Omer Asik

Odds & Ends: Hinrich, Bulls, Meeks, Mayo, Tolliver

Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago reported earlier that the Bucks presented Kirk Hinrich with an offer of about $4 MM per year, while the Bulls have made an offer somewhere between the veteran's minimum and around $2 MM per year. The proposed length of either deal is still unknown. Although the Bulls have been relatively quiet at this point during the offseason, Sam thinks that Chicago could eventually become financially viable for free agent point guards such as Ramon Sessions, Raymond Felton, Jerryd Bayless, and Delonte West, who could be available if they are not acquired during the first wave of free agent signings. Derek Fisher and Jonny Flynn were also mentioned as potential additions.                                                                                                 
We are currently less than four days away from the end of the NBA's moratorium period, and here is the rest of what we've heard around the league this evening…
  • Ersan Ilyasova plans to meet with Bucks owner Herb Kohl on Tuesday, which is seen as an important opportunity in the team's effort to retain the 6'10'' forward (Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reports). Earlier this week, we reported that Milwaukee offered a deal worth around $40MM over five years.

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Bulls Rumors: Hinrich, Asik, Roy, Fisher, Lucas

In case you missed it amidst tonight's flurry of free agent rumors, the Bulls are making Kirk Hinrich their top free agent target, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Johnson has more in a full report, adding that Hinrich will command most, if not all, of the team's $3MM mini mid-level exception. Hinrich may not be altogether exciting for Bulls fans, but they haven't stopped their pursuit of others, including Brandon Roy, and GM Gar Forman left open the possibility the team could match the Rockets' backloaded offer for Omer Asik, which will be officially tendered on July 11th. "I'm not going to talk about any type of negotiation or anything contractually until we see something," the GM said. "We've made it clear we value Omer and it's been our goal that Omer would stay with the Bulls." Johnson has more out of Chicago, and we've got the highlights here:

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Pacers Reach Out To Omer Asik

With the Trail Blazers heavily courting Roy Hibbert and expecting to sign him to a maximum-salary offer sheet as soon as they can, the Pacers are exploring contingency plans. According to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter), Indiana has reached out to Bulls restricted free agent Omer Asik.

Wells cautions that the Pacers' interest in Asik doesn't mean the team won't match the Blazers' offer to Hibbert. GM Kevin Pritchard and president Donnie Walsh are simply doing their homework, according to Wells. Asik is also drawing interest from the Rockets, who may be preparing an offer that starts at $8MM.

Free Agent Rumors: Lakers, Mavs, Cavs, Crawford

It's past midnight on the East Coast, and that means teams may negotiate with free agents from other clubs, as the NBA's offseason gets under way in earnest. Players can't officially sign contracts until July 11, and trades can't be made official until that date either. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty of talk and agreements in principle between now and then, and if this evening is any indication, we're in for a busy couple of weeks ahead. There are several bits of news rolling in on free agents as July begins, so we'll round up what we're hearing around the late-night rumor mill here.

Earlier updates:

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Rockets GM Morey To Meet With Omer Asik

Rockets GM Daryl Morey will kick off the NBA free agent period in Los Angeles, where he plans to meet with restricted free agent Omer Asik tonight, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (via Twitter). The Bulls have officially tendered Asik a qualifying offer worth about $2.32MM, so Chicago will have the opportunity to match any offer sheet the big man signs with another club.

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Odds & Ends: Rockets, Magic, Wolves, Green

With less than 24 hours to go until teams can officially begin negotiating with free agents, the focus has shifted from the draft and incoming rookies to where NBA veterans will end up. No free agent is more coveted than Deron Williams, but he's narrowed his choices to the Mavs and Nets. There are plenty of quality players left for other teams, however, including Roy Hibbert and Eric Gordon, whom the Rockets will target, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, adding that the team is also going after Omer Asik. Here's more on the free agent plans of teams around the league and other late-night news:

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Qualifying Offers: Friday

With the NBA's 2012 free agent period just two days away, teams continue to extend qualifying offers to free agents in order to make them restricted. If a qualifying offer is not tendered to a player eligible for restricted free agency, he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Players who are tendered qualifying offers have the option to accept the one-year contract and hit unrestricted free agency a year from now, but the primary purpose of the offers are to ensure that the player's team can match any offers for him this summer. We'll track today's qualifying offer updates right here, with the latest added to the top of the page….

  • The Cavs have made a qualifying offer to Luke Harangody, according to the joint Twitter account of Plain Dealer writers Mary Schmitt Boyer and Jodie Valade. The tender is expected to be around $1.05MM.

Earlier updates:

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Lawrence On Riley, Shaq, Bulls, Knicks

Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News has a new column focusing on Miami Heat president Pat Riley, who is attempting to build a new dynasty in Miami following the team's NBA Finals victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday. Here are the highlights of the column:

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Ford On Pistons, Bucks, Lamb, White, Rockets

We've already linked one Friday piece from ESPN.com's Chad Ford in our daily Draft Updates post, but Ford is back with another Insider-only column full of draft news and rumors. Here are his newest items on the Pistons, Bucks, Rockets, and more….

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Odds & Ends: Lakers, Hawks, Rose

Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles looked at some specific names that could surface on the Lakers' radar if Ramon Sessions is not on the roster next season, mentioning Aaron Brooks, Raymond Felton, and Kirk Hinrich as guards who could be available for the team's mini mid-level exception. You can read more of tonight's miscellaneous links here, including rumblings about Atlanta's offseason activity, a minor update on Derrick Rose, and an in-depth look at Charlotte's new head coach…

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