The Chicago Bulls officially ended the Omer Asik era on Tuesday, declining the Houston Rockets' offer sheet, and filled his replacement today, signing 14-year veteran center Nazr Mohammed. Terms of the contract were not announced, but Mohammed's deal is expected to be worth the veteran's minimum.
Mohammed played with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, appearing in 63 of 66 regular season games. He averaged 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per game, and appeared in eight Playoff games for the Western Conference champion Thunder.
Mohammed has made additional stops in Charlotte, Detroit, San Antonio, New York, Atlanta and Philadelphia. He was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the No. 29 pick in the 1998 NBA Draft out of Kentucky.
The 34-year-old center will likely back up center Joakim Noah, who is still recovering from a sprained ankle suffered this post-season. Mohammed will take the place of Asik, who officially signed a three-year, 25.1 million deal with the Rockets on Wednesday.
The Bulls' inexpensive off-season now includes contracts with Mohammed, shooting guard Kirk Hinrich, forward Vladimir Radmanovic and shooting guard Marco Belinelli.