Omer Asik might have been one of the losers in the Dwight Howard acquisition — he went from being the Rockets starting center (10.1 points, 11.7 rebounds a game) and defensive anchor to maybe their power forward or a big off the bench who is not going to get the same minutes or many touches in the post now.
So he wants out. And that may not happen.
Asik has been shopped a little and has now formally asked for a trade but the Rockets may not do that (at least not right now), reports Marc Stein at ESPN.Houston Rockets center Omer Asik has formally asked the team to trade him in the wake of the team landing Dwight Howard in free agency. But the Rockets have no plans to grant Asik’s wish, sources told ESPN.com….
“With Omer, he had a great year for us last year and really became one of the top centers in the league,” McHale said. “It’s just when you have an opportunity to get Dwight, it’s hard not to. I’m sure Omer right now is a little down in the dumps, but we’ll pick him up.”
The Rockets did run the twin towers of Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson back in the day, but that may not be the long-term solution here.
Asik had been mentioned in a possible deal for Josh Smith with the Hawks, but that fell apart. Nothing has replaced it.
It is likely the Rockets will eventually deal Asik, but there is no rush. Morey can be patient, see how it plays out and see if another team around the league becomes in desperate need of a defensive-minded traditional center. Then he can make a trade from a position of strength and get some pieces to fill in where the Rockets have needs. The Rockets have the big pieces they need; it’s a matter of getting the right role players in there now.