DEERFIELD, Ill.Overshadowing Mondays press conference of Bulls first-round pick Marquis Teague at the Berto Center was the prospect of backup center Omer Asiks seemingly imminent departure. Over the weekend, as the NBAs free-agency period began, reports that Asik had agreed to a three-year, 25-million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets made the rounds, forcing Bulls general manager Gar Forman to add his take on that development to Teagues introduction to Chicago.
Obviously weve been very active making calls, starting on Sunday, to address several roster spots that we have and trying to put our team together, and thats something that will continue through this week and possibly for a lot of the month, said Forman. And in regards to Omer, obviously Ive seen reports of an offer, but we havent seen anything yet.
First of all, I dont want to speculate until we actually see something, he continued. Second of all, I think weve made it clear that we value Omer and its our goal that Omer would stay with the Chicago Bulls, but Im not going to talk about any type of negotiation or anything contractually until we see something.
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Asik, a native of Bursa, Turkey, is entering his third season, and while hes quietly regarded as one of the leagues most underrated defensive players at his position, eyebrows raised around the NBA at the Rocket's offer. Unsurprisingly, defensive-minded head coach Tom Thibodeau, saw the logic in Houstons offer, which the Bulls will have three days to match following the July 11 end of the free-agency moratorium.
In the end, well weigh everything out and then well make a decision, said Thibodeau, who added, I dont want to look at it that way, when asked about the possibility that Asik wont be back in a Bulls uniform. Things like that are going to happen. When teams win, the value of a player goes up and hes done a great job for us.
Hes done a great job here for two years. Obviously his defense, rebounding, shot-blockingthat parts obviousbut I think offensively, his ability to run the floor, screen, get to the offensive board, thats what makes him so valuable to us, so we value all that he brings to our team," continued the coach, who mentioned that the teams front office has been very inclusive in involving him with the organizations free-agency process. You have to look at the entire picture and see what makes the most sense, and Im sure well make a good decision in the end.
I dont think you can measure him statistically, even though some of his statistics are very, very good. But hes also very smart, helps your team execute on both ends, so he has great value in the league.