That would actually make sense now. But the Lakers don't want any cap running thru 2014 and I don't think they would try to mortgage their "potential free agent signings" for anything but a superstar. Maybe we can run a three team deal; Lakers, T-Wolves, Rockets revolving around Gasol, K-Love, and something of value from the Rox? Still don't think it would work for all teams to be pleased though.
Here's the trade I think that should happen. Asik and Lin to Orlando for Aaron Afflalo and Al Harrington. Afflalo is a great six man and SG with defense to back up Harden. Harrington is the PF that fits well with Howard. Good size and can shoot the 3. Afflalo is the prize here and he is worth Asik and Harringotn is the bad contract we swap with Lin. Orlando might say no but Asik could be traded later if they want.
For those who have no understanding of Asik's value and sincerely want to trade him, just stop. Stop thinking about basketball already. Kindly read the ENTIRE posts completely before replying. And constrain replies to valid arguments and counterpoints only please.
Not to shabs. They can move Jameer to a backup role and insert the younger Lin or vice versa and slide Oladipo to the 2 guard slot and go from there. Afflalo off the bench is a perfect role for him. I believe he was the 6th man in Denver for a while before becoming a starter and eventually getting traded in the deal that got them Iggy. The only guy I hate to take back is Harrington and it's not totally based on his contract. His production has steadily declined since his Denver days and is getting prone to injury as he ages, I would be weary of him but overall us netting Afflalo would probably make the trade worthwhile. Maybe squander a pick or so from them, that would satisfy me a little more since we are giving up a top quality center. Good trade tho.
No need to move Asik. For doubts as to whether Asik could be considered elite, just look at my post above on the very same topic.
I'm kind of torn on this. Dwight may not want to play the 4, may not want to play simultaneously with Asik, and was likely sold on the Rockets by being billed as our franchise center and centerpiece. So, while keeping Asik from a basketball standpoint may have merit to it, it also carries risk with it. I like Asik. A lot. But his trade value won't get any higher after this year's all-star break. I'd be ok with flipping him for picks (universal currency), and I'd also be ok with shipping Lin out too if his 3 pointer never develops. We need shooters, above average defenders, and guys who don't turn the ball over. Win now mode, baby.
Too many people over-rating Asik. He's a good center, but he's the type of guy that you're looking to upgrade unless you already have two or three stars at other positions.
The teams that I think would be most interested in Asik are the teams that see themselves as championship contenders. Teams that aren't in the mode yet really have no need for him unless they are settling on him as a long term solution.
As much as I like Asik and think your insight is accurate to a degree, you're forgoing the major issues of playing the two together. 1. Offensive spacing. Our entire offense is predicated on penetration from Harden, Lin, and Parsons on PnRs or drive-dish-drive off the first step. If neither Dwight nor Asik can hit a 15 ft jump shot, then you have two interior defenders challenging every drive because they can just leave the two big men out at 15 ft, daring them to take a shot. 2. They are both used to playing as the singular big man throughout their careers. Both have made their name as rim protectors who play as a free safety, never leaving the lane for more than a second. You have to realize there will be diminishing returns to both their defense and their rebounding if you put them on the court together. I would like to see how it goes as an experiment, but you'd be relying on Dwight Howard to completely change how he's played defense his entire career. He would have to change is game from lockdown rim protector to weakside shot blocker, and on offense he'd have to switch to a face up, catch-and-drive from 15ft type of player. I don't think he came to Houston to do that.
I wish we could just keep Asik forever (unless we get a Horford/Aldridge/Love type player). He will mean so much to us when Dwight sits. The only issue is the fact that he won't re-sign when his deal is up.
I think it was almost assured Asik was going to get traded at the end of his current deal because of the way it was structured. That giant salary bump will be awesome trade bait as an expiring in 2015.
As it has been said endlessly on this forum... there is no salary cap charge increase in 2015. It's $8.3MM for salary cap purposes, so there is no expiring incentive (other than the 8.3 expiring, of course).
How many Centers do you think would have averaged a double double playing in Asik's role on the Rockets? Asik leaves quite a few buckets on the floor due to having awful hands. I want no parts of Asik in the starting line-up next year. He doesn't catch and finish well enough. Just catching the ball is an epic adventure for him, and then finishing is something else. He's not good at catching lobs and finishing... He has to be set up for almost every bucket he gets. He needs to basically be spoon fed the ball with a clear shot at the rim and then even then it's not a guarantee because he's kind of slow reacting. I think Omer is a solid player on the right team in the right role though.
For those saying were overrating Asik, well we were an elite interior defensive team the entire time when Asik was on the floor and probably the worst in the league when he was sitting. It's not just blocking shots, it's altering shots, taking away the lane for dribble penetration which allows our perimeter defender to be more aggressive on defense and he cleans up the offensive and the defensive glass. Last season there wewre games where he renderd teams to resort to jumpshots because of his interior defense.Outside of Dwight and maybe Chandler, how mmany other bigs in the league can have such an impact?.Yep, I didn't think so
