While vacationing in Europe, I see an advertisement for the Germany-Turkey friendly and automatically think of Omer Asik. I’ve never seen him play in live action before, so I obviously was pretty excited.

When I first see Asik, I look at his size. Tall guy, but he needs to bulk up as we all know. It looks as if he’s been working on his shoulders, but there needs to be more muscle. He’s going up against Tibor Pleiss, Oklahoma City’s second round pick of this years draft.

The game starts and Asik scores the first 8 points for Turkey.  The first 6 points come off pick and rolls or being left open under the basket. The next 2 points were the ones that impressed me the most. Asik had the ball at the perimeter and blew by Pleiss for a dunk. This looked exactly like Brad Miller’s move where he’d drive by his guy and get a layup(in Asik’s case, a dunk), except in fast forward. Germany calls a timeout.

Shortly after the timeout, Turkey gets a steal and fastbreak opportunity. Asik runs up the court, gets the pass and starts dribbling to the basket to dunk it. Play gets broken up though, the pass to Asik was a backcourt violation, but Asik still displayed his quickness and ballhandling skills on that play.

The first quarter is over and Turkey has the lead. Asik does not play in the second quarter for no specific reason, and Germany starts running away with the game. Turkoglu looks bad and is at least 10 pounds overweight.

In the second half, he gets more playing time, but the game is already lost. He adds 5 more points and finishes the game as the best turkish player with 13 points, 2 rebounds, and a block. The Germans win the game 68-54 despite not having Dirk Nowitzki.

Asik probably won’t be ready to contribute for the upcoming NBA season, but he has the potential to be a solid player. He’s very fast for a center and has some nice ballhandling skills. He has a nice spin move with his back to the basket and is good at rolling to the hoop. He really just needs to bulk up and keep learning the game. At the moment his strong is too weak for the league. His rebounding didn’t seem great, but not horrible either. Expect above average rebounding from him.

Hopefully Asik turns into the player we all envision him becoming, if not it was only at the expense of a second rounder.

As we all know, the Bulls need to get some perimeter shooting in their lineup. Rose, Noah, Boozer, and Deng are all locks to start, so the three point shooting needs to come from the off guard position. Two players that come to mind are free agent Delonte West and the disgruntled Blazer, Rudy Fernandez.

After a promising rookie year, things went down hill for Rudy Fernandez and he fell out of favor in Portland. Already having to play behind Brandon Roy, the Blazers signed Matthews Jr. to a big deal, leading to Fernandez demanding a trade. There was a lot of hype behind Rudy coming into the league, and many called him the second coming of Ginobili with his slashing and perimeter shooting.  He could still end up being that player if given a chance, but even if he doesn’t improve, the Bulls would be a lot better off with him.

Offensively, Fernandez would be perfect next to Rose. With Rose or Boozer likely seeing a double team and both relying heavily on scoring close to the basket, a reliable shooter like Fernandez would punish teams from doubling either one of them. Everything else he brings to the table would only be a bonus.

On the defensive end, Fernandez has the tools to be a decent defender. As an athletic 6′6″ guard, buying into the same defensive system that made Eddie House and Nate Robinson look better than what they are should cover up for his defensive issues.

If the Blazers refuse to give Rudy up for what the Bulls are offering,  the Bulls should look into the idea of adding Delonte West. West doesn’t have the potential that Fernandez has, but he’s proven himself as a solid NBA player. Although his three point shot isn’t deadly, teams still respect his outside shot enough to make sure he doesn’t get an open look. He’s also a capable defender, so he won’t hurt the team.

What leaves West unsigned are his previous issues and many label him as a cancer. However, West has always been considered a good locker room guy and doesn’t let his issues get with his teammates unless your name is Lebron. Delonte likely won’t command much money so signing him to a small deal should be a low risk high reward scenario.

Right now, the Bulls focus is on Rudy Fernandez. Talks with the Blazers haven’t stopped, but the Bulls simply aren’t offering enough to get a deal completed right now. Time will tell to see who bites first, or if no one changes their stance.

The Bulls have signed Keith Bogans to a 2 year contract. Bogans brings the teams roster to the required 12 players. The Bulls are still trying to nab Rudy Fernandez from the Blazers and hope to pair him up with D-Rose.

We’ve heard it all about bringing T-mac in (or actually not bringing him in). He will un-do all the good things about this summer! He will be a disaster! He would disrupt team chemistry and play! He wont play defense! He wont work out hard! Hes a prima donna! He doesnt care about winning, hes a loser! Hes all about “I”! He runs his mouth too much!  He’s done!  But before we sign Keith Bogans, lets look at the situation a little more.

 We can SAY all we want, but the fact of the matter is, the Bulls are bringing T-Mac in to hear his side of it, let him plead his case.  Yes, I know its rare.  Can a former superstar change his attitude and become a team player?  Well, thats exactly why the Bulls have scheduled a work out with him on Monday, to find out.

 First thing is first.  The Bulls will look in depth at McGrady’s health status.  Can he still play effectively for an 82 game season?  If he can, it’s worth the risk.

 The second main aspect will be his attitude.  For the Bulls to even consider signing T-Mac, a series of questions will occur to find out if he will buy into the team concept.  Questions in hopes to reveal whether Tracy is for real and about winning, or if the horror stories about him are true.

If McGrady were to be signed, he must agree upon several aspects.  A) This is Derrick Rose’s team B) you are not guaranteed a starting spot, playing time is earned and C) this is about being a part of a team and winning.  If T-Mac is serious about winning first and joining the Bulls (which he has indicated through his tweets), and can sell himself on being part of a team concept, the possibility of signing the former All Star could be a possibility.

 So as the debate rages on and as Monday approaches, the question about adding T-Mac comes down to if.  If T-mac agrees to being a team player, adding him is possible.  If T-Mac thinks hes T-mac of 2003, say good bye. 

 And if he is a “changed man”, a healthy, team player, hes clearly worth the risk.  The risk outweighs the reward incredibly.  A player who could add much needed scoring and star power.  A best case scenario, he becomes a valuable side-kick to Rose and Boozer and helps contribute to a long playoff run… and shakes his haunted past of being labeled a “loser”.  Joining the Bulls could be great motivation for him to move to the next chapter of his career, becoming a winner.  It could make for great entertainment for Bulls fans.

 Or we can sign Keith Bogans

The Bulls have signed veteran center Kurt Thomas to a deal. This ends the possibility of the Bulls landing Shaq, whom they were waiting on to see if he would accept a contract smaller than his demands. The Bulls will bring in Tracy McGrady for a workout Monday.

The Bulls and Warriors have agreed on a sign and trade involving CJ Watson. The Bulls will send the lower one of their 2nd round picks next season in exchange for a sign and traded Watson. The deal is 3/10.2 million with only the first two being guaranteed. Watson will give Rose and backup and a scoring punch off the bench. The Bulls will now look to add some more frontcourt depth and possibly another wing player.

With Brad Miller signing a 3 year 15 million dollar contract with the Houston Rockets, the Bulls are left without a quality backup center. Though Omer Asik could turn into a solid NBA player, chances are he’s not ready to take on big minutes this year. Options such as Kurt Thomas have been discussed, but no other remaining free agent could have as big of an impact as Shaq. Shaq’s options are diminishing with Atlanta stating they have no interest in signing him and Dallas already having Brendan Haywood and Tyson Chandler at the center position.

If Shaq really wants to continue playing, it appears as if he’d have to accept taking on a lesser role. By joining the Bulls, Shaq might still end up seeing a fair amount of starts. With Boozer’s injury history,O’Neal could end up getting more playing time here in Chicago than anywhere else in the case where Boozer misses a large portion of games. The Bulls could simply slide Noah to the power forward position and bring Shaq in at center, keeping that low post presence in the starting 5. Also, whenever Noah were to get into foul trouble, especially in crucial situations such as the playoffs, Shaq could step in and provide solid minutes. The Bulls should not rely on Kurt Thomas and Omer Asik to bring it in those situations. For the same reasons Cleveland brought in O’Neal, the Bulls could definitely use him against Dwight Howard’s big body. Noah still had trouble with Howard in the regular season, despite his great off-season.

He might not be the old Shaq, but his presence is still felt. He still shot 57% from the floor and provided solid rebounding numbers for the playing time he saw. Now the level of interest Shaq has in this situation is unclear, but the Bulls are interested as they are currently in talks with him along with Kurt Thomas, Jason Williams, and Matt Barnes.

By Tech

7.16.10   1:05 p.m

The Bulls will contact Anthony Morrow of the Golden State Warriors.  Morrow, a restricted free agent, is exactly what the Bulls need.  He is a deadly 3-point shooter who can spread the floor for Derrick Rose.  He’s also young and athletic and a player who can grow with the nucleus in place.   The one issue is the Warriors can match any offer the Bulls give being that Morrow is a restricted free agent.  Its unknown whether the Bulls will be willing to slightly overpay for Morrow.  In order to grab him and to have the best chance for the Warriors not to match, we would likely have to give a 5 year, 25-30 million dollar deal (which is the max he can recieve). 

With the way this offseason is going with over paid contracts, it might be neccessary to give Morrow such a deal.  I mean, even Drew Gooden was able to get 5 years, 30 million.  It really might turn out to be a great investment anyway, Morrow is young and could end up being a steal in the long run.

If the Bulls aren’t willing to pay for Morrow or fear the Warriors will match, look for the Bulls to sign more obvious and lesser options, such as Kyle Korver, whom the Bulls have been in contact with.  Other players the Bulls have discussed include Mike Miller, Ronnie Brewer, J.J. Redick (who is also restricted), Matt Barnes, Roger Mason, Rasual Butler, Quentin Richardson and Wesley Matthews (restricted).

 Lastly, the Bulls are exploring trade options.  Michael Redd of the Bucks is an option which is actively being explored but the Bulls are trying to find out as much information as possible about his health status.  They may also look into Gilbert Arenas, who is clearly available and could easily be had, but Bulls management is split on the possibility.  Some believe we should trade for Arenas to send a message to the Heat that the Bulls are for real about competing and to match their aggressive approach.  Yet torn on the idea of bringing in someone of such bad character to the locker room.  Arenas’ character, past health issues and contract are ultimately what could hold the Bulls back on that option.

Shorty after Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade announced that they would sign with the Miami Heat, the Bulls locked up Carlos Boozer for 5 years around $75 million. Boozer, a 6-9 power forward out of Duke, posted 19.5 points and 11.2 rebounds this past season for the Utah Jazz. The Bulls had targeted Boozer last summer offering Tyrus Thomas and Jerome James, but the Bulls and Jazz never managed to agree to terms.

Lebron James will announce his decision at 8pm CT on an hour long ESPN special coverage. The Bulls are hoping Lebron chooses them, but they aren’t the only team in the hunt. Rumorpress will post updates on the situation, if they become available.