Asik Sure To Be Dealt, Question Is When [rQUOTEr]The Houston Rockets will be trading Omer Asik as quickly as they can find a palatable trade. That much is certain. The mystery here, apart from the obvious question about where he ultimately winds up, is what Houston does with Asik in the interim until they can locate that appealing deal. Asik was scratched from Saturday's home game against Denver essentially because he's so unhappy with his new role that he's in no state to play. Word is Asik has been asking the Rockets pretty much once a week, since Dwight Howard's arrival in July, to please trade him elsewhere. And now losing his starting spot, on top of what was already a reduced role, has clearly knocked the 27-year-old back. Sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.com that Asik was challenged by coaches and teammates this week for not being "engaged" in the wake of the lineup change, which took effect when Asik was moved to the bench for Wednesday's game in Philadelphia. And he hasn't played since the challenge, logging zero minutes Thursday night in New York while in uniform and not even dressing against the Nuggets. The new challenge for the Rockets, then, is getting Asik's mind right and getting him back on the floor as soon as possible, given the very real chance that a workable trade won't materialize until after Dec. 15, when dozens of players who signed new contracts in July become eligible to be moved. Dec. 15, for those not inclined to count it up, is still 28 days away. "I understand it’s tough for him," Howard told reporters after Houston's morning shootaround. "The only thing I can do is be his friend off the floor and help him any way I can. I understand it's a tough situation for him, but we are all family and we have to learn to fight through frustrations." Added Rockets forward Chandler Parsons: “He had a great year last year and to bring in someone over him has to be a little frustrating. It is part of the business and you have to be a professional about it and come to work every day. He is on the Rockets, so he has to act like that and come to play and come to win." Rest assured, though, that eager suitors for Asik will materialize eventually, no matter how mopey he seems right now and even with Houston hoping for a front-line player in return. The rebounding ability and rim presence Asik can provide makes him a starting-caliber center for numerous teams in this league. The Rockets, furthermore, realize this situation has strayed beyond repair, which means they’re best off trading him as soon as possible. They’re indeed asking a lot -- since the Rockets still relish the luxury of always having an elite defensive anchor on the floor even though Howard and Asik haven’t worked at all as tandem -- but Asik has realistically moved to the top of the list of veterans you can expect to be moved before the league’s Feb. 20 trade deadline. After Asik formally reiterated his trade demand to Rockets management through agent Andy Miller, ESPN.com’s Brian Windhorst reported Thursday that Houston informed them it has no current plans to deal Asik. Yet the growing sense around the league is that, in this case, current is going to be a very fluid term.[/rQUOTEr]
I thought about that and I've been wracking my brain for a way to make it work all evening and I just can't figure anything out. The problem is none of New York's salary filler is eligible to be traded until December 15th. Makes it really hard to match salaries. And honestly I'd rather get a guy like Evan Turner who does more different things on the court. Another possibility could be to package Asik and Parsons together for a guy like Luol Deng or Nic Batum (plus a backup center).
So Morey gets Asik out of mothballs in Chicago, pays him HUGE $$ and puts him in a system that is able to limit his weaknesses (0 offensive skills) and play to his strengths (defense/rebounding). Our system makes him a shining star for a bit and apparently it goes to his head. But then we have a chance to pick up the #1 center in the league and we DO. Instead of realizing that we could have a VERY formidable team with Howard starting and Asik anchoring the 2nd unit, he pouts instead. Like someone licked all of the red off of his candy. Morey paid him a bigger contract that he ever thought he'd get in his entire career (no thanks there apparently). And if he looked at it right, he could make our 2nd unit even stronger giving us (AND himself) a greater chance to win a ring and championship. Is being a starter more important to him than winning a championship? Would he rather be a starter in Sacramento rather than be on a contending team? You get paid the same either way. Right? Winning is certainly more fun than losing to most athletes. So let's think about this: They're going to pay me the SAME money to do LESS work? That's a no-brainer. These athletes and their egos....... You could pay me 1/2 that money, put a jersey on me and write 'DORK' on my forehead in permanent marker and have me sit on the bench and I'd do nothing but smile for 48 minutes. Get over it, do your job we paid you to do and let's win some ballgames. Sheesh..... And Kendrick Perkins!? ARE YOU SERIOUS? That guy is a hack. Morey would be a fool to trade Asik for him. Asik to OKC would make OKC even BETTER. Why would we want to improve one of our main rivals and take on a sluggish hack like KP? NO WAY Asik goes to OKC
Trade Asik to a non contender team like the Bobcats or the Sun who have large cap for a lottery pick. Asik can have more playing on a sucky team
It's interesting that Ilyasova is listed as sprained ankle - not with team. Just speculation but surely you can still travel with the team if you have a sprained ankle.
that 3 way trade involving shumpert and asik that a poster brought up sounds like a good one. With that we finally have an above average defender who can shoot the 3 ball. Than just waive brewer and see whose available in FA
Asik, by refusing to show up, is giving playing time to D-Mo and T-Jones. T-Jones has been very consistent so far since he got the starting job, and D-Mo last night showed he could be very serviceable on the offensive end. It would be pretty ironic if Morey no longer has the urgency to trade Asik because T-Jones and D-Mo proved they are good enough at the PF, and the only reason they had the opportunity is because Asik thought he could DNP his way out of this team.
