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Omer Asik returning to Pelicans to play alongside Anthony Davis

Omer Asik is going back to the New Orleans Pelicans, according to league sources.

Sources told ESPN.com that Asik and the Pelicans were finalizing terms Wednesday night on a five-year deal that will keep the big man on New Orleans' front line alongside Anthony Davis, who agreed to a five-year, $145 million extension with the Pelicans in the opening minutes of free agency.

The five-year deal for Asik, sources said, is guaranteed for four years and nearly $45 million, with a nonguaranteed fifth year included that -- if Asik were to hit all of his incentives over the course of the deal -- would take the total value of the pact into the $60 million range.

On a day that saw the team also come to terms with Davis and backup center Alexis Ajinca (four years, $20.2 million), New Orleans was eager to secure a deal with Asik and keep him in the fold after his first season alongside Davis.

The Pelicans surrendered a future first-round pick in the summer of 2014 to acquire Asik from the Houston Rockets. New Orleans targeted Asik under the premise that his physical style and presence as a rebounder and interior defender makes the Turkey native an ideal sidekick for Davis, who likely will gain a greater measure of offensive freedom under new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry.