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New Orleans Pelicans: Should Omer Asik Be Re-signed?

By Owen Sanborn

Mar 17, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik (3) reacts in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Smoothie King Center.The Pelicans defeated the Bucks 85-84. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans center Omer Asik (3) reacts in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Smoothie King Center.The Pelicans defeated the Bucks 85-84. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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I love Omer Asik.

He is just one of those players that does all of the dirty work for a winning team. He can’t run, he can’t shoot, he can’t really pass and he can barely catch. His only NBA talent is that he is a mammoth of a man created to protect the rim and being capable of flailing the ball up on the glass from all kinds of strange angles. And that’s fine! Not everyone can be Anthony Davis.

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You need guys like Asik to be a winning team.

This is why I believe that the New Orleans Pelicans should try their best to retain the services of the Turkish big man.

The cost of acquiring Asik from the Houston Rockets last summer was a protected first-round pick that is most likely going to be lost in this year’s draft (it was top-three protected while also being 20-30 protected). That is a steep price in today’s NBA for a guy that you don’t intend to re-sign in the future.

Asik was known to have his issues in Houston last season; basically turning into a grump the minute that Dwight Howard was signed. So, he forced his way out and has found a nice home for himself with the Pelicans. He rarely says two words during games, and seems content with his teammates. Again, he is just there to be really big and tall and he fills that role with flying colors.

Partnering Asik with Davis is a pretty perfect marriage. Prior to Asik’s arrival, Davis would find himself playing more center than he probably should have been and therefore was feeling the physical repercussions. He is too skinny to consistently bang with bigger centers such as a Boogie Cousins or Marc Gasol and I think he understands that now.

Enter Asik to be the big body force to counteract the elite centers in the Western Conference and all of the sudden Davis can focus on being a terrorizing freak of nature on offense and swatting everything in sight on defense.

For that reason alone, Asik is an extremely valuable commodity for this team.

Now, the question with Asik’s free agency isn’t whether or not he would re-sign with the Pelicans. Instead, the focus will be on finding the right price. Every team in the league knows that the cap is going to balloon up to possibly $90 million in 2016 thanks to the new TV deal, making it easier to splurge on a middling free agent this summer.

Could Asik nab a $15 million a year contract from some desperate team like the New York Knicks? I wouldn’t bet against it. It only takes one team to believe in you to drive your free agency price tag way up. New Orleans would have a difficult decision to make if Asik’s price tag grows to unintended heights.

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    • Their cap situation — although not terrible — is certainly not ideal. They are on track to pay Eric Gordon, Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson (nice to see you back Wednesday night, buddy!) a combined $45 million next season. Ouch. That price tag would be a lot easier to justify if those players were able to stay healthy for an entire season.

    The monster extension is also looming for Davis in the upcoming years, which will further hinder the Pelicans’ cap flexibility.

    General manager Dell Demps (if he is still the GM this summer) will have numerous things when deciding whether or not to resign Asik. If I were a betting man — and I totally am — I would bet on Asik staying with New Orleans despite the potentially high price tag.

    He is a great fit with what they are trying to do and the Pelicans front office has been trying to accelerate the process of becoming great by selling future assets and flexibility for players that can help them now.

    Why would they change their thoughts on team construction now?

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