So is Asik happy to be here? I mean i get the money is better, but does he like this city? Do we have better turkish food than Chicago for him to enjoy? Is he okay being a backup still, albeit a highly paid backup (if we get a franchise center)?
I mentioned this in another thread but because Broussard's name came up - him and Stephen A are towing the CAA party line, right? I assume their access to sources depends heavily on them spouting BS news directly from agent sources to help manipulate the markets.
Asik Finally he is a Rocket. According to Chron.com Jonathan Feigen Rockets to get Asik as Bulls say they won’t match The Rockets won’t have to wait for a late night call to know they have landed their center today. The Bulls told representatives of Omer Asik that they will not match the Rockets’ offer sheet, a person with knowledge of the process said. The Bulls prepared to move on by reaching an agreement with Oklahoma City free agent Nazr Mohammad on Saturday. Though they have not yet made an announcement, they told Asik’s representatives of their plans in advance of tonight’s deadline. An announcement could come at a press conference today to introduce guard Kirk Hinrich. The Rockets had made Asik among their top free agent targets, meeting with him in Los Angeles at the first moment contact was permitted. He will sign a three-year, $25.1 million contract. It will count $8.36 million each season toward the Rockets’ salary cap. An elite defensive center both in pick-and-roll and at the rim, Asik averaged 3.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game last season.
???... What does D-Mo have to do with Asik? The Rockets do not have a center on the roster now unless you count Harrellson and Greg Smith as centers who can contribute. Donatas Motiejunas, while he impressed at Summer League, was going against D-League sized big "young adults" and he is in no way ready to handle full time Center duties against the likes of the Andrew Bynums or Dwight Howard's of the NBA. If there is a Dwight/Bynum deal that happens, D-Mo might be part of it, but the Asik signing had nothing to do with making D-Mo any more expendible than before.
Cyberx, Question for you: Can you relate any instances where a player was dealt to a team he definitely do NOT want to go to, and he dogged it, or was unprofessional, or claimed to be hurt when he wasn't, you know the kinds of things I mean.. all in an attempt to get traded somewhere else? The reason I ask is, most of us assume that if we land Howard, that we should have two things going for us: 1) the extra year and therefore the extra 25mil guaranteed. That should be powerful enough, but we are also relying on 2) Dwight's professionalism ensuring that even if Houston would not be his first choice, that he would still give 100% and play through as many nagging injuries, etc as he would in say Brooklyn. But it seems to me that the idea that Dwight would dog it, or do everything he could to make sure the Rockets dealt him again before the trade deadline, this all assumes he would be willing to damage his reputation further than he already has. And that is really the big mystery. WOULD he do that? And wouldn't word get around if he did that? I think this is really the un-answered question which has prevented a deal from already being done. We know, heck everybody knows, that we can have DH as long as we are willing to pay the asking price.. we just don't know for SURE exactly what we would be buying, and I think that would give any wise man at least a reason to take a step back and make really really sure before pulling the trigger. That's why I ask if you can pass along any instances where you have heard behind-the-scenes about some player or players who actually did just that. And what the fallout may have been. Thanks
If I remember correctly, its not considered a standard medical procedure here in the States. Its performed in Germany and there's some controversy concerning its effectiveness. Because of this, team insurance doesn't cover it.
I can't think off the top of my head of a super star being traded somewhere he really didn't want to go. I know Shaq wanted to go to Miami and the PHX. He was big and got to choose in a way where he wanted to go. I guess you can look at Deron Williams. He didn't really want to go to BKN but he ended up staying, so I see where you are coming from. Although, they have a lot to look fwd to.
hi cyberx , u mean howard will leave houston whatever if we get him ? even if we reject to sign & trade him to dallas, he is ok to sign dallas directly ? nearly 20 million dollar loss
It's Official - From Bulls Web Site http://blogs.bulls.com/2012/07/bulls-will-not-match-houstons-offer-to-asik/ JUL 24 The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media. The Bulls will not match the restricted free agent offer to Omer Asik, allowing Asik to join the Houston Rockets. “We have decided not to match Houston’s offer sheet for restricted free agent Omer Asik,” Bulls general manager Gar Forman said Tuesday morning. “It was a difficult decision because Omer did a nice job for us. 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.” Asik is expected to be the starting center in Houston along with fellow free agent Jeremy Lin at point guard, who went to Houston when the Knicks didn’t match his free agency offer, similar to Asik’s at about $25 million for three years with a payment of about $15 million in the third season. At that amount, Asik in his third season would have been the second highest paid player on the Bulls roster after only Rose despite still being a backup center behind Joakim Noah. So with Taj Gibson, who will be a restricted free agent after next season and a priority to resign, it would be difficult to see how Asik would be getting more playing time. Asik has been developing into a solid defensive presence. But he only averaged 3.1 points and shot 45.6 percent on free throws. And, especially without Rose at least the first part of the season, the Bulls’ needs will be on the offensive side. The Bulls are expected to sign veteran center Nazr Mohammed. Mohammed, from Chicago’s Kenwood High School, averaged 2.7 points in 11 minutes per game for Oklahoma City last season compared with Asik’s 3.1 in 14.7 minutes per game. But with Asik’s absence, the likelihood is Gibson would get more playing time above his 20.4 minutes per game. Smaller front lines have been more common in the NBA these days with Miami winning the title last season not using a traditional center in most of the playoffs and Finals. Thus matching teams with more offensive firepower would seem to have an increasing priority. Asik is a loss. But in the end he seemingly would have been too costly to retain. By keeping that huge third year salary on the payroll, as the Knicks also realized with Lin, it could have created internal tensions with a little used bench player one of the team’s highest paid players. But more importantly, it would have inhibited the Bulls’ ability to add key pieces to the roster once Rose is at full health. Obviously, the loss of Rose is the major setback heading into next season. There is no replacing a league MVP. But it still appears despite the loss of Asik and members of the so called Bench Mob — Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Watson — the Bulls have been able to put together a solid bench to support the likely returning starters of Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Richard Hamilton. The Bulls signed veteran and longtime Bull Kirk Hinrich to start at point guard until Rose returns. The key with Hinrich is he can both play backup point guard behind Rose and play shooting guard with Rose. Hinrich will meet media Tuesday afternoon at the Berto Center. There were few players available of those skills and the Bulls were fortunate to get Hinrich, who was in demand elsewhere. The Bulls also are expected to sign Marco Belinelli, a 6-5, 26-year-old shooting guard who is a career 39 percent three point shooter and averaged in double figures the last two seasons starting for New Orleans. He makes up for the loss of Korver with his outside threat and is more athletic and considered a better defender. And given his age he is a player whom the Bulls could move forward with if he proves effective. Jimmy Butler was one of the best players at summer league and will step in for Brewer. Going into his second season, it is clear Butler had to play. And he likely gives the Bulls a better offensive option than Brewer with a strong defensive possibility. There’s little doubt around the NBA that Hinrich is a major improvement over Watson. Watson signed for a minimum contract with the Nets and Hinrich was in demand for salaries much higher as the Bulls used a big part of their mid level exception for Hinrich. The Bulls have also signed veteran big man, Vladimir Radmanovic, a so called stretch four with his long distance shooting ability. The role is also becoming more important in the NBA these days. Radmanovic is a career 38 percent three point shooter and in five of his seasons he has shot better than 40 percent on threes. Essentially with the depth of the current bench, he’ll be replacing Brian Scalabrine, who while popular was not considered a regular producer. With Rose’s contract extension starting this season, the Bulls with the new additions will be in the luxury tax and still have one of the top five payrolls in the league. But had they matched Asik’s contract, it could have severely hampered them in future flexibility for free agents. Plus, they’ll have the $5 million exception in the trade of Korver that could net them a higher level player next summer when Rose is returning.
So you are saying, as an insider who more than likely would have heard if any big-time player had deliberately dogged it and acted blatantly unprofessional about it, in order to make the team who traded for him regret it, as far as you know, that has never happened? That's good news in a way, if true. A lot of this is pointing to Dwight having to be the first player to walk away from that much guaranteed money, and the first person to punish the team who trades for him by not giving full effort and professionalism. Those are my biggest worries, and it seems to really be a stretch to think that Dwight Howard of all people will be the pioneer in this area. Hopefully he does NOT become the first player to do all that, and the odds are looking better and better in our favor. But we'll see I guess.
actually i do hv some questions, highly appreciated if u can reply 1. hv u heard Oklahoma City Thunder may involve in howard trade ? assets like Harden+Ibaka are very attractive although they can't take many garbage contracts, it's Thunder disadvantage 2. right now, rockets lead in howard issue ? the possiblity for rockets to get howard is above 50% ? 3. i don't think LA can find a third party to complete three-way trade because Bynum is more willing to stay at LA , he won't promise to sign extention with Cleveland , he hope to scare them off
