Omer Asik trade talks dead for now after Rockets pull back

Moreover, what must not be forgotten is that despite the specifics of his situation, Asik is the type of player who could help any team he is on while being available and desirable to all of them. Rare are players so useful so readily available. The drawback is the $15 million price tag, yet this is something the Rockets can offset by including cash of their own in the deal. At that point, Asik would effectively cost closer to $12 million, a more reasonable price for a center who can average a double double if given the minutes.

Despite this being a far from ideal situation, the Rockets still yield a fair bit of leverage in this scenario. After all, it is they who have the excess starting-caliber big man. With their own self-induced headache out of the way and silly season just around the corner, there could yet be a satisfactory resolution for all parties.

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Morey said that the team “owed it” to Asik to seek out trade partners.

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers were rumored to be the two major suitors, but it became clear that the market value of Turkish big man wasn’t enough to appease Houston in what it could receive in return. Additionally, it could be difficult for teams to take on Asik, who has another year on his contract and will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2014-15 season.

Practically since the day they signed Dwight Howard, the Houston Rockets have been trying to trade Omer Asik. They’ve been trying really hard to trade Omer Asik. They have let everybody know that they are trying to trade Omer Asik.

However, after setting Thursday as the day for a potential Omer Asik deal, nobody wanted to trade with them for Omer Asik -- perhaps because they made it so obvious they wanted to get rid of him in the first place, wrecking their leverage. And Thursday appears set to turn into Friday with Asik still a Rocket.

Teams were apparently put off by Asik’s contract, which runs through next season before he becomes an unrestricted free agent, Stein reports. Additionally, none of the discussed deals have whet the Rockets’ appetite enough to pull the trigger.

Houston and general manager Daryl Morey set a self-imposed Thursday deadline to trade the big man, which would allow the franchise to trade the incoming pieces before the NBA’s Feb. 21 trade deadline. Players acquired by trade cannot be traded by their new teams for two months.

This from Holmes and Washburn’s story in the Boston Globe:

And if you’re looking for some non-news directly from the source itself, this from the Celtics’ official twitter account didn’t do much in the way of revealing any progress, if there is any at all:

Sources told the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett that the Celtics are listening but not exactly pursuing the trade that could be done by the Rockets’ reported self-imposed Thursday deadline. CBS Sports’ Ken Berger adds that any deal will probably be delayed until Thursday as the separate sides posture.

For the Celtics specifically, a third team would likely be needed to secure a trade for Asik. Both ESPN’s Marc Stein and Bulpett reported on Wednesday that Boston had joined the Philadelphia 76ers as frontrunners to land Asik.

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Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald confirms the Celtics have put their name in the ring for Asik, but a three-way trade would be required.

The Cavs have already been linked to the Asik talks, with rumors circulating of a potential deal involving Anderson Varejao. However, Cleveland believes Varejao is a better fit than Asik and would prefer Green, as he would be a significant upgrade at the small forward position.

When he does depart, the team he joins will get a legitimate rim protector in the prime of his career. When given consistent opportunities, he’s been productive as evidenced by his career-high 14.9 player efficiency rating (via Basketball-Reference.com) last season and career average of 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes.

Houston is well-situated with Howard as the cornerstone of their frontcourt for the foreseeable future.

A report surfaced over the weekend saying the Rockets and Sixers have a trade in place already, and that was followed up by another report stating a three-team trade is in the works. The only thing holding up the deal is the fact that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey wants to pursue all possible options before finally pulling the trigger. Enter the Celtics, who have some intriguing assets which could form a nice trade package for Houston.

In addition to Green and Bass, the Celtics also have some extra first-round picks available to throw in a deal. The Rockets would like to get at least one first-round pick out of an Asik trade.

Houston has gone 16-8 in its first season since acquiring Howard, good for the fifth-best record in the Western Conference. Asik has already changed agents and requested a trade multiple times since the team signed Howard this summer. Asik is averaging just 18.3 minutes per game off the bench after putting up career-highs in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals and assists in his first year with the Rockets.

Asik has not played for Houston since Dec. 2 after suffering a bruised right thigh.

A number of reporters have suggested that Omer Asik will be traded by the Rockets sometime between Sunday and Thursday. Beginning Sunday, players signed as free agents in the offseason can be traded. By Friday is the deadline after which players traded during this season cannot be packaged with other players in further trades this season. So there’s a prime window for moves, one which Houston is expected to take advantage of.

Now Sam Amick of USA Today reports that if something better doesn’t come along, the Rockets and Sixers may have a deal in place.

The idea that Varejao could be a serious target for the Rockets is a curious one. While the duo of Howard and Asik was a bit disappointing defensively, the real issue was on the offensive end. In the 93 minutes those two have been on the court together, Houston scored just 87.3 points per 100 possessions per NBA.com’s stats page, an especially galling number given the generally high-powered nature of the Rockets’ offense. Varejao is certainly more skilled than Asik, but he still wouldn’t provide the optimal floor spacing playing next to Howard.

So while an Asik trade is inevitable, the goal shouldn’t necessarily be to find that “perfect fit” next to Howard. The Rockets may have already found that.

Young, 25, is averaging 15.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in his seventh season with the Sixers. He is known as a versatile defensive player with the ability to guard multiple positions. Anderson is obviously the prototypical stretch-four but Young isn’t too shabby from the arc, either. He’s shooting a career-high (37.8) this season from three on just over two attempts per game.

It’s no secret that the Rockets are shopping Asik. At this point, it’s about finding the right trade partner.

Prior to Dec. 15, players who signed during the 2013 offseason are ineligible to be traded. By waiting until then, the Rockets should have a wider range of players available to them, plus they’ll be able to repackage any acquired players in later deals if they choose to do so.

By completing a deal now, the Rockets would be far more limited, as various CBA restrictions prevent players from being dealt. So while an Asik deal is practically inevitable at this point, expect Houston to wait a little bit longer before actually pulling the trigger.

While many analysts around the league consider Asik one of the game’s great interior defenders, that $15 million salary for 2014-15 is clearly limiting his trade value. Coupled with Asik’s early struggles this season while adjusting to a smaller role, and Houston’s been left in a precarious position trying to find a good deal.

However, the Rockets clearly acknowledge the value of a player like Asik, even if he’s redundant with Howard around. That’s left the team stuck with a starter-quality player owed a star’s salary, and teams are clearly shying away from forking over major picks and players when it seems Houston will need to pull the trigger on a deal eventually.

Despite Asik’s requests, the Rockets seem to have no interest in trading him. McHale, general manager Daryl Morey and several players have spoken with Asik in recent days to try and smooth out the situation, and it appears to have worked for the time being.

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Stein reports that coaches and teammates “challenged” Asik in practice after the lineup change, but that Asik hasn’t responded to the challenge.

Howard is averaging 16 points, 11 rebounds and 2.5 rebounds in Asik’s absence.

What would Picasso do? Grantland’s Bill Simmons usually fields those questions when it comes to NBA trade rumors, referring to himself as the “Picasso of the Trade Machine.” A couple years ago, we tried to determine what the actual Picasso, who thrived in deconstruction and reconstruction, would do to get Carmelo Anthony out of Denver. We also got into the heads of some other great painters including Manet, Rothko and Klimt.

This season, Omer Asik is the focus of our attention. He has reportedly requested a trade from the Houston Rockets; after playing 280 straight games to begin his NBA career, he was handed a DNP-CD on Thursday. He pretty clearly must be traded. Which masters will offer their ideas this time around? Let’s find out.

Houston was committed to at least giving the Twin Towers look a chance, although it seemed painfully obvious that the spacing on offense would be a major problem. Sure enough, that has proved to be the case, and the defense hasn’t been nearly good enough to make up for the offensive issues. In the 93 minutes Asik and Howard have shared the court, the Rockets have posted an offensive rating of 87.3 and a defensive rating of 103.1, per NBA.com’s stats page.

The DNP caused some speculation that McHale benched Asik for requesting a trade, but the Rockets coach had his own explanation, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News: