Would Steve Kerr match the Houston Rockets' three-year, $25 million offer to Omer Asik if Kerr were the Chicago Bulls' general manager?

It's the $15 million for the third year that gives Kerr pause.

"It would be really tough to (match)," Kerr said Thursday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "I love the guy. His tandem with Taj Gibson defensively, to me, is kind of the next best thing after Derrick Rose that this team has to offer. They're game-changers, those two together. So I'm sure what they're doing, what (John Paxson and Gar Forman) are doing, is they're brainstorming every scenario. What if we traded somebody else to allow us to keep Asik or if we let him go, who's available? What combinations can play to ensure we still have that defensive dynamic off the bench. I'm sure they're going over everything right now. They've been put in a really tough spot by Houston and that contract structure."

Despite Asik's defense, Kerr knows it would be a tough sell to pay that much money to someone who averages 3.1 points per game.

"When you're making $15 million a year and you're averaging four points a game, I don't care how good you are defensively, it just doesn't look great to the fans," Kerr said. "And Asik is never going to be a good offensive player. He's just not. He doesn't have that type of skill.

"So it will be tough to justify paying him that much money in three years. If the Bulls match it, they can be in a awful lot of trouble with the tax in two years, and he will not look anywhere close to what they're paying."

Even if the Bulls lose Asik, Kerr doesn't expect a dramatic drop-off in the team's success.

"Biggest thing for the Bulls right now is to stay patient," Kerr said. "I think everybody in Chicago is going to want them to make a huge splash.

"At this time of year you see all the signings and get excited and think 'What are we going to do?' The reality is the Bulls are really good. They have an excellent team and had the best record in the league the last two years. Derrick Rose is not going to be back early, but there's a great chance by the end of the season that he's playing at a really high level. I think they have to be careful not to jump to any conclusions and make a bad move."





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