I dont think we have to worry about it. I think it would be wiser for morey to trade dmo or t jones and a future draft pick for ersan ilyasova ...good defender, rebounder and can hit the 3. You do not need a stud 4 man with howard. You need a good help defender, rebounder and a guy that can hit the 3 at a decent rate. It would be for us to wait and trade for elite SF or PG. I am thinking with harden a 2 SF is your best bet. Move Parsons two 6th man role. Have play alot at both the PF and SF positions. I dunno thats my opinion at least.
Many (read: most) NBA centers are not as good as Asik. It's understandable why he doesn't want to backup Howard.
We do need a power forward. If Asik is too much compensation for what's available, trade something else, or bring back extra parts (teams are always looking to do 2-for-1s). Trade Lin. Use what exceptions are available to us. But, we need a starter at the 4 who is not an out-of-position 5 nor a sophomore gamble. And Asik is going to be underutilized. If there's no good 4 to trade him for, trade him for a 1. If we mean to contend next season behind Harden and Howard then we don't want to rely on the gamble or the make-do. Do what you have to do to contend the best you know how.
We already have a viable Power Forward and his name is Dwight Howard. Dwight initially saw himself as a PF. Grew up idolizing KG and studying his game and moves. Eventually he was persuaded to become a center and true enough he dominated as one. Now that he can play together with another legit center, it's not a far fetched idea to play him now as a PF. And at PF expect his PF defender to be more of a mismatch down low than a center defender. Should those guys switch, then Omer has the mismatch worth exploiting. The stretch 4 is not a necessity. True, it is a useful weapon, but to give up an elite piece in Asik (elite defensive anchor, elite rebounder) just for a PF that will miss 55 to 65% of his long shots is a losing deal. (This team is already loaded with guys you can play as "stretch 4s". DMo, TJones, Casspi, and Parsons. (those guys can easily produce at a same rate as those "stretch 4s" some clutchfans have been targeting, miss 55 to 65% of their shots from long range.) Furthermore, playing Asik at center transfers the physical burden of playing Center away from Dwight. It's such a tough position to play. It's the very reason KG did not want to be listed at his true height of 7' in his early years so that he can avoid being boxed in as a center. Same thing also with Tim Duncan. As big a 7 footer as he is, the Spurs have always sought to find somebody else to play center - even if it was a not really productive center (Nesterovic, Oberto, Mohammed, etc.) to ease the burden on him. Letting Dwight play PF and Asik play C may be the way to keep Dwight healthy and playing. I say we keep the twin towers. That's the winning formula right there.
Exactly what I have been saying! Even if Asik doesn't start, there is no reason that he and Howard can't play 15 or so minutes together a game at least. They should both definitely start against a team like Memphis.
Sorry guys, I can't stop myself from repeating it over and over. That's already your BIG 3 right there. Howard - Harden - Asik. All capable of ELITE production.
WE DON`T NEED ANOTHER FORWARD WE DON`T NEED TO KNOW THE WAY HOME ALL WE WANT IS LIFE BEYOND LUIS SCOLA
Howard is 6 foot 9 without shoes, keep Asik to help in the post. http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Dwight-Howard-2888/
Gibson protects the ball much better and is historically a much better 3 point shooter for a fraction of the price. Lin can be replaced, Asik cannot. I'd rather have Gibson/Asik then Lin/replacement backup center. The only reason we are all trying to justify twin towers concept is because of how valuable Asik is. The rest of the league is salivating at a chance to get him. Average PGs can be found anywhere.
We need Asik, Without him we will be at a real shortage on legit Big Men. Dwight Howard is only 6'9 although he plays like a seven footer. He's going to need help. It also allows are defense not to fall off when Dwight goes to the bench. Like it would when Asik would go to the Bench Last Year. Bottom Line is we need legit big men. When finally have some size down Low why get rid of it.
Does Dwight want to be viewed as a Power Forward at this point? That's one aspect of this that really gives me pause. Sure, he may have wanted to be a PF at one point, but now he is heavily invested in the view of himself as a Center. I also still do not believe mixing those two guys together is a recipe for success. Pau Gasol is much more offensively versatile than Omer Asik, and the Lakers still had problems down low because of Pau and Dwight getting in each other's way. I think the whole "Twin Towers" idea might be worth testing out, but I certainly do not expect it to succeed, and as a result I'd hate to see McHale formally commit to it by making Asik a starter at the beginning of the season. Asik as backup, rarely seeing the court at the same time as Dwight, I can get more onboard with. But still, he does deserve to start. If a good deal offers itself up to trade Omer, I would take it. But it would have to be for a really good player.
I'm down to hold out for LMA/Love. Anderson, Illyasova and rest would be nice, but the upgrade isn't as big as we think considering the downgrade from Asik to Smith. Hell, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Jones or DMo are just as good as those other guys next year.
