We told you that the Rockets were more than willing to deal troubled big man Omer Asik, but that the asking price was extremely high -- so high, in fact, that one rival GM called Houston “delusional” in terms of what the team was expecting to net in return on the open market.
Now we have word of exactly what the asking price has been, and delusional doesn’t begin to describe it.
From Alan Hahn of MSG Networks:It’s December, so the NBA trade market heats up. #Knicks, like others, are shopping, what’s available?
Not much.
The name that is dominating the early rumors is Omer Asik of the Rockets. The disgruntled center can be had, but Houston isn’t just giving him away.
In fact, the Rockets are setting the market high for Asik, with a demand of two first round picks in any deal.
Basic negotiation theory tells you to begin any discussion with an unrealistically high price if you’re the seller in order to artificially inflate the market for your product or service. But you don’t want to go too high, lest you risk offending the buying party to the point where they’ll break off talks together, or be unwilling to engage entirely.
That’s where the Rockets are right now. No one is giving up two first round draft picks for Asik, even though as a player he’s highly thought of by general managers as someone who could anchor a team’s defense inside.
The teams that would have the most interest in Asik are likely fringe contenders that need another strong piece to push them over the top. The Knicks, for example, with Tyson Chandler out due to injury and both Amar’e Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin being somewhere between hobbled and ineffective this season, would love to talk about dealing for Asik. But they have already mortgaged the future, and have no first round picks to deal until 2018.
Asik isn’t getting dealt at all this season unless that price comes down, but something tells us that Houston may become a lot more reasonable if Asik continues to be a non-factor for them as the trade deadline approaches.