Though Omer Asik hasn’t yet found a consistent home in the NBA, the center provides a physical interior presence on both sides of the floor. Asik was a key piece of the Chicago Bulls rotation for a few seasons but has seen his role diminish during his current stint with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Though Asik served as a starter alongside Anthony Davis for his first season in NOLA, he was beat out by Alexis Ajinca and now sits buried underneath the center depth chart with the midseason addition of DeMarcus Cousins last year.
While playing time might be a problem for Asik, the Turkish big man has much bigger things on his mind like whether he’ll ever even be able to play the game again. According to Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com, Asik has been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and is a ways away from a return to the basketball court:
Omer Asik is being treated for Crohn's disease in Minnesota. Demps: "There has been improvements, but he's not ready to play basketball."
— Jim Eichenhofer (@Jim_Eichenhofer) September 25, 2017
Crohn’s Disease is a serious illness and should be treated as such so rushing back to basketball is not in the best interest for Omer Asik or anyone else for that matter.
The 31-year-old Asik was limited to only 31 games of action last year due to a bacterial infection which has given way to Crohn’s Disease this offseason. Prayers go out to Asik and his loved ones in hopes for a speedy recovery and a return to the basketball court.
