanted big in this league so it would take alot to get him at this point.
I liked him, I was really hoping we could score him, but Morey and the Bulls both refused to blink. One thing I would say, though: he has occasional eyepoping stat lines, but doesn't string them together. It was 7 games ago that he last had double digit rebounds, including 4 games were he tallied 2 or less. It's also only the second time he's hit double figures in points, the last time being January 4th. Courtney Lee is giving us a lot more than he could right now, and Morey was right to reject the Bulls' standing offer of a pick only for him. Even Lee for Asik + a pick would have been debatable (but trading small for big helps balance the scales, especially if it would have killed the Thabeet move).
Or maybe there is no way the Bulls trade a young player who makes less than $2 million/year with Asik's production and potential. There isn't anyone on the Rocket's roster (including the one player they wanted, Lee) worthwhile. It's a dead end. He's not coming here. The Bulls approached the Rockets about Lee, not the other way around. They had no intention of trading Asik. When the Rockets asked for Asik in return for Lee, it was the Bulls who killed it.
Agree, however its not like Asik is Blake Griffin in disguise. While he has potential, I'm concerned if he will ever reach it, as he has been extremely injury prone considering how young he is into his career. I'm fine with not making the deal. Above average two-way players on the cheap like Courtney Lee are just as rare as promising big men in the league. Plus, he's DH's best friend so you never know...
Like Morey, I definitely would have given up Lee for Asik. Like the Bulls, I definitely would not give up Asik for Lee. If Asik turns into a serviceable big man, he's worth far more than Courtney Lee will ever be. While I've never been on the train that believes size is always better, I don't value Lee as much as many here do.
I remember watching that Bulls-Heat game on the Thursday night after the deadline just ended. LeBron and D-Wade were getting to the basket with incredible ease all game long... then Asik came in during the 3rd quarter and completely shut the paint down. He did such a great job defending the basket that LeBron and Wade completely stopped trying to get to the basket and started taking jumpers... which led to a win for Chicago. At that point I fully understood why Chicago wanted to hang on to the guy.
The offensive production is a fluke, kind of like Hayes's 21 pt game. But he's a pretty good rebounder and shot-blocker. Lee for Asik is a fair trade, meeting the needs of both Houston's and Chicago's. Chicago would have a better chance of winning it all if they got Lee. Too bad they refused to give up Asik and Morey didn't budge. Lee is a better player right now. Asik has more potential, probably better than Thabeet.
The thing about the potential Lee-Asik deal was that even though Lee filled a need for Chicago, Asik is pretty much their only backup Center. Noah was still working his way back from injury, and if they make that deal and Noah goes down again, their only Center would have been Kurt Thomas... if you even want to consider him a Center.
Not at all. Asik is essential for them if they want to beat the Magic, which looks like their 2nd round match up now. In their recent game with Orlando, Asik did an even better job on Howard than Noah. Very very impressive kid.
It's funny, I was telling people to do the math on this stats in the Lee for Asik trade thread and everyone was giving me hell for it. The guy is going to be good and puts up decent numbers for the amount of time he's on the floor.