Morey Believes Asik Can Be Elite Level Defender, Superior Rebounder
Jul 24, 2012 11:31 PM EDT
Daryl Morey is banking on the limited displays of potential Omer Asik flashed as a reserve with the Bulls.
"They've been the best defensive team in the league the past couple of years," Morey said of the Bulls. "They've been at their best defensively with Omer in the middle, better than with their other bigs on the team. Obviously he's going against non-starter players often. That said, when he played against starters he played great, and in those limited minutes, even when you adjust for maybe some of the backups he was going against, he was still elite, elite."
Houston landed Asik after the Bulls chose not to match Morey's offer sheet for the restricted free agent.
"We think that's where you can find opportunity in this league," Morey said. "In free agency it's very hard to find players to add and that have a fit in the overall structure of what we're trying to do to get back to being a championship contender. One way to do it is to find a guy who hasn't played much who we really believe in, and then add him to our team.
"Anytime you can get a defensive presence like him - 7-footer; long; probably the best paint-rim protector short of one or two players in the league the last couple of years; superior rebounder - that's always a good thing to add no matter what your roster looks like.
"We think he's a 10-plus a night rebound guy (and) one of the best defensive bigs in the league. Obviously not many people have seen him play because he did have a limited role there, and time will tell if our scouting that we believe in is right. But we believe in Omer and he believes in himself."
捧到上天
