Woj: HOU still wants Asik for Lee, CHI determined to add SG

[TheAdmiral]

People on twitter just went crazy after that KC tweet.

[PJ Brown]

Have you seen Millers contract? Its friggin terrible. And Miller + Thomas would be so dangerously slow and weak defensivly. It makes no sense to do that trade.

Lol... here we go again with the almighty terrible Brad Miller contract that's actually NOT terrible.

He is getting 5 mill a year for three years. Why would we pay him that to be a back up?

People have pointed out the the third year isn't guaranteed. I'm still in no rush to acquire him back, but 2 years at his price isn't that big of a deal.

[Big Sexy]

I was at the Bulls/Raptors game in early January and Asik has his best game of the season against the Raptors. What does Thibs do? Follow it up with playing him 30 seconds against that same team. I love Asik but if you aren't going to play him, trade him.

[heirdog]

KC Johnson:

It's unclear which team tried to expand CLee talks, but one variation became Asik/Bogans for Brad Miller/C Lee. Bulls want to keep Asik.

Actually, KC, it's pretty clear since you go on to say "Bulls want to keep Asik"...the Rockets enticed the Bulls with Miller as an Asik replacement.

[Hold That]

Its almost like Asik couldn't have chosen a better time to actually show a pulse which is in Feb.. We might slightly be overrating him..

And if we traded him for some reason I don't think we will say damn how could we trade away that 4x all-star top 10 rebounder.. I don't ever think that'll be associated with Asik..

[Blount]

Just give them Asik damnit

It's a fair trade

[BullsCroatia]

wait, how is Darell worse than Taj, do you watch basketball? Arthur is 22 years old , shooting 50% and avg 8 and 4 in 20 mins off the bench.. PER of 15.06

Taj is Avg 7 and 6 shooting 43% in 22 mins , with a PER of 13.5 - taj is 25

Why are they looking for a PF then? Look, I like Arthur, but remember the numers Taj was putting when he was starting. Arthur got his chance to start also and he was not as impressive as Taj in that role. Also, a far superior defensive player Taj is.

[Big Sexy]

That, and apparently Asik is a desired commodity, so he must not be too bad?

Not to the Bulls. We are in win-now mode and can't be playing developing players 30 seconds a night. It will ruin them just like it ruined Tyrus Thomas, James Johnson, etc.

No, we're in 'win for the next 5 years' mode.

We have the 3rd best record in the East right now and can easily move up. Boston is due to start declining any year now. And as I said, if you aren't going to play Asik, trade him. He's not going to develop sitting on the bench just like James Johnson.

[Jvaughn]

Christ. I'm going to have my work cut out for me defending Asik over the next 3/6/12/36 months

You got me and ilyasova still. We'll be okay.

What's the basis for your argument? That you think Asik is a star in the making? That he'll be an above average starter? An average starter? A capable backup?

I love Asik as much as the next and although there are holes in his game, I know he will improve and be a value and a good piece. But I don't think he has above averge starting potential, and I recognize hes at this moment and time our most valuable trade piece, and he could be used to fill the biggst glaring hole on the team.

On the other hand, to me Lee doesn't seem like the long term ideal answer at SG. Not sure that move wins us a championship. Also, Asik did a little too good of a job containing Howard in the last Orlando game, and has held some good centers in check this year. Maybe having that piece offsets the weakness at SG for this playoff run.

I just want to hear the justification.

Throughout Asik's career (not just NBA) he has shown that he can be highly productive in any amount of minutes he's given. When given extended minutes here, he has performed well and shown that he will be a good player. He has a ton of potential, and has the size to be a legit big. His defensive instincts are unheard of for a rookie, and he's aggressive enough to get to the line when he can't finish. Give him a summer of working with NBA coaches, and tweak some of the negatives in his game (bringing the ball down and finishing strong) and he can be a starter on a good team in this league. Having that luxury on this team is invaluable. In a year or so he can be a 25mpg guy that anchors our defense. He won't start here unless Boozer or Noah are traded/hurt, but starting the game isn't everything. I'm like Lee, but he's not a world changer, and trading a player with as much potential as Omer doesn't seem worth it.

[IllinoisReppa20]

im sure they could avg 3 and 3.

Yes, because what he is now is what he will be.

And who to say the big we can draft or trade for , will only put up 3 and 3? Can they not improve too, just like he could?

They may even be younger than Asik

[Payt10]

This deal will come down to the last minute. Who blinks first?

[heirdog]

Teams calling Houston on Courtney Lee keep getting same message: No big in deal, no trade. Will Bulls cave and give Omer Asik? So far, no.

WojYahooNBA via Twitter

Don't know why we can't just make this a 3 way with MEM. They already want to give up Thabeet.

Agree...Thabeet and Bulls 1st rd pick to Houston, CLee to Bulls, Miami 1st round to Memphis...done deal. Or at least it should be.

[TheChad708]

Let's face it. Highly doubtful anything happens with a little over 2 hrs to go. This is our team. The best one we've had in 12 years.

I disagree, I believe it was the Drew Gooden/Ben Wallace trade that we didn't even hear was complete until after the deadline had passed. The Bulls just happen to run a very tight lipped organization, it's good and bad.

[JoeDog10]

That, and apparently Asik is a desired commodity, so he must not be too bad?

Not to the Bulls. We are in win-now mode and can't be playing developing players 30 seconds a night. It will ruin them just like it ruined Tyrus Thomas, James Johnson, etc.

No, we're in 'win for the next 5 years' mode.

This is true, but when you have a legitimate chance to win it all this year and a hole at SG, you just shouldn't stand pat. Asik might not reach his potential for another 5 years. You just don't know. And the Heat are going to be better next year. The Knicks could end up with Chris Paul. The Nets could end up with Dwight Howard. There are a lot of "ifs" that "could' happen.

But one thing is for sure, and that is the Bulls are one of the best teams in the league THIS season. Instead of thinking what might be, we need to start thinking about what is.

[umfan83]

KC Johnson on NBA TV....

Asked about SG... Says the Bulls refuse to give up Omer or Taj to get one.

Asked about the Bulls needing a better back up PG.... He is concerned that CJ Watson is not conducive to playoff basketball.

Said that Noah told him that he has to play more to get into game shape and was he gassed last night



Doesn't sound like anything is getting done.

So....

-The team really wants an upgrade at SG
-The teams best trade chips (outside the core), are Asik, Taj, and draft picks
-After that, the rest of the players don't seem to have much value as they are career backups with not much upside
-But the Bulls refuse to trade Asik or Taj

I don't see how a deal gets done with our best trading chips (aka our 3rd and 5th bigs) off the table. There is no reason for any team to even discuss trades if that's the case. Can't see how a team would be dying to take Watson or Korver off our hands.

[pchrys3]

CHI In- O.J. Mayo, Courtney Lee
CHI Out- Kyle Korver, Charlotte 1st, CHI 2011 1st, MIA 2011 1st, 2011 2nd

MEM In- Kyle Korver, Jordan Hill, Charlotte 1st, MIA 1st
MEM Out- O.J. Mayo, Hasheem Thabeet

HOU In- Hasheem Thabeet, CHI 2011 1st, 2011 2nd
HOU Out- Courney Lee, Jordan Hill

[ELCIDz]

Throughout Asik's career (not just NBA) he has shown that he can be highly productive in any amount of minutes he's given. When given extended minutes here, he has performed well and shown that he will be a good player. He has a ton of potential, and has the size to be a legit big. His defensive instincts are unheard of for a rookie, and he's aggressive enough to get to the line when he can't finish. Give him a summer of working with NBA coaches, and tweak some of the negatives in his game (bringing the ball down and finishing strong) and he can be a starter on a good team in this league. Having that luxury on this team is invaluable. In a year or so he can be a 25mpg guy that anchors our defense. He won't start here unless Boozer or Noah are traded/hurt, but starting the game isn't everything. I'm like Lee, but he's not a world changer, and trading a player with as much potential as Omer doesn't seem worth it.

Exactly. Worst case scenario Aski brings a 7 foot frame, rebounding and 6 fouls. Thats valuable in the playoffs especially given our matchups. I wouldn't give that up for Lee, who's a journey man and pretty average, but maybe for Mayo who has much more potential.

[Jeffster81]

smh at not trading one of our bigs for lee...asik's not even going to get playing time(unless taj traded).

trade one of them for our damn starting sg that YOU and the coaching staff are high on. ridiculous

Uh no. You don't trade big for small unless that small is really, really good. Lee isn't worth Asik or Gibson, so I have no problem if the Bulls don't give up either Asik or Gibson for Lee. This is a case of Houston don't want to do their own damn work and find their own big.

[The Explorer]

Do not trade Asik for Lee, it is not worth it! I'm fine with going to battle with Bogans/Brewer/Korver if it means keeping the front court depth. Lose to Miami in the playoffs and upgrade in the summer. Advance next season.

[Magilla_Gorilla]

Its almost like Asik couldn't have chosen a better time to actually show a pulse which is in Feb.. We might slightly be overrating him..

And if we traded him for some reason I don't think we will say damn how could we trade away that 4x all-star top 10 rebounder.. I don't ever think that'll be associated with Asik..

Its Courtney F'ing Lee - its not like its an All Star SG I don't want to trade him for - its Courtney F'ing Lee.

He's okay - but I'd want to upgrade from Courtney Lee in the off-season. Don't make me bust out my cat food / ham sandwich analogy.

I'd rather have a good backup C who is currently shutting down the lane for the second unit, than a marginal upgrade at SG.