Chicago Bulls backup center Omer Asik signed a three-year, $25 million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets on July 1, though the deal has been held up the even more highly publicized "poison pill" contract Rockets' GM Daryl Morey gave out this month, a similarly structured deal to point guard Jeremy Lin. The Knicks announced they will not be matching the contract to Lin on Tuesday night, meaning after Houston waives a player and waits 48 hours, the offer to Asik becomes official. It will then be presented to the Chicago Bulls, who will have three days to decide if they want to match.
The offer sheet has certainly put the Bulls in a precarious position. Most polls show more than 70 percent of the fans hope Chicago lets Asik walk, though the team has maintained all along they plan on matching. If the Bulls match the offer sheet to Asik, it will be them into the luxury tax for the first time ever.
Asik averaged 3.1 points and 5.3 rebounds for Chicago last season. The offer sheet from the Rockets signed by the 7-footer is set to pay him $5 million in the first two seasons and close to $15 million in year three.
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