Overseas Scouting Report: Omer Asik
By my count, there are eight players coming to the NBA after spending at least a year playing overseas. Throughout the week we are going to look at each player’s individual game one by one, to see what we can expect from them this year in the NBA.
Past Editions: Nikola Pekovic | Timofey Mozgov | Tiago Splitter | Pooh Jeter
The Chicago Bulls have held Omer Asik’s rights since the 2008 NBA Draft. Asik was originally taken with the 36th overall pick by the Portland Trailblazers, but his rights were immediately traded to the Bulls. Now at 24, the Chicago Bulls have finally signed the 6′11″ 230 pound (according to DraftExpress.com) Asik to a 2 year deal at about $1.7 million per year (according to the salary listed on ESPN’s trade machine).
In my opinion, Asik isn’t as NBA-ready as Pekovic, Mozgov, or Splitter but he does have some skills that could help in year one, and if he is developed properly he could become a productive member of the Bulls in year two.
Note: In the clip, Asik is playing for Fenerbahçe Ülker and is #24 in white.
Strengths
Runs The Floor/Finds Open Spaces In Transition
Omer Asik isn’t overly athletic (even by a center’s standards), and he isn’t going to run by anyone, but Asik still is pretty good in transition. The reason is because he seems to understand floor spacing really well, and he knows what to do when running up and down the court:
Here, Asik gets his defender on his back when running out, and once he gets that position, he doesn’t have to create separation with his man. Asik understands that, and once he gets to the lane he pauses, keeping his defender on his back, and allowing for the middle of the lane to open up. He then makes the catch and finishes.