From April 22:

Ever since Omer Asık arrived at Fenerbahce, he has been lost under the radar as Tanjevic killed his ability to score, and you can call him another victim of the coach as he joins the list next to Preldzic. No NBA for him this year.. Before FB: 35 minutes, 15 points, 11 rebounds. 2 blocks and 2 dimes.. After FB: 20 minutes, 7 points.. The rest is history!

Well I (Christophe) have to add, Omer Asik is now playing for a Top 3 team while playing before for a go-down candidate (Alpella). This may also be a reason. Don’t always blame the coach.

Asik measured out pretty well. His measurements from Eurocamp, ala nbadraft.net. He at least seems like a big guy with a good body. Maybe a little on the slow side, but not as bad as Aaron Gray.

Video Here

About 45 seconds in he hits a free throw.
Anytime somebody’s highlight clip includes them making a foul shot, I’m not that impressed.

But I’ll defer to the experts that are calling this a steal.

But I sure as hell hope he has more evidence than 279 Euroleague minutes to claim that Asik is a top-10 talent. I have NO problem translating Euroleague results and proclaiming that a player will likely be productive in the NBA, or that a player is likely to develop into a quality NBA player, but 279 minutes? Yeesh.

That said, I am excited for the pick, as the consensus seems to be that he can play, and I have to presume that the Bulls know something about his eventual availability to come over to the NBA. Please, nobody remind me for my past enthusiasm for Dragan Tarlac.

its kinda interesting to see that paxson acutally paid attention to other guys while the draft was going on. to give up 3 picks in the second round for this guy means that he gotta be atleast something. and im not sure if u guys know anything about this, but during all the draft talks yesterday, i heard on some raido program about drazen petrovic’s son or nephew? supposdley hes really good. but i cant really find much on him.

one who was pissed they didnt select CDR with the 2nd rd pick? I mean that was the steal of the draft IMO and we totally dropped the ball for who Sonny Weems who appearantly over night turned into a foreign job we wont see for a few years. I realise we are gaurd heavy but you cannot pass up a kid like CDR, not to mention he and D Rose were teamates last year. Now we get to watch him fill it up for NJ. ;-(

...that Asik looks to be much that Gray isn’t. (According to draftexpress per 40 stats) he’s good on the offensive boards, great at shot-blocking at stealing (for a big man), and he gets to the line a lot. Most who’ve seen him say he’s smooth & fluid and hyperactive out there.

Not only does it all sound good, it’s a skill-set that differs significantly from Gray, and in that way certainly worth taking a small risk on.

that in the second round, the lakers picked someone named Joe Crawford. i say this because joe crawford(refree) has spent a lot of time helong the lakers, and now they got a player..

Chris Duhon!!! lol…so im not excited about anybody they pick in the second round

If everything that I’ve read is true

Asik’s last name means “he who loves”, essentially “one who loves God” in the sufi context that Turkey is so steeped in. For some reason this makes him seem like a badass to me. Unlike, say, Kevin Love… not sure why that is…

...I learned on YouTube. Look, the dood is twenty and blocked his age in shots in ONE FREAKIN GAME! When have you ever heard of a dood blocking 20 shots in a game? Anywhere? Did Sabonis ever block 20 shots? If he ever gets a handle,maybe he goes for a Dream like QUADRUPLE DOUBLE??!!!!!OMfG

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/cs-080627-omer-aski-chicago-bulls-draft,1,4604735.story

....we have a sighting. He was playing for the Telekom team which lost to Asik’s team in the Turkish Finals.

http://www.euroleague.net/item/32819

Fener led throughout the game, racing out to an early 16-6 lead and going up 26-17 after 10 minutes. The lead grew to 35-21 midway through the second period, before Khalid El-Amin pulled Telekom back within 6. Mirsad Turkcan ensured Fener a 50-40 lead at halftime. The advantage swelled to 17 in the third quarter and Telekom never seriously challenged after that.

Back to Asik – what’s more promising is the fact that, though Asik isn’t mentioned at all in games 1, 2, and 5, he had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 blocks in game 3, and 14 rebounds in game 4. He also had a 12 point, 15 rebound game earlier in the playoffs. I can’t seem to find box scores on that site, only wrap-ups.

It seems like Asik is good enough already to post high-volume numbers in the Turkish League Finals/Playoffs, but I can’t find consistent mentions of his playing time across games. As we know, that can cause frustration. But it may just be editorial license in the write-ups.

but does asik look a little creepy? like the kind of guy that spends his afternoon watching kids play on the monkeybars wearing a tight stripped polo???
WANTED

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?
NAME:OMER ASIK
ALIAS:THE TURK
AGE:22
ABILITIES:UNCANNY DEFENSIVE SKILLS
ORIGIN:UNKNOWN
WANTED FOR LEUD ACTS WITH A BASKETBALL IN THE STATE OF ILL.

Moved out of it’s own fanpost. -ed.

I emailed Jonathan Givony at DraftExpress asking about the discrepancy between what Paxson has said (two years) and what everyone else has said (five). Here’s Givony’s clarification on Asik’s extension:
Hasn’t signed it yet, but he is very close to doing so. Fenerbahce is putting a crapload of pressure on him. They are possibly the most NBA-unfriendly team you’ll find in Europe. That’s why he didn’t play in Treviso for example. They are going to sit on his ass until he signs the contracts, its inevitable.
In a way, that’s really good news that it’s still just two years, and I would think our spending three 2nd round picks on him is a comparable amount of pressure in itself to not sign that extension. Still, though – and this doesn’t seem possible with any front office besides the Bulls’ – I can’t help but think Paxson didn’t do all his homework before shipping out the three picks.