“We are pleased to welcome Kyle to the Bulls. He will be a great addition to our team and he will provide another dimension to our offense,” said Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman today.
Korver (6-7, 212), a seven-year veteran of the NBA, spent the last two-plus seasons with the Utah Jazz. He broke into the league with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2003, where he played for four-plus seasons after being drafted in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft (51st overall).
Last season with the Jazz, the Pella, Iowa native appeared in 52 games and averaged 7.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg and 1.7 apg in 18.3 mpg. He shot a career-best .493 from the field, a career-high .536 (first in the NBA) from behind the arc and .796 from the line. Korver’s long-range accuracy last season set an NBA record for highest three-point shooting percentage in a season, eclipsing former Bull Steve Kerr’s mark of .524 (89-170 3FG) set in 1994-95.
For his career, the 29-year old Korver has played in 517 regular season games (103 starts) and posted averages of 9.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.6 apg, 25.0 mpg, .431 field goal shooting, .410 three-point shooting and .879 from the line. His teams have advanced to the postseason four times, where he has played in 32 NBA playoff games (seven starts) and averaged 8.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 23.4 mpg and shot .423 from the field, .369 from downtown and .884 from the line.
On the same day the Bulls introduced Korver to Chicago, they also announced the signing of center Omer Asik (O-mair A-sheek). In accordance with team policy, terms of the contract were not announced.
Asik, 24, is a two-time Turkish League All-Star (2007, 2008), and has spent the last five seasons in the Turkish Basketball League, both with Fenerbahce Ulker (2005-06 & 2007-2010) and Alpella (2006-07).
During the 2009-10 season, Asik appeared in nine Turkish League games and seven Euroleague contests with Fenerbahce Ulker, before suffering a season-ending collarbone injury. In nine Turkish League contests, he averaged 10.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 1.55 bpg in 20.2 mpg, while shooting .613 from the floor. In Euroleague action, he posted 8.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.43 bpg and shot .658 from the field in seven appearances. He currently holds the Euroleague Top 16 record for most blocked shots in a game with 19 rejections.
Originally drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round (36th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft, the Bulls acquired Asik’s draft rights in a draft-night deal. Chicago traded its 39th selection in the Draft, Sonny Weems, to the Denver Nuggets, and also traded to Denver, the New York Knicks’ 2009 regular second-round pick (acquired from New York in a trade on Oct. 4 2005), and Chicago’s 2010 regular second-round pick. Denver, in turn, traded its 2009 regular second round draft choice to Portland, which then traded its 36th pick (Asik) to the Bulls.
The 7-0, 255-pound Asik is a native of Bursa, Turkey and is a member of the Turkish National Team.