Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Boston Herald on Why Omer Got Angry

This is hypocritical.

Total double standard how a lot of you are giving him a pass for being a Diva of the highest order, yet condemn other black players of similar situations.

Slice it whichever way you want and make concessions for Asik all you want but its laughable to justify his detrimental, petulant child-like tantrum.

 

The "poison pill" prevented others from signing him. Now it appears to be a big factor in limiting the Rockets' ability to trade him. Yes, Morey and the Rockets are ironically swallowing their own poison pill. That doesn't mean it was a bad move. It helped make the Rockets relevant again. How good would they have been without Asik last season? I love the fact that we have a GM who thinks so creatively and smartly to improve the team.

This turn of events is just bad luck, if you want to call it that. The Rockets didn't know when they signed Asik that they'd get Howard a year later. But they did, and that's why they're swallowing the pill. That's just the way it worked out. Unfortunately for Asik, he didn't know they'd get Howard either. He busted his butt for the Rockets and had a career year and for that I'm grateful as a fan. I don't blame him for wanting out under the circumstances. He's in the prime of his career. It's a tough situation for him. Terrible luck, but at least he's getting well paid. Considering what he's done for Houston, I'll forgive the whining.

But I also don't blame the team for wanting to get the most value for him. Here's a question: Would Howard even be in Houston now if Asik hadn't signed and had the year he had last year? Sure, we would have still had Harden and Parsons to entice him here, but would he have considered the Rockets if they were a mediocre team that didn't make the playoffs?

 

Considering how ungrateful most fans here are, I am looking forward to the replies for this question.

 

GM's don't look at teams on the surface. They know what Asik can do, because he did it all last season. In this scenario, he'd be taking a backseat to star player. There's no shame in that at all. Casual fans won't understand, but who cares about them anyway. Right?

He played limited minutes with Bulls, and we payed him big dough.

Nobody important thinks he's just a good to great backup.

 

The Rox paid him. Nobody chose to beat or match their offer. He's a Rocket. That's it.

Everybody loved what he did last season, but it will always be Rockets first for true fans. If he wanted to be traded, sulking and disappearing was literally the worst thing he could do.

He chose to take away Rox leverage and it bit him on the ass.

 

Exactly. Gms around the league already know that Asik is a starting caliber center and Asik obviously knows that they know. In a way, Morey shot himself in the foot by creating those poison pills contract. You just don't create two massive untradeable contracts when you have the reputation of being the Harry Redknapp of basketball and extremely trade-happy.

I am sure that the other GMs don't have an ounce of sympathy for his predicament and know that sonner rather than later Morey will have to drop his unrealistic trade demands and realise that he cannot win. They just have to wait until the Asik drama becomes unbearable. They won't go to the mountain because the mountain will come to them, eventually.

 

Asik knows that by the februrary trade deadline he will no longer be a Rocket. And that's all he needs to know. This waiting game can only favour him and his agent as they gain more leverage and that of the Rockets Org diminishes to oblivion. That Boston trade proposal will be viewed as generous by the time the trade deadline kicks in.

 

I'm not sure why people are so mad that Morey "screwed himself" with these poison pill contracts. Is it such a bad thing that Asik and Lin are both on the team? The Asik situation came unexpected, but quite frankly Morey never wanted to trade him in the first place. If anything, this just gives Morey the excuse of NOT trading Asik.

I don't know about other fans, but I'm perfectly content with Asik and Lin playing out the rest of their contracts as Rockets. Assuming no one wants to pay value for Asik during this time.

 

If Asik hasn't learned that pouting is hurting himself more than the team then his brick hands disease has moved to his head. Morey will let him rot before making a trade that will hurt the team and the boston trade would have done just that. Bass was ok but undersized. Lee's contract would have hurt the team and so would that pick as that's most likely guaranteed money for someone who will never play.

Asik will rot until he has value. And if he doesn't want to bring his value back up, then he better save his money now because this will be his last nba contract.

 

its business for him also. If he plays well he can get a good contract after this one. If he is a bench player playing 20 mins a game he wont get much money. I can see why he is angry and wants to leave. He has the talent to be paid at least 10 m a year on his next contract.
Now with dwight its noah situation agains for him.

 

It's a business people, If he refuses to play well Les should stop writing him checks. Easy as that. Let him rot in the bench for another year and a half.

 

The Rockets have got no choice. If they want to contend, they will have to ship out Asik (and Lin) for a star PF and a legit back-up at SG. As contructed presently, the Roxs is a flawed team with too many one-dimensional players that can be easily shut down by elite defenses. Dwight and Harden need help.

I have generally blamed McSuccess for the gimmicky offense thus far. But Hubie Brown has made an excellent point: the Rockets depends a lot on the PNR because of the limited skillset of Howard and Harden. take away the PNR and they've got nothing. Harden should really have added some more moves to his skillset in the offseason. He failed to do so and is now paying the price.

 

I think this is a fair comment. By the trade deadline we would've paid Asik/Lin around $8M for more than 1.7 seasons and be expecting another team to pay $17M for 1.3 seasons.

The thing is. Asik/Lin are both worth their cap space. They are inadequately utilized right now. Asik due to a bad fit and his own issues. Lin due to a perceived bad fit. The difference is the coaches see Lin as a bad fit with the starters when he actually isn't, but whereas Asik is the obvious bad fit the coaches didn't see it and tried all they could to make it work.

McHale really is mediocre.

I'd like to see this team with a different coach to be sure it won't work. I think Morey feels the same (about the team he's assembled, although I don't know what he thinks about McHale).

 

We're not even doing PnRs well. And we've only got one simple top of the key PnR, unlike most teams that have variations. And we're not even using back-screens to get people free. They're just standing at a spot on the 3pt line. The only guys I see really moving all the time are Cassipi, Parsons and to smaller extents Jones and Smith. The other guys just picks a spot and waits there. Including Lin. Lin's improved in a lot of areas this year, and he's shooting well off the ball. But he's not playing well off the ball. And Harden does NOTHING off the ball. Offense or defense. I don't see many hard cuts off the ball from Lin, Brooks, Beverley, Garcia or Harden this year.

 

I understand your logic. A bench player with 20 minutes won't get as much money as a starting center, but Asik is not playing ANY minutes now, and is injured. First his thigh and now his swollen knee. Makes a trade even harder, and lowers value for his next contract because he is pouty, sullen and injured.

 

If one of Harden, Asik or Lin, our three big offseason acqusitions last year, were not with the Rockets, the Rockets would not have been even close to the playoffs last year. No Harden, no consistent big-time scorer, no Asik no defense, no Lin no second half surge while Harden cooled off in a big way over the last two months.

And no playoffs last year, no Howard. Howard wants to win, and Morey showed we were the best situation for him to win, thanks to us sneaking into the playoffs.

Having said that, that is water under the bridge. Helping a team into the playoffs is not excuse for not turning up to play the next season.

Imagine if Lin did that?

If Asik was promised starting center, Lin probably was also. If Asik couldn't take a back seat to the best center in the league, how is it possible Lin is taking a back seat to the worst starting PG in the league.