The Chicago Bulls will have an additional $3 million to use in free agency this summer after the NBA approved their request to remove Omer Asik's contract from their books:
The NBA has removed Omer Asik's deal from the Chicago Bulls' salary books via career-ending injury/illness, freeing up an additional $3M in space, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Chicago now has upwards of $23M in salary space for free agency.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2019
Chicago petitioned for Asik's contract to be removed from their books two months ago. The veteran center, who was ruled out in September 2018 with inflammatory arthritis, was waived the following month.
According to the NBA rules, if a player is diagnosed with an ailment that is believed to be career-ending, his team is eligible to apply for cap relief one year after he last appeared in a game, which the Bulls did in April. Asik will still receive his salary, but it will no longer count on Chicago's cap.
The Bulls now have around $23 million in cap space, and they are expected to use it to sign multiple role players once free agency opens.
Chicago acquired Asik from the New Orleans Pelicans back in February 2018, but he only played four games for the team. After being diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis, it was revealed that he would never be able to play professional basketball again. An independent physician made this decision, noting that it was too risky for Asik to keep playing despite his condition.
Asik began playing in the NBA during the 2010-11 season with Chicago. Aside from the Bulls and Pelicans, he also played for the Houston Rockets, where he had the best season of his career back in 2012-13, as he put up 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.
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