I like the idea of hanging onto Asik for 2 main reasons. 1. Having the best defensive center in the league as your starter and a beast as backup is very very valuable. When Asik sat in the playoffs, our team immediately struggled on defense. 2. Howard has been injury prone in the past. If Howard gets hurt or even dinged up, it's a lot easier to deal with if you have Asik to plug in to the starter's spot. Cons: It would be tough to play them together on the floor at the same time unless one of them develops a little mid range game. Which of these guys can do anything offensively farther than 5 feet from the basket? That being said, they said the same thing about Duncan and Robinson not being a good fit together. Like: "As crazy as this seems now, some experts wondered if Duncan and Robinson could coexist. Before the '97 draft, some Spurs fans argued for Keith Van Horn over Duncan because they already had a center. A brief history of NBA Twin Tower duos: Wilt Chamberlain and Nate Thurmond (one Finals trip); Walt Bellamy and Willis Reed (no Finals trips); Kevin McHale and Robert Parish (five Finals trips, three titles); Bill Cartwright and Patrick Ewing (no Finals trips); Ralph Sampson and Hakeem Olajuwon (one Finals trip). Only the McHale-Parish tandem generated rings, but Larry Bird was Boston's best player for all three titles. Could you actually build around the Twin Towers gimmick?"
You dont give up Asik unless you are upgrading the team in a major way. His value even as a backup is way better than anything you will be getting at this point in trade. The way the NBA is structured now going into a contend or tank season with a loaded 2014 draft, I guarantee you that there will be teams unloading very good players at the trading deadline next February. With Asik, the young bigs (Smith, D-Mo, Jones), and all the picks Morey has available to trade, the Rockets have a very nice package to offer in trades coming up this February. The Rockets will be able to do WAAAYYY better in trades at that point. With free agency still in full swing and names like Bynum & Pekovic still on the market, why in the world would a team needing a starting center offer up their star player for Asik?
Two points: 1) Has everyone noticed that aside from Harden and Howard the rest of our roster has their contracts expire at the same time? Casspi and Garcia were just signed to two year deals and of course Lin and Asik also expire in two years. Could Morey be looking towards a big 3 in 2015? 2) I believe Love or Cousins is Morey's trade target. To get either of those guys I think a package today would have to include Parsons along with Asik and one of DMo/Jones. Now with some foresight we could say trade Lin for a 2014 first from Detroit and then flip that pick and Asik and Jones for Love or Cousins. This would allow us to keep Parsons. Similar to the Harden/OKC trade. Morey will make a move to upgrade the 4 but it won't be for a Hickson type player. He'll just continue to hold on to Asik until a situation presents itself to allow a Cousins, Love, LMA, or Bosh to be available.
he needs to stay. and both he and howard can play the 4 and the 5, like timmy and X center. it's not like every team runs a stretch four in their starting rotation.
There is absolutely no reason to be in a hurry to trade Asik. The Rockets can start the season with TJones and DMo at PF and see how they perform. You never know, they may both take a big step forward and the PF spot may not be a weak spot for the Rockets. If that's the case then the Rockets won't need to trade for a PF. The Rockets may still want to trade Asik, but it could be to upgrade another position. Let's see how our young guys do to start the season before we decide to make any changes. Secondly, if during the season another contending team suddenly has a dire need for a starting caliber center, the Rockets could really cash in on Asik. It very well could be that Asik is most valuable to us as a backup center. If the Rockets get off to a strong start, why make a change? I personally would like to see Dwight play 28-30 minutes a game, and let Asik play 18-20 minutes per game and keep both guys fresh for the entire season.
Honest question- Does it matter if Asik is happy? He just got signed to an above-market contract and will be paid about $10 million this year to play for a winning team. He doesn't strike me as the kind of guy to mope around. He'll put in his 15-20 minutes per game like a pro. He did it in Chicago and he'll do it again here. There are less than 20 guys in the NBA who do what Asik does at or near his level, so I have no doubt he will get to start again soon. Until then let's just enjoy this. Remember when Chuck Hayes was our center?
Our starting center last year averaged about 30 minutes a game, I like players to be fresh. Dwight had some years in Orlando where he averaged less than 35 minutes a game. If he is performing well and the team is winning he might be happy with 30 minutes a game, especially if we have a very good backup center. I was commenting on what I would like to see, not necessarily what would make players happy. Usually when team is winning, players are happy
how about Lin and Asik for Gasol and Steve Blake? Then our starting lineup would be Dwight, Gasol, Parsons, Harden and Blake
What is Asik's value? More than Ryan Anderson in a straight up trade. That much I can tell you. Asik is a top 5 NBA rebounder and defensive center in a league that has a shortage of good centers. On the salary cap he counts 8M. Look around the league and see where other comparitive Centers come in at. Spiltter just re-signed with the Spurs at 9M/per. I don't think Morey will be quick to move Asik. Asik will be the "lynch pin" in adding another "STAR" player, not a "good fit role player (Ryan Anderson)." BTW, I like Ryan Anderson, but Asik's value is worth more. Just that.
Agreed. I wish we could start the season with a lineup set in stone but that just wont be the case. We need a disgruntled star to request a trade or 2-3 teams anxiously bidding on Asik simultaneously near the deadline.
I think he will ultimately be traded prior to the season, but you know Morey will make DAMN sure he's gets top value (which he should). Asik is a young, QUALITY starting center. He just happens to now be a backup on our team. I think he'll take him time to make the correct move, there won't be a shortage of offers.
He has high value, extremely high value, but you want him out of the West or at least to a Western team that isn't a threat. In a perfect world, Asik would go along with a bench role. His value won't take a huge hit. He's still getting 12+ per a year when his next contract is due, and being a backup means less wear and tear on his body.
Just had a random thought... and I know it's just a dream but how about trading Asik, Parsons and Lin for LeBron next year. Gotta admit Harden, LeBron and Howard make a pretty awesome BIG 3!
Asik is extremely valuable, no doubt about that. 1. Starting caliber center 2. Game changer - can single-handedly anchor a team's defense 3. Elite rebounder 4. Good passer for big man 5. Excellent character, works hard and improves, follows the coach, great teammate No reason to ship him that easy just because he's sulking. If the Rockets organization had the patience to keep and give Royce White a try, as big a headache as he is, there is no reason the Rockets will not do the same with Omer if he is just "unhappy". The Rockets will definitely look at how a team with both those big men play out whether they're on the court together or in tag team mode. Random thoughts on having both big men: 1. Rockets defense = NO FLY ZONE. Both big guys will either swat those who attack the rim or deter them and keep them out of the paint. You have 2 guys that can SINGLE-HANDEDLY ANCHOR a team's defense, interesting how they can impact the game if they're both on the floor. 3. REBOUNDING dominance. Having these two elite rebounders will enable us to dominate possession. Elite rebounding also means abundant fast break opportunities, perfect for this running team. 4. ELITE OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING. With a team of shooters, you know a lot of shots will still be misses (as great as shooteres are, most of them still miss more than they make and shoot at a high 40's %). It would be great to have 2 big guys who can clean the glass, get easy put backs or give the team 2nd chances. 5. Only few teams have giants that can match up to them at the same time. Meaning if both are on the floor, one will most likely be guarded by a smaller guy. 6. Asik moves his feet well and and can come out to the perimeter to guard outside shots, this will also enable him to play defense against some of the more mobile power forwards. 7. Asik is a great passer, I'm betting he'll be able to make a bunch assists to Dwight in traffic or to the open guys in the perimeter. 8. Asik is Dwight insurance. EXPENSIVE ASSET is always covered by EXPENSIVE INSURANCE. Easily justifiable. 9. The need for shooters is overrated. I have heard many times that DEFENSE and REBOUNDING wins championships. We now have elite pieces for both D and Rebounds, let's try it out. 10. If big and bulky guys like Gasol and Randolph can fit together in the front court, why not Dwight and Omer. 11. I'm more interested in seeing the Rockets DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE than to see a high powered offense. This sounds simplistically idiotic but, AN OPPONENT CAN'T BEAT YOU IF THEY CAN'T SCORE. And a team that has Omer and Dwight as anchors, with Chandler, Beverly, etc. defending the perimeter is definitely not very easy to score on. 12. Come to think of it. It is already a form of BIG 3 right there. Harden - Howard - Asik = alternative style Big 3. Asik may not be flashy or score impressively but there is no doubt that HIS PRODUCTION IS ELITE. 13. On defense we already know what we're going to get if we play both guys at the same time. The offense part may need us to be more creative, but we'll figure it out. The Rockets owe it to themselves to try a team that has both Dwight and Asik first. No need to ship Asik right now, possibly ever.
Look at the statistics. Morey and McHale have...and that's why they want to keep Asik. When Asik was out of the lineup last year the Rockets were HORRIBLE defensively; they lost so many of their games in those minutes when Asik was seated. Say the Rockets get some stud PF it will only mean less shots for Dwight. Dwight then will as if magically turn into Big Baby Pt. 2, and start complaining. I think both McHale and Morey are serious when they say that Asik is staying. Read the latest news--the Rockets are turning away teams before even hearing their offers! This means that Asik is locked in. And so probably is Lin. And believe or not...this will probably be a good thing. Asik 20 minutes off the bench is better for the Rockets than any free agent PF. That's a Morey quote, people. And Morey is smarter than you are.
