Rockets have reached agreement with Omer Asik on a three-year, $25.1 million contract

[Faptastrophe]

http://i.imgur.com/Bk00x.png

http://i.imgur.com/UHOZR.png http://i.imgur.com/UHOZR.png


The Houston Rockets have reached agreement on a three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet with
Chicago Bulls free-agent center Omer Asik, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Asik will sign the offer sheet on July 11 and the Bulls will have three days to match or lose him to the
Rockets.

This is a steep price for Chicago to pay for its backup center, and the Rockets knew it.
All three years on the contract are fully guaranteed, a source said.

The Rockets have tried to acquire Asik in a trade for over a year, but finally forced the Bulls to have
to commit to more than $8 million annually to keep him. Asik plays behind starter Joakim Noah.
Despite limited offensive skills, Asik's defense, rebounding and toughness make him a favorite of
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

A native of Turkey, Asik just completed his second NBA season. He averaged 3.1 points and 5.3 rebounds
in 14.7 minutes a game last season.
Sauce. (http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--free-agent-center-omer-asik-agrees-to--25-million-offer-sheet-with-rockets.html)

+ "The offer appears to be significantly backloaded as the third and final year approaches $15MM" (http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2012/07/rockets-asik-agree-to-three-year-251mm-deal.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter)

[EoJ]

that ish kray

[Celtic_Pride]

So no Dwight? Interesting

[PJR]

No way cheapskate Reinsdorf pays a backup center 8 million :oldlol:

[AlonzoGOAT]

From Dwight to Asik ban the franchise burn the city

[Loneshot]

Desperate much?

[Deuce Bigalow]

:eek:

[NOHCP3]

Oh gawd:biggums:

[d.bball.guy]

:facepalm :facepalm :facepalm

[Hoop_Dreams]

I don't remember Billy Beane doing this during Moneyball.

[R.I.P.]

:lol :lol :lol

Off to Rockets clutchfansboard....

http://holidaygifgiver.com/media/images/gifs/278/278_original.gif

[MeLO MvP 15]

Hibbert gets MAX, Asik gets $8+ mil a year....

No lockout will ever stop stupid GMs. With such little good big men, teams are going to overpay all the time.

[Wavy Crockett]

Stupid foul galore.

[raprap]

Party at Omer's!


:djparty

[chips93]

With such little good big men, teams are going to overpay all the time.

supply & demand

[EricGordon23]

Wow good for asik. Over payed but not my team not my money. Has anyone offered McGee anything yet?

[Reverend Hoops]

Height pays.

[raprap]

Wow good for asik. Over payed but not my team not my money. Has anyone offered McGee anything yet?
Not yet. Inb4 McGee gets a 12 mil/ 4 year deal. :oldlol:

[NOHCP3]

3rd year worth up to 15 million :coleman:

[Clippersfan86]

3rd year worth up to 15 million :coleman:

Yup. Bulls surely WILL NOT match that.

[coin24]

Wow:eek: :facepalm

[Rnbizzle]

I've always liked the defense Asik gave us, but there's no way we should match this.

[SleepyCorpse]

Hibbert gets MAX, Asik gets $8+ mil a year....

No lockout will ever stop stupid GMs. With such little good big men, teams are going to overpay all the time.

Morey was considered one of the best GM's in the league.....not anymore...:coleman:

[HylianNightmare]

3 and 5 gets you 25 million

[Levity]

Good for Asik. Hopefully, an offseason/ training camp with mcchale will make him more of an offensive threat.

[JohnnySic]

LOL. Is that the record contract for a big white stiff?

[NOHCP3]

Okay Hollinger is now saying 3 years 23.1... Still a head scratcher. Many are saying if Chicago matches means Boozer will have to be amnestied within the next 2 years

[TMT]

Holy crap. :eek:

Bulls better start the search for a new backup center.

[ConanRulesNBC]

Goodbye Turkish Hammer! :cry:

Edit: Holy crap... $25 million? LOL. So glad the Bulls didn't over pay.

[Punpun]

Bulls are going to slowly but surely see their ring window disappear at this pace.

[ballup]

What is his actual worth?

[CelticBaller]

:roll: :roll: :roll:

[DuMa]

If Rose somehow makes it back from ACL (and i hope he will), they also better hope Noah doesnt get injured like he usually does. Because depending on Gibson and Booz for your frontcourt isnt what they want to do all season long

[PleezeBelieve]

Teams are paging higher yearly salaries for shorter term contracts. Stop the childish antics every time a deal is announced.

[Locked_Up_Tonight]

Supposedly it is backloaded.... It would be a 5/5/15 deal.

[UtahJazzFan88]

No way cheapskate Reinsdorf pays a backup center 8 million :oldlol:

Why should he? Bulls are smart not to offer him something stupid like this.

[ConanRulesNBC]

Bulls are going to slowly but surely see their ring window disappear at this pace.

How so? I mean it will be tough no doubt with Asik gone. But once Rose and Deng come back this team still has Deng, Rose, Gibson, Boozer and Noah. If they can keep Brewer, Korver and Rip and sign Brandon Roy this team is a contender.

[Phantom_Blue]

Supposedly it is backloaded.... It would be a 5/5/15 deal.

Which makes him a great expiring contract for other teams in the 3rd year, if he doesn't work out with the rockets.

Morey does it again.

[StateOfMind12]

Good for Asik, but most importantly, LOL at the Houston Rockets.

Asik is like a white Kwame Brown so have fun overpaying him. Bulls should have no problem at all finding a backup C to replace him.

[ImmortalNemesis]

Which makes him a great expiring contract for other teams in the 3rd year, if he doesn't work out with the rockets.

Morey does it again.

:applause: Most underrated GM in the league by far.

[dude77]

not sure why anyone is surprised by this .. teams are always overpaying for mediocre/average players

[alenleomessi]

he is a nice hustle guy and decent defender, but he cant do ANYTHING on offense

at least deandre can catch the lobs

[Mr. I'm So Rad]

Ok forget there being a limited supply of good bigs, this is just nuts. Only in the NBA can a n!gga make 20 million for being tall.

Watch small market teams continue to bitch about there not being a competitive balance because of finances. It's retarded shit like this that keeps big names from coming to their teams in the first place, not having less money.

[Faptastrophe]

Larry Coon: As @johnhollinger figured out and I confirmed by double-checking the CBA, Year 3 of Asik deal can't be more than $14,085,191 unless max. (https://twitter.com/LarryCoon/status/219592573273116672)

[Force]

It's a back loded deal so the first 2 years come cheap. By year 3 he will be a lot easier to trade as an expirer for big money.

Makes me wonder what Kaman is going to get

[lilgodfather1]

LOL not even the Knicks are this stupid.

[FireDavidKahn]

Good for Asik, but most importantly, LOL at the Houston Rockets.

Asik is like a white Kwame Brown so have fun overpaying him. Bulls should have no problem at all finding a backup C to replace him.
Huh? Asik is a legitimate and good defensive center.

[StateOfMind12]

Huh? Asik is a legitimate and good defensive center.
Kwame is a good defender too and they both have horrible hands. Asik is a little better than Kwame though since he is bigger, smarter, etc. but he does resemble him a lot in terms of playing style though.

[SpecialQue]

LOL not even the Knicks are this stupid.

Please.

[lilgodfather1]

Please.
Ok the Knicks are that stupid. I was over exaggerating for emphasis.

[boozehound]

LOL not even the Knicks are this stupid.
and this is why most casual ish fans are morons. dude is the best center on the market (houstons greatest position of need) and a RFA. You cant get him for a reasonable contract (though, its actually less than most centers have got recently). Smart move by Morey, whether or nor the bulls match.

[boozehound]

Kwame is a good defender too and they both have horrible hands. Asik is a little better than Kwame though since he is bigger, smarter, etc. but he does resemble him a lot in terms of playing style though.
you are dumb. Asik and brown do not have similar styles at all. brown is a solid man post defender and a terrible rebounder and team defender. asik is incredibly active and quick on switches. not at all similar styles. a better comp would be someone like camby

[The Big Skinny]

seems like a 10/10 guy if he gets 25-30 mins.

That doesn't warrant a 3yr/25mil contract.

Very raw, but he is a young 7 footer with some potential.

Seems like JaVale McGee may get his 14 mil a year wish...

[DTreats]

He'll need one year to adjust to the team/being a starter.

I predict this year he'll average 12/8 on 44% shooting.

Next year he explodes and averages 18/12 on 54% shooting and starts for the Western Conference All-Stars.

[Sammyp]

25 mil???? at this rate i can probs get a $10 mil contract at houston :D

[midatlantic09]

There's no justifiable reason to pay this guy $8 million a year. Houston could've just gotten a big man from the D-League and gotten the same production for 10% of the cost. I mean, what does Asik do that the average D-League big man doesn't do?

[blacknapalm]

he'll have to learn how to cut back on fouls even though he's improved leaps and bounds there. his third year, he gets paid $15 million. yikes - i would not want asik being a big reason why my team went into the luxury tax.

i can understand a bit. that's what these small market teams have to do. houston went after dwight to no avail, then they tried to move up in the draft with both sacramento and portland. this was very much option C or less

[leopoldstotch]

talk about inflation. you're right about Javale. He might get his 14 million a year. it's good to be tall these days i guess. :lol

[I.Malcolm]

There's no justifiable reason to pay this guy $8 million a year. Houston could've just gotten a big man from the D-League and gotten the same production for 10% of the cost. I mean, what does Asik do that the average D-League big man doesn't do?
Erm, seriously?

Asik is an elite defender. Rotates quickly, can shut down the lane on drivers, and is alright man on man. He's a huge presence and alters offensive strategies. He has brick for hands and is borderline useless on O, though.

[BallsOut]

Supposedly it is backloaded.... It would be a 5/5/15 deal.

Interesting..

Gasol's contract is up in 2 years right when Asik's big deal kicks in. Wonder if Morey is thinking about Gasol now.

How about Lowry, Martin and Royce White to the Lakers for Gasol?

PG: Dragic/FA
SG: Lee/Lamb
SF: Parsons/Morris
PF: Scola/Jones
C: Gasol/Asik

That leaves the Rockets with about 12 mill to spend to fill out the roster with good supporting players.

[midatlantic09]

Erm, seriously?

Asik is an elite defender. Rotates quickly, can shut down the lane on drivers, and is alright man on man. He's a huge presence and alters offensive strategies. He has brick for hands and is borderline useless on O, though.

Eh, I'm sure they could find a D-League big man who can do the same thing.

[boozehound]

he'll have to learn how to cut back on fouls even though he's improved leaps and bounds there. his third year, he gets paid $15 million. yikes - i would not want asik being a big reason why my team went into the luxury tax.

i can understand a bit. that's what these small market teams have to do. houston went after dwight to no avail, then they tried to move up in the draft with both sacramento and portland. this was very much option C or less
you do realize houston is the 5th? biggest city in the country (with no state income tax and great weather - during the bball season)? It has nothing to do with being a small market team and everything to do with him being an RFA.

Those acting like he could be replaced by a d leaguer obviously only watch espn highlights. he was arguably a top 5 defensive big man last year and is incredibly active. sure, he fouls too much, but he is a very good defensive center in the nba. hell, how many games did he play most of the 4th over noah?

[blacknapalm]

Interesting..

Gasol's contract is up in 2 years right when Asik's big deal kicks in. Wonder if Morey is thinking about Gasol now.

How about Lowry, Martin and Royce White to the Lakers for Gasol?


highway robbery for LA

[ZenMaster]

Supposedly it is backloaded.... It would be a 5/5/15 deal.

That's just brilliant!

[D-Rose]

highway robbery for LA
Actually sounds like a decent deal to me.

[blacknapalm]

you do realize houston is the 5th? biggest city in the country (with no state income tax and great weather - during the bball season)? It has nothing to do with being a small market team and everything to do with him being an RFA.

Those acting like he could be replaced by a d leaguer obviously only watch espn highlights. he was arguably a top 5 defensive big man last year and is incredibly active. sure, he fouls too much, but he is a very good defensive center in the nba. hell, how many games did he play most of the 4th over noah?

oh, i like him a lot. he's one of the best defensive centers in the league and he's a tenacious offensive rebounder. i'm just not sure he's worth that contract when he's still so raw on offense, turns the ball over too much compared to how often he gets it and is a terrible FT shooter. we're gonna have to see how he handles a full time gig.

[boozehound]

Eh, I'm sure they could find a D-League big man who can do the same thing.
yep, tons of top tier defensive big men playing in the d-league who could easily be one of the best team defenders in the league. its just that no other team values defense. the celtics and heat could've had all sorts of great defensive 5s out of the D, but decided that they like tufiaf and steismas (btw, a top d league defender who was mediocre in the league) hairdos better.

[blacknapalm]

Actually sounds like a decent deal to me.

as an LA fan, i'd take it all day. martin is an expiring contract. last i heard, houston is just going to keep him though. i guess there isn't much interest out there

[CLTHornets4eva]

HOuston included that poison pill in year 3, just so Chicago couldn't pay. The first 2 years are extremely reasonable. But man 12+ mil for Osik even in 1 year is crazy.

[boozehound]

oh, i like him a lot. he's one of the best defensive centers in the league and he's a tenacious offensive rebounder. i'm just not sure he's worth that contract when he's still so raw on offense, turns the ball over too much compared to how often he gets it and is a terrible FT shooter. we're gonna have to see how he handles a full time gig.
yeah, its definitely over value, but thats what happens with an RFA. more importantly, what other center could they get, their biggest need? mcgee is going to command much more and is a knucklehead and poor defender. who else?

[BallsOut]

as an LA fan, i'd take it all day. martin is an expiring contract. last i heard, houston is just going to keep him though. i guess there isn't much interest out there

It doesn't make much sense to keep Martin when they already have 2 good young SG prospects in Jeremy Lamb and Courtney Lee (free agent). Unless they let Lee walk, I don't get why they'd keep all 3 SGs and especially Martin when the 12 mill they shed from his contract could be used on other much needed positions to fill out their roster.

[outbreak]

This deals actually not the crazy if it's back loaded. It will stop Bulls from matching it, still allows them to play him behind Howard or any other big name for at least 2 years, final year he will either have earnt more minutes or will become a 12mil expiring contract that becomes a valuable trade piece.

[blacknapalm]

It doesn't make much sense to keep Martin when they already have 2 good young SG prospects in Jeremy Lamb and Courtney Lee (free agent). Unless they let Lee walk, I don't get why they'd keep all 3 SGs and especially Martin when the 12 mill they shed from his contract could be used on other much needed positions to fill out their roster.

agree it doesn't make much sense. just going off a report i read. houston is transparently trying to make deals but no one is biting. you always need a second party to join or your intentions are futile. blame mchale for putting martin in the doghouse last year and driving his value even lower. he could have at least tried to showcase him a bit. here's what ken berger said:


Rockets have had some talks about Kevin Martin, but are planning to keep him, league source says. Martin has $12.4M expiring contract.

[chips93]

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=totals&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=2012&year_max=2012&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=0&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=&c1stat=mp&c1comp=gt&c1val=650&c2stat=drb_pct&c2comp=gt&c2val=25&c3stat=orb_pct&c3comp=gt&c3val=12&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=ws

[Faptastrophe]

Could someone post Hollingers' (Insider) take (https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/status/219602778127994881) on this when it's up?

[bagelred]

Are you ready for a prediction?


I believe the Bulls will match the offer.

[chips93]

Are you ready for a prediction?


I believe the Bulls will match the offer.

:biggums:

[pegasus]

Are you ready for a prediction?


I believe the Bulls will match the offer.
We better not. And I actually like the guy.

[bagelred]

But the Bulls, won't have to pay that huge sum until Year 3. So maybe in that 3rd year they can dump him onto a team with cap space. But you'd have him for MLE money these next two years........worry about Year 3 later.

I'm telling ya, noone thought Magic would match for Gortat and they did. Same thing.

[TheWINdyCity]

I've always liked the defense Asik gave us, but there's no way we should match this.

I agree, he was a help on deffense, however he was a liability on offense, and i hope the bulls dont come anywhere near to matching this :lol

[SCREWstonRockets]

Interesting..

Gasol's contract is up in 2 years right when Asik's big deal kicks in. Wonder if Morey is thinking about Gasol now.

How about Lowry, Martin and Royce White to the Lakers for Gasol?

PG: Dragic/FA
SG: Lee/Lamb
SF: Parsons/Morris
PF: Scola/Jones
C: Gasol/Asik

That leaves the Rockets with about 12 mill to spend to fill out the roster with good supporting players.

Lowry, Martin AND Royce White? Get out of here with that :oldlol:. That team is first round and out at best. I rather go young and see what all these young kids have. Move the vets for expiring contracts.

[Meticode]

Wow...for a player who has these stats...

Year 1: 56% FG%, 12.1 MPG, 50% FT%, 3.8 RPG, 0.7 BPG, 2.8 PPG
Year 2: 50% FG%, 14.7 MPG, 47% FT%, 5.3 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 3.1 PPG

He's getting paid more than Anderson Varejao, wow.

[ElPigto]

Could someone post Hollingers' (Insider) take (https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/status/219602778127994881) on this when it's up?


In the current CBA, it's known as the Gilbert Arenas rule. In the next one, it might be known as the Daryl Morey rule, because the Houston Rockets GM just drove a Mack truck through every one of the provision's current loopholes in agreeing to a three-year, $24.3 million offer sheet with Chicago restricted free agent Omer Asik.

Let's set aside whether Asik is actually worth $24 million over three years for a moment -- we'll tackle that further down -- and just ponder the evil genius of the structuring of the contract and how it gives the Rockets a huge advantage in prying him from the Bulls.

Under the "Gilbert Arenas" provision of the league's collective bargaining agreement, a player like Asik -- a second-round draft pick coming off his second season -- can be offered only a maximum of the midlevel exception in free agency for the first two seasons, but can be offered any amount up the maximum in years after that.

Houston took advantage of this provision by limiting his offer to three years, rather than the maximum of four, and offering the maximum eligible salary in Year 3. It's so damaging because of how the league assigns the salary cap and luxury tax hits for the respective sides. In Houston's case, the amounts are averaged over the three seasons, requiring the Rockets to have a little over $8 million in cap room to consummate the deal.

No biggie for Houston; they happen to have exactly $8 million lying around if they renounce their rights to Marcus Camby, cut Shaun Livingston, Greg Smith, Courtney Fortson and Diamon Simpson, and either waive Jon Leuer or use the stretch provision on Jon Brockman. Houston could also get there by renouncing its rights to restricted free agent Courtney Lee, but that seems more unlikely.

And looking ahead, the Rockets are still in pristine shape going forward. An $8 million cap charge for Asik in 2013-14 and 2014-15 simply isn't going to hurt them.

But Chicago? Holy hell, this is going to hurt. The league calculates the cap charge differently for a team matching the offer sheet, using actual salaries instead of the average. So the Bulls get off easy in the short term; a $5 million cap charge for Asik this year and next should have been in their budget to start.

But then in 2014-15, it jumps up to about $14.1 million. And it's not clear how the Bulls are supposed to handle that, especially given their aversion to the luxury tax and the fact they may be subject to the repeater penalty by then. Between Asik, Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, they have $61.6 million committed and that's without paying Taj Gibson, retaining Luol Deng, or adding any free agent or draft picks.

They're almost certainly a tax team, in other words, and in fact they're likely to be deep into the tax, even if the league's tax level rises a few ducats by then. Which makes the effective cost of keeping Asik that season closer to $30 million than $15 million. And as much as I may admire his defense and rebounding, it's inconceivable that Asik is worth anywhere near $30 million.

Houston will hope Asik can improve on that prognosis by upping his offensive production to slightly less pathetic levels, with the tutelage of Kevin McHale, but even so his defense justifies the contract.

Are there ways around this? Yes, but the medicine is worse than the disease. If in 2014 the Bulls were to use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, who would be on the final year of his deal, that would cut $15 million from their cap number (and likely from their luxury tax bill) that year, but they would still have to pay Boozer, which would still make Asik's effective cost $30 million -- except in that case, it's $30 million and a starting power forward.

Alternatively, Chicago could use the stretch provision on Asik prior to Year 3. That would cost them $5 million a year in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, possibly saving them from a luxury tax in all three seasons.

But doing so only would give them two years of Asik, while still paying the entirety of the deal, which means they'll have signed him to a two-year deal for $24 million. Which is about as bad as the effective cost of three years, $39 million that we're presenting as the alternative. (You can also count the tax hits in years 1 and 2, but they're the same in both alternatives so we'll ignore them for now.)

Basically, there's no easy way out for Chicago, which is why they're unlikely to match Houston's offer sheet. They still have Gibson, who is an absolute defensive beast and is extension-eligible this summer -- presumably on far better terms than Asik's deal. Meanwhile, Chicago can shorten its frontcourt rotation to three men -- Boozer, Noah and Gibson -- while using Luol Deng as a small-ball 4 in stretches.

Thus, in all likelihood, Houston is going to end up with Asik. I have to admire their cleverness in pulling this off, but I also have to shake my head that the CBA allowed this.

When they get around to the next one, maybe they'll realize that it's crap to count the tax and cap hit in the year it hits for the matching team, while allowing the offering team to only offer one year at the higher level. Houston drove a truck through this loophole, but in the future requiring four-year deals for Arenas contracts will at least require teams to offer a more genuine maximum deal. Doing so in this case would have made it a four-year, $39 million deal from the Rockets, required nearly $10 million in cap space (and requisite harder decisions from the Rockets), and likely pushed them to a different alternative.

So congratulations, Houston -- it looks like Chef Linguini is likely all yours.

On to the next question: Is he worth it?

That's a bit of an eye-of-the-beholder question. Asik's advanced stats support the subjective viewpoint that he's one of the five or 10 best defensive players in basketball, and defense in general tends to be wildly underrated in the free-agent market (although weirdly, not in the draft). He is also, objectively, a monstrous rebounder, with his 20.1 Rebound Rate ranking sixth in the NBA last season.

Asik is a terrible offensive player, however, with bad hands, poor touch and a proclivity for illegal screens. Advanced stats seem to indicate that he takes away almost as much with his offense as he does with his defense -- but that overall he's a plus, even compared to the league average.

And that, in the big picture, makes him a second-tier starting center. And you know how much those are worth? About $8 million a year. Houston should know; they just paid nearly the same amount to the departed Samuel Dalembert.

Houston will hope Asik can improve on that prognosis by upping his offensive production to slightly less pathetic levels, with the tutelage of Kevin McHale, but even so his defense justifies the contract.

It also helps that Houston gets somebody under lock and key before re-signing its own free agents. The cap holds for Lee and Goran Dragic are low enough that it behooves the Rockets to use the cap space first, and then rebuild their backcourt.

From there, Houston can go in any number of directions, depending on Dwight Howard's availability and the market for Kyle Lowry. But first they took care of the most urgent need  if the Bulls don't match, the Rockets will have a real starting center this year, and they won't be overpaying for him.

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

[Tenchi Ryu]

Are you ready for a prediction?


I believe the Bulls will match the offer.
SHIIIIIIIEEEEEEETTTTTTTTT

That's pronounced Shi-ee-it, 3 syllables long

Nice knowing your turkish hammer.

[Meticode]

SHIIIIIIIEEEEEEETTTTTTTTT

That's pronounced Shi-ee-it, 3 syllables long

Nice knowing your turkish hammer.
:oldlol:

[FrankTony]

From getting Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Eric Gordon, the 5th pick and the 2nd pick to paying Omer Asik, a 3ppg/5rpg Center 8m/year + 7 PFs in the roster

Simply terrible :oldlol:

[noob cake]

:bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

Morey :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

5/6/14 deal. Basically 11m for 2 years + 14m expiring on the third.

[Killbot]

:applause: Morey knows how to get things done.

[brantonli]

I'm slightly confused, so the contract itself is 5/5/14 million, but as a salary cap hold on the Rocket's salary cap, it will be counted as 8 million per year? That's weird.

[ElPigto]

I'm slightly confused, so the contract itself is 5/5/14 million, but as a salary cap hold on the Rocket's salary cap, it will be counted as 8 million per year? That's weird.

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q44

Go read here, it will help you understand.

[Derka]

I'm trying to be surprised, but Kendrick Perkins makes $8 million a year, DeAndre Jordan makes $10 million a year and Roy Hibbert was just offered $15 million a year.

And much like all of those examples...this is absolutely insane.

[longtime lurker]

Morey :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:

5/6/14 deal. Basically 11m for 2 years + 14m expiring on the third.

I can't front well played Morey, well played :cheers:

[brantonli]

http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q44

Go read here, it will help you understand.

cheers, ok so for the next 3 seasons for the Rockets, Asik counts as 8 million in cap space, but for the Bulls, Asik would count as 5 million, 6 million then 14 million. Gotcha.

[Pushxx]

He's worth $6 million average a year.

[ElPigto]

cheers, ok so for the next 3 seasons for the Rockets, Asik counts as 8 million in cap space, but for the Bulls, Asik would count as 5 million, 6 million then 14 million. Gotcha.

Definitely an interesting loophole in the Early Bird Exception stuff that I was not aware off.

[ballup]

Oh dang. Morey is an absolute genius.

[Lakers_Kobe_Fan]

signing omer takes them out of howard race???

[Tenchi Ryu]

signing omer takes them out of howard race???
Absolutely

[Lakers_Kobe_Fan]

Absolutely

cool..thanks..good to know

[ElPigto]

He's worth $6 million average a year.

Yes, he might be, but if we offer that the Bulls are more than likely to match. Can some of you get this through your thick head? This is the whole point of extending a qualifying offer in order to keep the right of matching any contract offers. If another team wants that player, then they will more than likely have to overpay in order to get that player. It's basically protecting the team whom owns the players rights. If the player doesn't like it, then he has the option to accept the qualifying offer making him a free agent the next year. In essence, for the most part, both party wins. If the player is highly sought, then a team will more than likely overpay him and at the end of the day, he is getting more money with whomever he ends up with. The other team at least has the chance to match said amount, but if they deem it too much, they lose him.

Did we possibly overpay, possibly? Was it necessary? Absolutely. Come on people, is it that hard to use your brain to think and process things?!?! Another complexity to Omer Asik in particular is that the Rockets are limited by his Early Bird Rights, so they had to backload the contract which now makes it really hard for the Bulls to match.

[boozehound]

Absolutely
I dont see how. maybe from their end. But there will be a team willing to take asik for 8 mil per (which is how it will count). they still have all their other solid pieces.

[BallsOut]

Lowry, Martin AND Royce White? Get out of here with that :oldlol:. That team is first round and out at best. I rather go young and see what all these young kids have. Move the vets for expiring contracts.

I don't see how that offer is much different from Dragic, Martin, Scola + 1st round pick that Rockets offered last season. And if you read it correctly, I said the Rockets would have 12 mill salary to play with to bolster that roster that already contains Dragic/Lee/Parsons/Scola/Gasol.

[ihatetimthomas]

Similar situation to Marcin Gortat a few years ago. Gortat averaged 3.8/4.5 and was offered up 5 years 34 mil by Dallas. Asik is a young center who has shown promise defensively and has solid potential to be a good center. He is a pretty good rebounder. Overpaid, yes but you gotta do that when you want to snag restricted free agents.

[Troutfisch]

The 3rd year option sounds nice but again we Rockets fans have to wait for Morey's overall plan to reach fruition.

Oh well, at least our chances of us landing D12 have diminished! :banana:

[BallsOut]

The 3rd year option sounds nice but again we Rockets fans have to wait for Morey's overall plan to reach fruition.

Oh well, at least our chances of us landing D12 have diminished! :banana:

How about Gasol for Lowry, Martin and White?

[All Net]

I'm trying to be surprised, but Kendrick Perkins makes $8 million a year, DeAndre Jordan makes $10 million a year and Roy Hibbert was just offered $15 million a year.

And much like all of those examples...this is absolutely insane.

Really is getting crazy.

[jbot]

wow, houston must have a lot of faith in this dude. they want to get rid of scola and then pay all that $ to asik.

[Blue&Orange]

But the Bulls, won't have to pay that huge sum until Year 3. So maybe in that 3rd year they can dump him onto a team with cap space. But you'd have him for MLE money these next two years........worry about Year 3 later.

I'm telling ya, noone thought Magic would match for Gortat and they did. Same thing.
Exactly, Bulls will have him cheap for two years, he will keep improving, and by the third year, pretty sure there will be a couple of teams under the cap, more than willing to take him, and a couple more over the cap, willing to take his expiring contract.

Bulls should match and i will be surprised if they don't

[Peter Pang]

What should the Bulls do if Gibson is also offered a near 10m per year contact next summer.

They have no space for another 10m. But if they lose both Asik and Gibson. Noah (may or may not be injured) and Boozer (may or may not play like sh*t) are no where near the best big men in the league any more.

[Timmy D for MVP]

The contract is extremely back loaded right?

So they are paying him maybe 5-6 mil a year for his services the first 2 years or so. Then if it doesn't work out teams will be falling over themselves to get his expiring...

This is a pretty good move.

[All Net]

If Bulls are that high on asik, wouldn't shock me if they shop noah.

[brantonli]

How about Gasol for Lowry, Martin and White?

I never really wanted Gasol that badly, but to trade away White too? This deal is a pretty bad comparison to the Dragic, Martin Scola +1st, because back then Dragic was more of a throw-in and nobody knew he would turn out this good, and I'd gladly trade away Scola to free up some playing time for our mass collection of forwards.

[Tenchi Ryu]

What should the Bulls do if Gibson is also offered a near 10m per year contact next summer.

They have no space for another 10m. But if they lose both Asik and Gibson. Noah (may or may not be injured) and Boozer (may or may not play like sh*t) are no where near the best big men in the league any more.
Gibson won't be offered that much though. The reason Asik is getting it is cause he is a True bigman Center in a VERY limited big man league. So him being a decent center who is known as playing on arguably the best defensive team in the league automatically will see dollar signs his way compared to someone like Gibson, who although while great, isn't as hard to duplicate with another player in the league.

But as far as the choice between Asik and Gibson, since this is Asik and I personally don't feel he's worth that much, Rockets can have him. But Gibson on the other hand, when he starts requesting money, and if a team offers him like 6 million a year, I'd just have to bend over and take it, matching the price even though its steep. I really value Gibson, consider him part of the core now with Rose, Noah and Deng.

[spiegel]

Royce White aint going anywhere. After reading Hollinger take on this, i feel little better.

[Faptastrophe]

Could someone post Hollingers' (Insider) take (https://twitter.com/johnhollinger/status/219602778127994881) on this when it's up?
In the current CBA, it's known as the Gilbert Arenas rule. In the next one, it might be known as the Daryl Morey rule, because the Houston Rockets GM just drove a Mack truck through every one of the provision's current loopholes in agreeing to a three-year, $24.3 million offer sheet with Chicago restricted free agent Omer Asik.

Let's set aside whether Asik is actually worth $24 million over three years for a moment -- we'll tackle that further down -- and just ponder the evil genius of the structuring of the contract and how it gives the Rockets a huge advantage in prying him from the Bulls.

Under the "Gilbert Arenas" provision of the league's collective bargaining agreement, a player like Asik -- a second-round draft pick coming off his second season -- can be offered only a maximum of the midlevel exception in free agency for the first two seasons, but can be offered any amount up the maximum in years after that.

Houston took advantage of this provision by limiting his offer to three years, rather than the maximum of four, and offering the maximum eligible salary in Year 3. It's so damaging because of how the league assigns the salary cap and luxury tax hits for the respective sides. In Houston's case, the amounts are averaged over the three seasons, requiring the Rockets to have a little over $8 million in cap room to consummate the deal.

No biggie for Houston; they happen to have exactly $8 million lying around if they renounce their rights to Marcus Camby, cut Shaun Livingston, Greg Smith, Courtney Fortson and Diamon Simpson, and either waive Jon Leuer or use the stretch provision on Jon Brockman. Houston could also get there by renouncing its rights to restricted free agent Courtney Lee, but that seems more unlikely.

And looking ahead, the Rockets are still in pristine shape going forward. An $8 million cap charge for Asik in 2013-14 and 2014-15 simply isn't going to hurt them.

But Chicago? Holy hell, this is going to hurt. The league calculates the cap charge differently for a team matching the offer sheet, using actual salaries instead of the average. So the Bulls get off easy in the short term; a $5 million cap charge for Asik this year and next should have been in their budget to start.

But then in 2014-15, it jumps up to about $14.1 million. And it's not clear how the Bulls are supposed to handle that, especially given their aversion to the luxury tax and the fact they may be subject to the repeater penalty by then. Between Asik, Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, they have $61.6 million committed and that's without paying Taj Gibson, retaining Luol Deng, or adding any free agent or draft picks.

They're almost certainly a tax team, in other words, and in fact they're likely to be deep into the tax, even if the league's tax level rises a few ducats by then. Which makes the effective cost of keeping Asik that season closer to $30 million than $15 million. And as much as I may admire his defense and rebounding, it's inconceivable that Asik is worth anywhere near $30 million.

Houston will hope Asik can improve on that prognosis by upping his offensive production to slightly less pathetic levels, with the tutelage of Kevin McHale, but even so his defense justifies the contract.

Are there ways around this? Yes, but the medicine is worse than the disease. If in 2014 the Bulls were to use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, who would be on the final year of his deal, that would cut $15 million from their cap number (and likely from their luxury tax bill) that year, but they would still have to pay Boozer, which would still make Asik's effective cost $30 million -- except in that case, it's $30 million and a starting power forward.

Alternatively, Chicago could use the stretch provision on Asik prior to Year 3. That would cost them $5 million a year in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, possibly saving them from a luxury tax in all three seasons.

But doing so only would give them two years of Asik, while still paying the entirety of the deal, which means they'll have signed him to a two-year deal for $24 million. Which is about as bad as the effective cost of three years, $39 million that we're presenting as the alternative. (You can also count the tax hits in years 1 and 2, but they're the same in both alternatives so we'll ignore them for now.)

Basically, there's no easy way out for Chicago, which is why they're unlikely to match Houston's offer sheet. They still have Gibson, who is an absolute defensive beast and is extension-eligible this summer -- presumably on far better terms than Asik's deal. Meanwhile, Chicago can shorten its frontcourt rotation to three men -- Boozer, Noah and Gibson -- while using Luol Deng as a small-ball 4 in stretches.

Thus, in all likelihood, Houston is going to end up with Asik. I have to admire their cleverness in pulling this off, but I also have to shake my head that the CBA allowed this.

When they get around to the next one, maybe they'll realize that it's crap to count the tax and cap hit in the year it hits for the matching team, while allowing the offering team to only offer one year at the higher level. Houston drove a truck through this loophole, but in the future requiring four-year deals for Arenas contracts will at least require teams to offer a more genuine maximum deal. Doing so in this case would have made it a four-year, $39 million deal from the Rockets, required nearly $10 million in cap space (and requisite harder decisions from the Rockets), and likely pushed them to a different alternative.

So congratulations, Houston -- it looks like Chef Linguini is likely all yours.

On to the next question: Is he worth it?

That's a bit of an eye-of-the-beholder question. Asik's advanced stats support the subjective viewpoint that he's one of the five or 10 best defensive players in basketball, and defense in general tends to be wildly underrated in the free-agent market (although weirdly, not in the draft). He is also, objectively, a monstrous rebounder, with his 20.1 Rebound Rate ranking sixth in the NBA last season.

Asik is a terrible offensive player, however, with bad hands, poor touch and a proclivity for illegal screens. Advanced stats seem to indicate that he takes away almost as much with his offense as he does with his defense -- but that overall he's a plus, even compared to the league average.

And that, in the big picture, makes him a second-tier starting center. And you know how much those are worth? About $8 million a year. Houston should know; they just paid nearly the same amount to the departed Samuel Dalembert.

Houston will hope Asik can improve on that prognosis by upping his offensive production to slightly less pathetic levels, with the tutelage of Kevin McHale, but even so his defense justifies the contract.

It also helps that Houston gets somebody under lock and key before re-signing its own free agents. The cap holds for Lee and Goran Dragic are low enough that it behooves the Rockets to use the cap space first, and then rebuild their backcourt.

From there, Houston can go in any number of directions, depending on Dwight Howard's availability and the market for Kyle Lowry. But first they took care of the most urgent need  if the Bulls don't match, the Rockets will have a real starting center this year, and they won't be overpaying for him.

Thank you, bud.

repped

[NumberSix]

I thought the new CBA was gonna prevent GMs from being stupid.

[Force]

I thought the new CBA was gonna prevent GMs from being stupid.

Read the post above yours. This move is actually borderline genius by Houston. The only stupid taking place, was somebody who mistakes genius for stupid.

[ILLsmak]

If he can start, thats' not a terrible contract.

I dunno though, never watched him much.

-Smak

[FrankTony]

lol @ the moronic fans calling the backloaded contract brilliant move by Morey.

The contract is like this because of the Arenas rule to actually protect the Bulls and allow them to match. Any team in the league would have to offer a contract like this if they wanted Asik. It's a RULE.

The contract still counts 8.3m/year for Houston if Chicago doesn't match.

The masterplan from Morey went from Howard to Asik + 7 PFs in the roster.

MOST OVERRATED GM IN THE NBA BY FAR