Omer Asik

Asik's first season in New Orleans was effective if not spectacular, with the big man racking up 26 minutes per game in 76 contests. The starting center posted averages of 7.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting a strong 52 percent from the floor. Last season marked a drop off for Asik in both field goal percentage and blocked shots, but with nearly 10 rebounds per game, he remains a valuable asset. Asik also continued his patently poor free throw shooting, connecting on just 58 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe. Entering his sixth season in the NBA and second in New Orleas, Asik will have to get accustomed to his fourth new head coach now that Alvin Gentry has taken the reigns for the Pelicans. Though Gentry's Warriors deployed Andrew Bogut—a similarly hulking specimen—as the starting center the majority of the season, Bogut averaged just 23 minutes per game in deference to the Warriors playing more small-ball. With Anthony Davis guaranteed his minutes and Alexis Ajinca also in town, big man minutes may be harder to come by with Gentry at the helm, especially with a shooting big like Ryan Anderson at his disposal. Asik is also dealing with a back injury that forced him from EuroBasket this summer.

After a trying season in Houston, Omer Asik was traded to the Pelicans this summer for a first-round pick. Asik, who is entering his fifth season, will function as New Orleans' starting center, forming a fearsome defensive duo with Anthony Davis. Last season, in 48 games, Asik averaged 5.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 20 minutes per game. The big man shot a strong 53 percent from the floor, and though his 62 percent free-throw shooting isn't pretty, it was a marked improvement from the 56 percent he shot in 2012-13. Asik's struggles playing next to Dwight Howard last season were no secret, but he still thrived when he got the opportunity to start. In his 19 starts, Asik averaged 8.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 28 minutes per night. Locked in as a starter in New Orleans, Asik should be able to enjoy similar numbers, making him an elite rebounder, as he was when starting in Houston before Howard's arrival, with a strong field goal percentage and some blocked shots. He won't be featured in the offense, but Asik could find easy baskets inside thanks to his offensive rebounding prowess. He was among the league leaders in offensive rebounding the last time he was a full-time starter.

Asik averaged a double-double last year with 1.1 blocks and played outstanding defense in the low post. Unfortunately for him, the team signed Dwight Howard, and while the two will play side by side on occasion, it's hard to see how two players who need to be so close to the basket would mesh together. As such, Asik will likely occupy a backup role and log no more than 15-20 minutes per game unless Howard were to get hurt or the team were to trade Asik.

The Rockets gave Asik - a little-used reserve - a three-year $25.1 million deal which the Bulls didn't match. Asik is raw offensively, but he projects as a very good rebounder and shot-blocker, filling the Marcus Camby/Samuel Dalembert role on the Rockets this year. He's slated to start and should be a good source of those two categories if he approaches 30 minutes per game.

Asik averaged 2.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 12.1 minutes and played well when Chicago was shorthanded. He will backup Joakim Noah this year and could see more time with Thomas no longer in the Windy City.

Asik is somewhat of an unknown because a broken collarbone and then a knee injury made him a non-entity the past two years. He is expected to bring some length to the defense.