Wouldn't be shocked if another reason Asik calmed down is they gave him some insight as to what deals they are working on.... Just waiting on dec 15th to come around to pull the trigger. He might already have a good idea where he's headed.
I agree with glynch insofar as I would much prefer to keep him. With Terrence Jones' development and Donuts showing flashes of being useful, the PF position is solid anyway. As I have said repeatedly, having an Asik who buys into the idea of playing 20-30 minutes at the C/PF position and helping the team win a championship would be perfect. There is always a risk that Howard goes down and we are actually very undersized without Asik. If Terrence Jones can keep it up, we would be solid at every position and outstanding and deep at the C and SG position if Asik decides to be on board the championship train, rather than the starting at a mediocre team train.
He also had 8 rebounds in 13 minutes,it would be a waste if he is not starting,he was just unlucky that Dwight was available,still wish him the best,his new team will be lucky to have him.
I'm still laughing at how convinced some of you were about the Asik-Howard PF-C combo actually working.
Asik is almost as good and perhaps equal to Howard as a rebounder. He is invaluable to this team. With the way TJones is playing, you only trade asik for an all star which is not Millsap or Ilyasova or Anderson
trade asik and make him happy. trade lin and bring in a pg that mchale wants so mchale and lin can be happy. everyone happy.
Doesn't have to be that hostile. More like, "Omer, we all know you are a starting caliber center worthy of more minutes than we can give you, but we aren't going to rush into any deal. So just work hard, cash your enormous checks, and have fun until we find a trade that makes sense."
Well that's just an out and out lie. In the second half when Howard left we were ahead by 8, when he returned we were ahead by 16. Asik had 8 rebounds in just 13 minutes and shut down the paint while he was in there. And our second unit strongly outplayed their second unit.
Asik + TJones for Love is the only move I will ever make right now. Otherwise, I'd rather keep them both.
Omer Asik's days in Houston were numbered ever since the team signed D. Howard. The main reason is not his pouting, it's the fact that nobody should be paying $15 mil (which is what Asik will make in 2014-15) for a backup. That is a poor way to allocate resources. Jeremy Lin's days are numbered, too, if Houston can get an acceptable return for him. I have been predicting that Asik winds up in Portland for 2+ months, and that Portland will give up Robin Lopez (very good backup C, plus his contract expires at the end of the season) plus either their 2013 first round pick (C.J. McCollom) or a future (2016 or 2017) first round pick. The question is if this package winds up in Houston or if a third team gets involved. Terrence Jones has been very good lately (his advanced stats from last year suggested this might happen, by the way) but the team might still trade for a very good veteran forward. Ersan Ilyasova is not necessarily a big upgrade over T. Jones right now but if Ilyasova were to absorb all of Francisco Garcia's and Omri Casspi's minutes, that's a big upgrade. A three-man forward rotation of Chandler Parsons, T. Jones, and E. Ilyasova would be very nice. These are interchangeable pieces here, which gives you a lot of flexibility. These two deals work: J. Lin and Donatas Motiejunas (sweetener) to Milwaukee for E. Ilyasova & O. Asik to Portland for R. Lopez and C.J. McCollom Revised roster Eight man rotation: James Harden 36 minutes/game Dwight Howard 32 min/g Chandler Parsons 32 min/g Patrick Beverley 32 min/g Terrence Jones 32 min/g Ersan Ilyasova 32 min/g C.J. McCollom 28 min/g Robin Lopez 16 min/g End of the bench: Francisco Garcia Omri Casspi Greg Smith Aaron Brooks Ronnie Brewer Stashed in the developmental league: Isaiah Canaan Robert Covington
Do you really think that he will accept his role as backup?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaX942uMqvo This. That's the reason why he seemed motivated and played very well.
Wait for Greg Smith to get healthy and fit again, and then see what's on the table. I've been impressed with T-Jones and his play is buying us time. Whether Asik likes it or not is really irrelevant - if we wants to get traded, nothing will accelerate the trade process more than him giving 100% every night regardless of how many minutes he plays. He has to make teams want him. It could be that the team has agreed a trade but are waiting for Smith to get healthy, as well as scouting 3rd string C's to add some depth after a trade.
