Although 2012 NBA Free Agency is underway, the Houston Rockets have yet to sign Chicago Bulls restricted free agent center Omer Asik to the three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet that has been floating around in the rumor mill for over a week. That doesn't mean the Rockets are getting cold feet on their "poison pill" deal that will reportedly be back-loaded with a $14.9 million salary in the final year of the offer. Houston is finalizing their offer sheets for both Asik and Jeremy Lin, and the signings remain on course, but it's all about timing at this point, according to a report from Marc Stein of ESPN.
Rockets sorting out timing on finalizing offer sheets w/Asik and Lin but signings remain on course. "Of course," says source close to talks
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) July 12, 2012
The team is still waiting for all players to pass their physicals from the recent sign-and-trade with the New York Knicks that sent Marcus Camby to New York in exchange for Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan, second-round picks in 2014 and 2015, and cash. As noted by Ken Berger of CBS Sports, Harrellson and Jordan can both be waived thanks to their non-guaranteed contracts, so that could be another domino waiting to fall.
As for news on the Bulls' end of things, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune noted that Chicago is likely to match the Rockets' offer sheet within the three-day matching window and thus keep Asik on the team, as he stated that "[m]ultiple league sources are under the impression the Bulls will match."
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