He's only 18 months from being a top 10 NBA defensive center for 30+ minutes a night. He's had some foot problems that haven't until recently looked chronic, and Woodson went super small ball last year that kept Camby out of the rotation, but I have no reason to believe that if his foot injury is healed and he's in shape, he could give the Rockets 10 minutes a night, and take some nights off when D-Mo matches up well against the backups he sees. Maybe he doesn't have anything left, but its worth it to check out. If he can't give you that much, you have the mid level this Summer and you still have the ability to trade or pick up a veteran like Okafor, Aaron Gray, Kaman, Biedrins, or Nazr Mohammed that gets waived later in the season. Look at the AB situation last year. Once teams know they are out of the playoffs (especially THIS year with a loaded draft), vet bigs will have the ability to ask their way off the team to join a contender. Also would be interested to see if Morey could pull a vet big over from Europe mid-season ala Pat Bev. Any of you Euroleague junkies know of any vet bigs over there that might be interested?
I missed Minn's game. Sounds like he's getting over it which is good. It's just that after TT experiment failed, in the handful of min he played, he has been a huge liability. Hope he doesn't whine again after trade deadline.
Asik was told to cool it while Morey finds a trade partner. I don't think there's any chance of him not being dealt sometime before the deadline. Until then, he's finally doing what he should have done all along - keeping his mouth shut, with a poker face, and giving 100% effort when he's on the court.
I love Asik and he was one of my favorite players last year, but I can see him pouting again if he isn't traded by the deadline. It seems like he's only accepting his role right now because Morey promised him something.
If Asik has accepted his role, no trades needed??? Even Asik has accepted his role, he would still be traded b/c of his salary. It's business after all. Get real people, no competent center would accept playing 15 mins a game as a backup for long.
I repeat ... If I were Morey, I wouldn't trade Asik. Howard's post game leaves much to be desired. Foul trouble, solid defenses, injuries all can conspire to render him ineffective. I hope tonight showed Asik the team needs him badly and that he can trust the coaches to play him.
Anyone who thinks Asik has accepted being benched is kidding themselves. He's gone before the deadline. It would be great to keep him, but unhappy players can be very disruptive.
I wouldn't mind just keeping this team and using the full Mid level on a player this summer on either a wing scorer off the bench or PF.
For the time being Asik is playing like Asik again. I don't know if something was agreed upon, or how long he was willing to accept this role. This is what we all hoped for, there is no noticable fall off when Dwight sits down. There is zero chance he starts next year in a Rockets uniform, but if he will play like this he is extremely valuable again. If anything, this puts the ball back in the rockets court when it comes to a trade. So unless something great comes along, we don't need to trade him.
Dude wants to be a starter - that's why he came here in the first place and left Chicago. That's why he was unhappy a few weeks ago. I doubt that has changed in just a few weeks. Could over time, Asik change his view and realize that winning is more important than starting? Yes, I could totally see that. Will it happen before he gets traded? Nope. He'll have to develop that attitude on another team.
Morey has one of the biggest trade assets in the NBA on his hands. That can make us contenders this year. I wonder how he plays it.
howard has games with low stats, maybe asik think he can steal starting job from howard, or at least reducing him to a nominal starter, just like shelofosha was when okc still had harden
