The Houston Rockets are not going to give Omer Asik away.
He clearly does not fit as the power forward next to Dwight Howard’s center — that pair was -18.1 per 48 minutes when on the court together. And from Asik’s perspective it’s understandable why the Turkish center who averaged a double-double and was a defensive anchor on a playoff team last season would want to move on to where he gets minutes. Even the Rockets understand that.
But once Asik again asked for a trade (through his intermediaries and back channels, for him to do it publicly would bring the wrath of Stern down on him), you knew the first offers that would come in would be lowballs.
So the Rockets and GM Daryl Morey making it clear they want value in return — they want an impact player, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.In an effort to unload disgruntled center Omer Asik, the Houston Rockets have engaged in trade talks with multiple teams and are demanding an impact player in return, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Rival executives say that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey has been active in discussing possible deals for Asik, but his asking price has been too high so far. Morey has been willing to accommodate Asik’s summertime trade request, but so far has found little traction on possible deals.
Unless a team is willing to give the Rockets a frontline player who can help them win in the short-term, Morey is open to acquiring a largely unprotected first-round pick in the loaded 2014 NBA draft, sources said.
I think he’s more likely to get an impact player than a lottery pick this year.
Morey is setting the bar high, maybe too high for this time of the season, but the market will change. Morey will wait for it to come to him. Quality centers are in short supply around the league and Asik is that — he can bring a defensive presence, plenty of boards and some points to the right team. Morey may soften a little, too, but better to set the bar high to start.
While talks are ongoing, I would expect a deal later rather than sooner. The trade deadline is in February, not close to Thanksgiving.
