123 replies to this topic

[blakecouey]

Agreement reached between Rockets and Omer Asik. Deal is 4 years 25.1m, bulls have 3 days after the deal is signed to match, deal cannot be signed until July 11. Reported by Johnathan Feigen of the Chronicle. If someone can get a link please post a topic(I'm on phone). Thanks.

[Stephen]

Feigen corrected to 3 yrs,w/third yr @ $15mil.
Probably something like $5mil,$5.2mil and either $14.5mil and a signing bonus @ $400-500,000 or the last yr is assumed to be @ $14.9mil w/a higher Cap at that point.
Interesting they only went 3 yrs.

[Stephen]

The Rockets only need 25-30 minutes a game out of him. Figure Camby-if resigned-gets 15 or so and Motie gets a shift or two at Center.
And if they can still pull off a Dwight trade,for first couple of seasons he's at just $5mil a yr,reasonable for a decent back-up C. They'll worry about that third yr later.(And even a Gasol trade still works as Gasol is just signed for two yrs,the yrs Asik gets $5mil. Altho I think the Gasol ship has sailed for Rockets.)

[blakecouey]

Oh ok thanks Stephen. Well, 5m can be a back up salary if worst comes to worst. Final year at a high price can be a good expiring at that point.

[Ostrow]

Asik is not proven, he doesn't play starter minutes even when Noah was hurt.
McGee and Hibbert- especially Hibbert has produced as starters. McGee has a higher ceiling both offensively and defensively than Asik and Hibbert, if he can get it together

McGee will never be as good of an offensive player as Hibbert. His ceiling, in my opinion is Tyson Chandler. We have no shot at Hibbert. Asik is one of the top post defenders in the league right now. McGee has value as an off the ball defender, but Asik can also guard on the ball. Offensive stats on the Nuggets are kind of like offensive stats on the old Warriors. They get so many possessions of course he is going to score. He runs the floor well, but his offensive game is limited as well.

Interestingly, in the Asik deal, by the time he would cost a lot of money he is an expiring contract. If he's not producing he may have value as a guy to save money for the future, a la Martin.

[Sir Thursday]

Feigen corrected to 3 yrs,w/third yr @ $15mil.
Probably something like $5mil,$5.2mil and either $14.5mil and a signing bonus @ $400-500,000 or the last yr is assumed to be @ $14.9mil w/a higher Cap at that point.
Interesting they only went 3 yrs.

I think Morey probably preferred to put all of the backloading into one year because it means if Asik doesn't work out he's only crippling the cap situation for one season. It's also a smart move because it puts Chicago in a situation where they can't really say yes because of the amount they're going to be paying Rose and Boozer in that year.

ST

[Mario Peña]

considering what is available out there the Asik deal looks well structured with an eye to the future, if Asik and Camby man the 5 then we can finally move on in the interim, no more excuses about not having a big man as that tandem probably grade out between a C to a B-, the allusive superstar still has yet to be acquired but never had to be a center, this move must be killing all you in favor of gutting and rebuilding...

[Sir Thursday]

Hmm, just read up on how the Gilbert Arenas clause works. If we signed him, then for the purposes of the cap his salary would be the same in all three years (8.3 million). However, if Chicago matches, then their cap hit is 5/5/14 (which is pretty bad for them since Rose, Boozer and Noah combine for $45m in salary already for the 2014/15 season).

He does actually get paid 5/5/14, so if he was traded in the third year of his contract, he would be expiring at $14m. Very nice to have a trade chip like that and not actually have all $14M against the cap .

ST

[Sir Thursday]

To match his salary, Chicago does not have to match the contract type. For example, all they need to do is match the overall money over the same time period- while we might offer more money the last year, they can spread it all.

Or they could do what Orlando did with Gortat, match the salary, retain him, then trade him during the season before luxury tax hits

Nope, Chicago is over the cap so they are limited to the MLE. They are unable to offer him more than $5M this year, which is why the contract is structured that way.

ST

EDIT: Here's how the Gilbert Arenas provision works: http://www.cbafaq.co...larycap.htm#Q44

[Sir Thursday]

But Chicago can do what Orlando did with Gortat a few years ago instead of losing him to free agency.
Match his contract and then trade him later

That's true. Although they'd have to take back approximately the same amount of salary in any trade deal - even if they're saving themselves 25% they're still on the hook for $10M. Alternatively they could amnesty Boozer at some point down the line. You're right that it's not impossible for Chicago to match, but it does create an irritating problem for them that might be sufficient to convince them to he's not worth it.

One thing this does mean is that if Chicago decides to match his offer sheet, they are not allowed to trade him to Houston for the next year. So it's this gambit or nothing as far as acquiring Asik is concerned.

ST

[Kade]

Bet Asik's agent when hearing the offer went "Wait, how much?" then quickly signed the deal. Wow, one of the dumbest signings I've seen in a long time to piss away that kind of money on a guy who averages 3 pts in 20 minutes.


"Will Rocket jerseys sell in Turkey?"
-Alexander

[Kade]

Where's Stern when we really need him to step in and veto this?

[Kade]

The Bulls fans on the message boards on ESPN are pleading and begging the Bulls to not match the Rocket's offer. Good grief, I think Morey has been smelling his farts for way too long and reaching cult status amongst the stat nerds has done him in for good.

[Johnny Rocket]

I like this move. I think (hope?) that Asik will turn into a Marcin Gortat, somebody who improves remarkably when he becomes THE center on a team. Even if he doesn't improve much on offense, a great defensive center is a must if we are going to compete against Memphis, LA, San Antonio, Clippers, and Denver--those team with multiple big men who just abused us last year inside and on the boards.

[Ostrow]

15 minutes a game you mean. Ben Wallace averaged less than ten points a game in 36 minutes in his best year. He made 4 all-star teams by rebounding and playing defense. That is the kind of thing the Rockets are expecting out of him. 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, and the ability to guard the pick-and-roll as well as a post up player are the reasons they want him. It's not all about points in every position.

[blakecouey]

I agree there could be worse, and Im not as opposed to this contract as I was prior to reading some of your comments. That being said, I still would have rather "wasted our time" talking with Hibbert and/or McGee or evaluating trade opportunities around the league before agreeing to terms. It all just seems desperate, "oh wow lets get this guy before we're stuck with nothing!"

Heard something funny on Twitter, figured I'd share.
"Rockets and Omer Asik agree to an 8 million a year contract, this could be the worst contract since weight watchers signed Charles Barkley"

HAHAHA!