How on earth do you think Asik would draw Anderson AND Aminu? If anything we would have to offer something with Asik to get Anderson and I imagine they would still say "no."
Keep Asik and trade Lin for an upgrade at PF and then sign a shooter like Gibson for the vet minimum.
I tended to think that there was a very good chance Asik would stay till at least the trade deadline to give the Twin Towers a try (if we didn't SnT for Josh Smith outright this summer, which we obviously didn't), but not sure how it would INCREASE his value by much. I think we'd only lose leverage, and it certainly wouldn't help us get LMA. 1) If the experiment works and Asik/Howard are great...then we wouldn't be trading him. 2) If the experiment does NOT work, then we're looking to move Asik. We've lost leverage by then, sort of like a young prospect playing out half a season and you know he isn't as good as projected (cough*TRob*cough). Value will still be there because Asik IS good, but we've lost leverage as teams know we WANT to move him due to it not working out on our own team. Also, the closer it gets to his final yr, the less desirable Asik is. He's still a $8.3M cap hit but now he's an expiring. Means his 'value deal' is ending, yet the owner still has to pay $15M out of pocket for him? Kinda sucks. 3) While it is true that many teams making for a playoff push would LOVE a big man upgrade at the trade deadline, I HIGHLY doubt POR is one of them. They will not be making a deep playoff push. As such, not sure why they'd want Asik more then than they would now. LMA will still be there for another 1.5 yrs at that point, though POR would be looking to move him. I just don't think we'd be the landing spot. Would have to incorporate LMA in while giving up Asik and other young players. Hmm...
But why would we do this? It'd be more efficient to move Asik then for an upgrade at PF, if we were to move any player at all.
Interesting, he was spot on. But just because Howard wants a decent big to back him up, doesn't mean we have to keep Asik. Jermaine Oneal is still on the market, and he is a decent backup. Greg Oden won't be much of a risk since he is only asking for around 1 mil per year. Asik is getting paid a good amount of $$. We can simply trade Asik and get another backup for cheap, a LOT cheaper than what Asik is making. Of course, he won't be as good as Asik, but we can't just be paying 20 mil to a guy who will only be playing 12-15 minutes a game.
I think picks would have to be included. But New Orleans biggest need is a 5. I think that if they were smart, they would send Anderson for a defensive stall worth like Asik Evans Holliday Gordon Davis Asik Playoff team.
Because Asik is a much much much more valuable commodity even as a backup then Lin is as a starter. Even at equal salary and playing less minutes Asik is still much more valuable then Lin. Players like Lin are a dime a dozen, the NBA is saturated with decent PGs. With young talented, 7 footers that can rebound and play defense like a demon? Not so much. You can replace Lin very very easily and much cheaper to upgrade the PF.
natural and rational? i can look at it from the opposite and say that like most nba players, he wants to win a championship. howard joining makes that even more likely. additionally, from a financial perspective, he's getting his $$ either way. now he can not only play less, but theoretically has less risk of getting injured. i suppose your argument should include that maybe now omer doesn't get to showcase his skills as much and therefore cannot demand a greater contract when up, but that isn't for a few more years.
No need to rush. I say we see how it works until Feb. Hopefully it'll be a success, if not, we can explore trades then.
Dwight Howard only weighs 5 pounds more than Kevin Love. You guys really think he can't keep up with guys like Dirk, Bosh, Drummond, Lee, Randolph, Aldridge, Garnett, and Duncan? Asik supposedly weighs 4 pounds less than Kevin Love.
Most starters in the nba all want to play. It is what they're paid to do, and yes, partly to showcase their talents for that next contract, but also because hey, they want to play! Many bench players who aren't even up for a contract soon would LOOOOVE to play more minutes. There are some that would be happy to sit on the pine all yr and collect a paycheck, but just as many (if not more) that would rather get to play. Asik's been a backup before. Now he's been a successful starter. I doubt he wants to go back.
Screw organization reason. We have talked about how the rockets are fine in doing what they want during this free agency period but now get pissed when a player tries to do what they think is best for them. I hope Asik gets what he wants regardless of what is best for the rockets. It's not like the rockets are loyal to him. With this franchise, it's proven that you need to milk it for all the money a player can get because morey is not trustworthy.
You say valuable commodity and more valuable...but that's why he'd be a better asset to trade. He has high value right now -- about as high as it will get. Lin? Not so much. I'd rather bank on Lin's continued improvement than whatever we'd get for moving him and switching Bev, who I find is much more suited coming off the bench, into the starting lineup. Asik is a more redundant player than Lin right now. We aren't maximizing his talents if he does actually end up playing a lot less or stuck in a role that doesn't play to his strengths. Not guaranteed this will happen, but it certainly seems more likely than Lin's job or expectations changing.
I would love it if he stays, but Asik deserves a starting job. Anyone here in his position would do the same. No ill will from my end if he requests a trade.
Once LMA decides he wants to come to Houston and asks for a trade, the Rockets will be ready to deal.
