In his latest piece for the Chicago Tribune, K.C. Johnson recalls a statement Bulls GM Gar Forman made less than a month ago, on draft night: "Our decisions this summer will be basketball decisions, not financial decisions." Based on the Bulls' moves so far this offseason, particularly with the team on the verge of losing Omer Asik and getting nothing in return, it's hard to argue that finances haven't been strongly considered, as Johnson writes. Here are a few Bulls-related updates from his column:

• Derrick Rose will "likely" be out until March, according to Johnson. We'd heard before that Rose probably wouldn't be back until the new year, but if the March ETA is accurate, that would mean the star point guard would miss most of the regular season.
• The Bulls still plan to clear major cap space for the summer of 2014 to be a player on the free agent market. Luol Deng's contract will expire that summer, and Carlos Boozer will likely be amnestied by then, leaving Rose and Joakim Noah as the only big investments left on the team's books. If Chicago is hoping to clear enough space for a maximum-salary player that summer, it's a little easier to understand why the club wouldn't want Asik's $14.9MM salary for 2014/15.
• Speaking of Asik, the Bulls still haven't officially informed the Rockets of their decision on the center's offer sheet, but league sources tell Johnson that Rockets management believes Houston will land Asik.
• The Bulls "appear close" to signing Marco Belinelli, as we heard on Friday. As Johnson points out, spending the bi-annual exception on Belinelli would hard-cap the Bulls at about $74.3MM this season, and with payroll already approaching that figure, I'd be surprised if the team imposed that kind of inflexibility on itself. We'll see if the Bulls can land Belinelli for the veteran's minimum instead.
• Extension negotiations for Taj Gibson are "next on the docket" for Chicago, says Johnson.
• Johnson adds that one factor to watch this year as the Bulls weigh "basketball decisions" and "financial decisions" is whether the team spends the $5MM trade exception acquired in the Kyle Korver deal.

Earlier today, it was reported that the Bulls are expected to pass on matching the three-year, $25.1MM offer sheet that Omer Asik signed with Rockets.  Houston managed to land the restricted free agent with a gameplan eerily similar to the one they used to ink Jeremy Lin.  While the Bulls made it known publicly that they planned on matching any offer, it turns out that the hefty, backloaded deal was too rich for their blood.

Are the Bulls making a mistake by letting the 7'0" center walk?  Mark Potash of the Chicago Tribune certainly doesn't think so.  Potash writes that the $15MM cap hit that Asik would carry in the final year of the contract would loom over the team and simply wouldn't be worth it for a player who is as offensively challenged as Asik.  While the Turkish big man shines in the low post defensively, he averaged just 3.1 PPG in 14.7 minutes per contest which would translate to 7.6 PPG per 36 minutes.  Of course, it's hard to imagine Asik seeing that much playing time as he is firmly entrenched as a member of the club's second unit.

Still, even Potash admits that Asik's presence will be missed when the Bulls go head-to-head with the Heat.  And while the Bulls found a suitable backup in Nazr Mohammed, it's hard to imagine the club getting similar output from him.  It's your turn to weigh in - are the Bulls making a mistake in letting Asik go?

Derrick Rose's road to recovery appears to be progressing along nicely according to his brother Reggie, who says that the Bulls superstar is "way ahead of schedule." Rose is now walking without a brace and is currently in California enjoying a quiet retreat from Chicago in the meantime (Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago has the report). Here's what else we've heard out of Chicago tonight, including more on Omer Asik, thoughts on Dwight Howard, and a returning Bull..

• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune examines the team's thought process with regards to the luxury tax and the implications that could arise after matching Houston's offer sheet to Omer Asik. He also says that the team hasn't ruled out re-signing John Lucas III and that free agent guard Patrick Beverley could receive a training camp invite. 
• Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago explains why any talk of Dwight Howard going to the Bulls will remain a fantasy. 
• ESPN's Ric Bucher (Video link) talks about the return of Kirk Hinrich and the decision to keep Asik. 

As busy as the Nets have been so far this month, we haven't heard much out of majority owner Mikhail Prokhorov. That changed today, however, as Prokhorov released an official statement discussing the team's offseason:

"I'm thrilled with the way our team has come together. My congratulations and appreciation go out to general manager Billy King, assistant general manager Bobby Marks and head coach Avery Johnson for their tenacity, nerve and heart throughout this process. With the re-signing of Deron Williams and the trade for Joe Johnson, we go into our new home led by an All-Star backcourt and with every hope of a great season for the Brooklyn Nets. I can't wait until opening night."

While Prokhorov starts counting down the days until opening night, we'll round up the rest of the morning's odds and ends right here:

• The Pistons currently have no plans to use their amnesty clause on Charlie Villanueva, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.
• After acquiring Jarrett Jack, the Warriors will look to acquire a power forward, GM Bob Myers told reporters, including Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle.
• EuroCup MVP Patrick Beverley is working out with the Bulls and is a candidate for the team's bench, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
• As the Bulls decide whether to match the Rockets' offer sheet to Omer Asik, management is asking coach Tom Thibodeau which players he wants to keep long-term and Thibodeau's reply is basically "All of them," says Wojnarowski. The Yahoo! scribe adds that the rising price tag on Taj Gibson will also be considered when deciding whether to match the Asik offer (Twitter links).
• Bobcats owner Michael Jordan discussed Charlotte's offseason with Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, noting the team has "a lot of things on the table."
• If you're interested in the in-depth details of teams' cap management, Mark Deeks of ShamSports has a list of players whose rights were renouncd yesterday (Sulia and Twitter links). He also says Rashard Lewis will count for $13,765,000 on the Hornets' cap this season (Twitter link).

9:38pm: A compelling reason the Rockets, Warriors and Hawks may take on Howard without knowing whether he'll re-sign is the possibility of flipping him to the Nets, says Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter links). The Rockets' continued pursuit of Howard has no bearing on their offer sheet to Omer Asik, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune hears (Twitter link). 

3:55pm: While the Magic appear to be putting Howard talks on the backburner for now, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that Orlando would listen if the Nets (and presumably any other team) came forward with new proposals.

3:44pm: While Hennigan refused to share the specifics of the conversation he had with Howard today, both Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld and Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com hear that the GM told Howard: "Sorry, we tried" (Twitter links). Based on Hennigan's comments and various reports, it's clear Howard won't be dealt to the Nets, at least until January 15th. The star center could still be dealt this offseason, though the Magic GM acknowledged that D12 could open the season in Orlando.

3:13pm: Speaking to the media this afternoon, Hennigan said it's "not accurate" that the Magic have suspended trade talks, adding that the team is leaving every door open. However, the Magic GM seemed to at least acknowledge that a deal with the Nets looks very unlikely. He also said he spoke to Howard earlier today, though he declined to share the specifics (all four Twitter links).

2:46pm: The Magic have informed Dwight Howard that they are suspending trade talks involving him, reports Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com (via Twitter). According to Rudolph, GM Rob Hennigan told Howard that the team tried to make a deal, but didn't find one that Hennigan and the front office felt met the Magic's needs (Twitter link). The club will now focus on finding its new head coach.

If the Magic are done exploring a Howard trade for the time being, it almost certainly removes the Nets from the equation. Brooklyn is said to be closing in on a new contract for Brook Lopez, which would mean the center, who is the Nets' primary trade chip, couldn't be moved until at least January 15th.

The Magic were also reportedly in talks with the Lakers, Rockets, and Hawks, and it's not clear if or when the club will re-open discussions on Howard. As Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel points out (via Twitter), despite the bad blood between Howard and the Magic, Orlando would still love to have him back for next season.

As for the Magic's coaching search, Lindsey Hunter, Mike Malone, Brian Shaw, Jacque Vaughn, and Jeff Hornacek are all thought to be candidates for the opening, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.

Restricted free agents that have agreed to sign offer sheets with new teams can begin doing so as soon as 11:00pm CST tonight. When a player officially signs an offer sheet, his old team has a three-day window to decide whether or not to match it and bring him back.

When a player formally signs an offer sheet, it means only two options are in play for him: He either ends up on the team whose offer he signed, or returns to his old club. Sign-and-trades are no longer an option. So, for restricted free agents like Eric Gordon and Nicolas Batum, who seem to prefer to change teams, it may be worthwhile to explore sign-and-trade possibilities once more before locking into those offer sheets and putting their futures in the hands of the Hornets and Trail Blazers, respectively.

Here are a few restricted free agents that reportedly agreed to sign offer sheets whose situations are worth keeping an eye on:

Eric Gordon
Current team: Hornets
Agreed to sign with: Suns
Terms: Four years, Maximum salary
It seems Gordon's clear preference is to play with the Suns. After agreeing to the team's offer sheet, he released a statement indicating that "Phoenix is where my heart is now," and later told the Times Picayune that if the Hornets match the offer, he'll play in New Orleans, but won't be happy about it. It's a tough spot for the Hornets, who clearly don't want to lose the primary piece of last year's Chris Paul trade, but also probably don't want an unhappy player in New Orleans long-term. Maybe these two teams could negotiate a sign-and-trade, but I'd expect the Hornets to simply match the Suns' offer sheet and hope Gordon warms to New Orleans. John Reid of the Times Picayune confirmed today that New Orleans is expected to match the offer.

Nicolas Batum
Current team: Trail Blazers
Agreed to sign with: Timberwolves
Terms: Four years, $45MM
While Batum, like Gordon, appears to want to move on from his current team, it seems Batum's agent Bouna Ndiaye is pushing that stance more than the player himself, as his comments over the weekend suggested. Still, Batum told David Aldridge of TNT today that Minnesota is where he wants to be. Batum also mentioned, interestingly, that the two teams are working on a possible sign-and-trade deal. According to one earlier report, the T-Wolves pitched a sign-and-trade deal involving Derrick Williams, but the Blazers weren't interested in a trade involving the younger, more affordable Williams. I wouldn't be surprised if Portland reconsiders that stance before all is said and done -- a sign-and-trade that sends Batum to Minnesota and Williams to Portland could be a win-win for the involved teams and players alike.

Jeremy Lin
Current team: Knicks
Agreed to sign with: Rockets
Terms: Four years, $28.8MM (fourth-year team option)
We've already heard that the Knicks, predictably, are expected to match this offer sheet. Another team could have more pressure on New York with a more significant third-year raise and a guaranteed fourth year, so the Knicks will get off relatively easy when they match this offer.

Omer Asik
Current team: Bulls
Agreed to sign with: Rockets
Terms: Three years, $25.1MM
Here's a trickier case. The Bulls have said all year that they don't want to lose Asik and that they expect to match any offer for him, but Daryl Morey and the Rockets are making it difficult with a third-year salary of nearly $15MM. Still, I think there's a good chance the Bulls match this offer sheet. Asik's first- and second-year salaries are in the $5MM range, which is manageable, and allows the Bulls a couple seasons to figure out how to clear long-term salary off their books for 2014/15. This decision could easily go either way though.

Landry Fields
Current team: Knicks
Agreed to sign with: Raptors
Terms: Three years, $19MM
When Fields and the Raptors agreed to this offer sheet, it seemed like a savvy tactical move to block the Knicks from making a sign-and-trade deal for Steve Nash. Now, with Nash headed to Los Angeles, it just looks like an overpay. The Knicks are unlikely to match this one, so the Raptors are likely stuck with Fields, but that's not the end of the world for Toronto. Fields just turned 24, and while he experienced a bit of a sophomore slump in 2011/12, he still has the makings of a solid, if slightly overpriced, rotation player.

• Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio tweeted that the Lakers are scheduled to meet with unrestricted free agent Jodie Meeks early next week. In another tweet, Amico says that the Celtics have reportedly stepped up their interest in O.J. Mayo, but thinks Boston would likely have to add him via a sign-and-trade. 
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweeted that although the Timberwolves express interest in Anthony Tolliver, the team has not made any promises. Zgoda also added via Tolliver's agent that there are five other teams that have shown interest. 
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer answered some questions from Cleveland fans about the Cavaliers' offseason. While the team appears committed to keeping Anderson Varejao, Boyer thinks that his name will be brought up by other teams during trade discussions. With regards to free agency, she believes that Anthony Tolliver, Sonny Weems, Jonny Flynn, and Royal Ivey could be targets. 
• Ben Golliver of the BlazersEdge wonders if there are more front office changes coming after the resignation of Larry Miller, considering that the Trail Blazers still have executives held over from two prior regimes (Twitter link). 
• Carmelo Anthony publicly endorsed the Knicks' efforts to recruit Marcus Camby, writes Al Iannazzone of Newsday.  
• Bulls forward Taj Gibson told Nick Friedell of ESPN Chicago that he'd like the team to keep Omer Asik and would be ecstatic if the team somehow found a way to bring unrestricted free agent Kirk Hinrich back to Chicago. The two had been teammates during Gibson's rookie season. 
• Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes about Austin Daye and Charlie Villanueva as two players who will look to stake their claim as the stretch-four in Lawrence Frank's rotation. Both are in Orlando participating in summer league practices, but only Daye will compete on the Pistons' summer league team.
• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel talked about Jameer Nelson's return to the Magic and what it means for his leadership role moving forward.

In case you missed it amidst tonight's flurry of free agent rumors, the Bulls are making Kirk Hinrich their top free agent target, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Johnson has more in a full report, adding that Hinrich will command most, if not all, of the team's $3MM mini mid-level exception. Hinrich may not be altogether exciting for Bulls fans, but they haven't stopped their pursuit of others, including Brandon Roy, and GM Gar Forman left open the possibility the team could match the Rockets' backloaded offer for Omer Asik, which will be officially tendered on July 11th. "I'm not going to talk about any type of negotiation or anything contractually until we see something," the GM said. "We've made it clear we value Omer and it's been our goal that Omer would stay with the Bulls." Johnson has more out of Chicago, and we've got the highlights here:

• Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau was in Los Angeles to meet with Asik last weekend, but the team's proposal of a four-year deal didn't include annual salaries on par with the $8.3MM per year over three seasons that Houston is set to offer, Johnson reports. 
• Johnson lays out three possible courses of action regarding Asik: The Bulls could try to trade starting center Joakim Noah before the deadline to match Asik's offer or pursue a sign-and-trade with the Rockets. They could also try to trade either Noah or Asik after matching the offer.
• Thibodeau has spoken with Brandon Roy by phone. The team has contacted Derek Fisher's agent and have kept an open dialogue with John Lucas III.
• Assistant coach Rick Brunson has left to take a job on new Bobcats head coach Mike Dunlap's staff.

With the Trail Blazers heavily courting Roy Hibbert and expecting to sign him to a maximum-salary offer sheet as soon as they can, the Pacers are exploring contingency plans. According to Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter), Indiana has reached out to Bulls restricted free agent Omer Asik.

Wells cautions that the Pacers' interest in Asik doesn't mean the team won't match the Blazers' offer to Hibbert. GM Kevin Pritchard and president Donnie Walsh are simply doing their homework, according to Wells. Asik is also drawing interest from the Rockets, who may be preparing an offer that starts at $8MM.

It's past midnight on the East Coast, and that means teams may negotiate with free agents from other clubs, as the NBA's offseason gets under way in earnest. Players can't officially sign contracts until July 11, and trades can't be made official until that date either. That doesn't mean there won't be plenty of talk and agreements in principle between now and then, and if this evening is any indication, we're in for a busy couple of weeks ahead. There are several bits of news rolling in on free agents as July begins, so we'll round up what we're hearing around the late-night rumor mill here.

• The Lakers are seeking a point guard in free agency, and in addition to reaching out to Ramon Sessions, they're also targeting veterans like Chauncey Billups, Jameer Nelson, and Kirk Hinrich, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
• In search of a center, the Mavericks have shown some interest in Hasheem Thabeet and Joel Przybilla, says Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
• The Cavaliers have expressed interest in Jonny Flynn, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. They're also eyeing Sonny Weems, according to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

• The Mavericks are interested in Anthony Randolph, according to Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
• Jamal Crawford was contacted by six teams tonight, with Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld identifying the Celtics, Suns, 76ers, Timberwolves, and Clippers, while Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com says the Pacers were also in touch.
• Seven teams contacted Ian Mahinmi when free agency opened, but the Mavericks weren't one of them, says Jeff Caplan of ESPNDallas.com.
• The Kings have reached out to Terrence Williams, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
• There are five or six teams ready to make Lou Williams a contract offer, tweets John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has already called Ramon Sessions to open dialogue about a new contract, says Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter).
• Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports clarifies an earlier item on Omer Asik (linked below), tweeting that a Blazers contingent met with Asik tonight, but that GM Neil Olshey was meeting with another player.
• After his meeting with the Rockets tonight, Omer Asik will sit down with Blazers GM Neil Olshey, who plans to make him an offer, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. 
• Rockets free agent Goran Dragic wants to be the starter no matter where he winds up, Wojnarowski also tweets.
• The Clippers will talk with Nick Young, Randy Foye and Jamal Crawford, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times tweets.
• Lakers unrestricted free agent Jordan Hill will meet with the Wolves on Monday, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. 
• The Nets are committed to reaching a deal with Mirza Teletovic but are waiting to find out what happens with Deron Williams first, reports Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).
• Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak contacted Devin Ebanks via text message about re-signing him, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times.
• Rockets GM Daryl Morey is meeting tonight with Bulls restricted free agent Omer Asik, and K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune hears the Rockets are prepared to offer Asik a deal worth $8MM a year (Twitter link).
• The Mavs may have interest in Wolves unrestricted free agent Michael Beasley, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. 
• The Clippers had contact tonight with Chauncey Billups' representatives, writes Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.