The Chicago Bulls plan to not match the Houston Rockets' three-year, $25.1 million offer to Omer Asik, the team announced via its website Tuesday morning.
The deal the Rockets have constructed would have meant the Bulls would have been on the hook for a cap hit worth almost $15 million in the final year of the contract.
"It was a difficult decision because Omer did a nice job for us," Bulls general manager Gar Forman told the team's website Tuesday. "Matching the offer for Omer could have put us in a difficult position going forward in trying to acquire high-level talent. We wish Omer good luck and continued success."
The Bulls decided they did not want to absorb such a substantial penalty given their current cap situation.
As of today the Bulls have lost Asik and Ronnie Brewer during the offseason, but are on the verge of finalizing deals for Marco Belineli and Nazr Mohammed, according to sources familiar with the situation.
Belineli, who was a former first-round pick of the Golden State Warriors, averaged 11.8 points last season with the New Orleans Hornets.
Belineli is expected to sign for the bi-annual exception, which is just under $2 million. By using the bi-annual exception, the Bulls' hard cap themselves at $74 million for the season.
Mohammed on the other hand is expected to sign for the veteran's minimum, worth $1.3 million.
