Rockets seek deal for Omer Asik

[green147]

I was just checking out the Rockets SN blog and a lot of the commenters like the idea of working out a C-Lee + one of our 2014 first rounders for Asik trade. There would have to be some filler (ie.Bogans) to make sure the Celts don't go into the luxury, but it's an interesting idea (as long as the first rounder was the lower). Here's the link if anybody wants to see:

http://www.thedreamshake.com/2013/12/6/5182662/rockets-intensifying-omer-asik-trade-efforts-reports-say

[byennie]

Yeah.

Also, I'm not sure about this "quit on his team narrative" that's now picking up steam. McHale DNP-CDed Asik after the trade request; Asik didn't say he wouldn't suit up.

This. It's not like Houston committed themselves to making Howard + Asik work. They've been tinkering all year with guys like Casspi, Jones and Donatas and given Asik a whopping 18 mpg despite having no other big men on the roster with starting experience (other than Howard). AFAIK any "quit" is based on rumors, not any actual acting out by Asik.

[danglertx]

Teams can ask anything they want, but getting it is a different story.  First the Rockets were asking for 2 first rounders, now they are down to one, and what they settle on will be something less than that.

All it took to get Asik was the money on his contract and cap space so I don't see why anyone would consider giving up a first round pick for him unless you think he is that last piece on your championship team for this year.  If your team is that good, you probably don't have 8mil in a contract you want to get rid of to flip to Houston and you certainly don't have cap space to just take his contract.

As far as Asik to places like Portland or New York, Asik clearly doesn't want to be a backup.  If he isn't going to be a backup for Howard, he isn't going to be a backup for Aldridge or Chandler.  I know Asik can't stop a trade but nobody wants to trade for a guy who isn't going to be a happy camper, especially if you want to make some sort of playoff run.

Finally, he isn't that good.  He just isn't.  He can't hit free throws, he isn't good offensively, and isn't dominant defensively.  He is a piece that probably costs more than he is worth.

I'd do a deal around Bass, and one of our shooting guards not named Bradley or Crawford and throw in a second round pick.  That is it.  If Houston can get better, good for them.  Stick with our plan, play the year out and get the 20mil off the books for next year.

And by the way, Bass is way underrated.  How many bigs do you find who can reliably knock down mid range jump shots, can switch off to small forwards on picks, and shoot 80+ from the line?  He has some liabilities but he could be a very solid rotational player for a championship team like he has been with us these past few years.

[Lucky17]

Portland would pair Asik with LMA, not use him as a backup. An Asik-Lopez rotation at C would be quite strong for Portland.

[danglertx]

So he starts over Lopez?  I guess if he is doing that he'd be happy.  Not sure he gets the minutes he wants there but maybe.

After looking at Portland's roster, they'd probably have to deal Lopez and another player for Asik.  Portland doesn't have a lot of pieces that match up.  They have a lot of 3mil type contracts and I doubt Houston wants to take back more than two players. 

[Rick Robeys Return]

In theory I like the idea of Asik on the Cs, top five defensive center and all that... The big issue to my mind is that his contract is only through next year. Given this, he has limited value on the floor for us, as we wont be competing for a championship next year.

But if Houston would take Bass and Lee (plus a second round pick) then the value is as follows:

* a likely net loss of wins this year;

* a better singular asset for trading in the off-season or next year (i.e. Asik the best player of the three);

* the swap of contract works in our favor. Bass comes off the books next year like Asik, but Lee is on the books through 2015 (at approx 5.5 mill over next two years). Plus, while the salary of asik is 15 mill next year, the cap hit is only 8.5, whereas the salary/ cap hit of lee and bass together is approx 12.5 mill in 2014...

So final offer, take it or leave it Houston: Bass + Lee + 2nd rounder for Asik...

[danglertx]

Last thing on Portland and Asik.  I really don't see it happening.  They just don't match up on contracts and Houston isn't going to send Asik to a team that is going to match up against them in the playoffs this year for a future pick.  That would be dumb since Houston's best shot might be this year or next.

It would be better for them to send them to the Eastern conference.  If they can get a first rounder for him, I'd be shocked unless they are also taking back a bad contract.

[BleedGreen1989]

In theory I like the idea of Asik on the Cs, top five defensive center and all that... The big issue to my mind is that his contract is only through next year. Given this, he has limited value on the floor for us, as we wont be competing for a championship next year.

But if Houston would take Bass and Lee (plus a second round pick) then the value is as follows:

* a likely net loss of wins this year;

* a better singular asset for trading in the off-season or next year (i.e. Asik the best player of the three);

* the swap of contract works in our favor. Bass comes off the books next year like Asik, but Lee is on the books through 2015 (at approx 5.5 mill over next two years). Plus, while the salary of asik is 15 mill next year, the cap hit is only 8.5, whereas the salary/ cap hit of lee and bass together is approx 12.5 mill in 2014...

So final offer, take it or leave it Houston: Bass + Lee + 2nd rounder for Asik...

That's exactly what I would offer and no further.

I don't think I'm being bias, but I think that's actually a good deal for Houston. Both very good defenders who can provide some much needed spacing and bring significant playoff experience.

[fitzhickey]

In theory I like the idea of Asik on the Cs, top five defensive center and all that... The big issue to my mind is that his contract is only through next year. Given this, he has limited value on the floor for us, as we wont be competing for a championship next year.

But if Houston would take Bass and Lee (plus a second round pick) then the value is as follows:

* a likely net loss of wins this year;

* a better singular asset for trading in the off-season or next year (i.e. Asik the best player of the three);

* the swap of contract works in our favor. Bass comes off the books next year like Asik, but Lee is on the books through 2015 (at approx 5.5 mill over next two years). Plus, while the salary of asik is 15 mill next year, the cap hit is only 8.5, whereas the salary/ cap hit of lee and bass together is approx 12.5 mill in 2014...

So final offer, take it or leave it Houston: Bass + Lee + 2nd rounder for Asik...

That's exactly what I would offer and no further.

I don't think I'm being bias, but I think that's actually a good deal for Houston. Both very good defenders who can provide some much needed spacing and bring significant playoff experience.

Houston really need that 4 depth. I think they would take this

[fairweatherfan]

I wanted Asik before but listening to the wisdom of Bill Simmons, I agree, I don't want him on my team.

The guy quit on his team for not getting playing time. If he quits then, he'll quit some more.

So from now on, NO on Asik.

It's worth considering, but I think that's a bit of a simplistic view. He signed a 3 year deal with Houston to be their starting center, outperformed all expectations, and after 1 year was promptly replaced with a free agent. He has a pretty good reason to be disgruntled.

Yeah.

Also, I'm not sure about this "quit on his team narrative" that's now picking up steam. McHale DNP-CDed Asik after the trade request; Asik didn't say he wouldn't suit up.

Reportedly that's exactly what happened.  This was circulating shortly after Asik starting getting the DNP-CDs:

McHale said: ”He told me today he wasn’t feeling good and he didn’t know if he could play,” McHale said after the game. “I asked him, ‘Are you ready to play?’ and he said, ‘I don’t feel good.’ That’s why I went with Greg.”

Whether it's believable or not is one thing, but the attribution to Asik refusing to play has been around as long as the benchings have.

EDIT:  Link to one of the several places this was reported:  http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/11/15/asik-wants-a-trade-and-the-rockets-should-oblige/

[Lucky17]

I wanted Asik before but listening to the wisdom of Bill Simmons, I agree, I don't want him on my team.

The guy quit on his team for not getting playing time. If he quits then, he'll quit some more.

So from now on, NO on Asik.

It's worth considering, but I think that's a bit of a simplistic view. He signed a 3 year deal with Houston to be their starting center, outperformed all expectations, and after 1 year was promptly replaced with a free agent. He has a pretty good reason to be disgruntled.

Yeah.

Also, I'm not sure about this "quit on his team narrative" that's now picking up steam. McHale DNP-CDed Asik after the trade request; Asik didn't say he wouldn't suit up.

Reportedly that's exactly what happened.  This was circulating shortly after Asik starting getting the DNP-CDs:

McHale said: ”He told me today he wasn’t feeling good and he didn’t know if he could play,” McHale said after the game. “I asked him, ‘Are you ready to play?’ and he said, ‘I don’t feel good.’ That’s why I went with Greg.”

Whether it's believable or not is one thing, but the attribution to Asik refusing to play has been around as long as the benchings have.

EDIT:  Link to one of the several places this was reported:  http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/11/15/asik-wants-a-trade-and-the-rockets-should-oblige/

Yeah, I saw a video clip of McHale saying similar words to that effect after the game.

McHale was less than convincing when he said it, and there was no follow up.

[cltc5]

get it

[aporel#18]

Who wants to help Morey out of his own trap? Let him ask for the moon, but the clock is against Houston. Morey outsmarted himself by giving those "genius" backloaded contracts to Lin and Asik, and now he's trying to avoid paying 30M combined to those guys next season. Yeah, they'll be expiring and they'll count "only" 8.4M each against the cap, but those 14 extra million will hurt them.

I wouldn't want either Lin or Asik in Green, but we could help out NYK and OKC to get them. Stoudamire and/or Perkins would be great for the Cs if they bring some assets with them (draft picks), and they'll be expirings as soon as next season.

Danny Ainge shouldn't give up any first round pick/young player unless he's getting a difference maker big (Aldridge, Marc Gasol...). We'll see.

[oldtype]

In theory I like the idea of Asik on the Cs, top five defensive center and all that... The big issue to my mind is that his contract is only through next year. Given this, he has limited value on the floor for us, as we wont be competing for a championship next year.

But if Houston would take Bass and Lee (plus a second round pick) then the value is as follows:

* a likely net loss of wins this year;

* a better singular asset for trading in the off-season or next year (i.e. Asik the best player of the three);

* the swap of contract works in our favor. Bass comes off the books next year like Asik, but Lee is on the books through 2015 (at approx 5.5 mill over next two years). Plus, while the salary of asik is 15 mill next year, the cap hit is only 8.5, whereas the salary/ cap hit of lee and bass together is approx 12.5 mill in 2014...

So final offer, take it or leave it Houston: Bass + Lee + 2nd rounder for Asik...

That's exactly what I would offer and no further.

I don't think I'm being bias, but I think that's actually a good deal for Houston. Both very good defenders who can provide some much needed spacing and bring significant playoff experience.

Houston really need that 4 depth. I think they would take this

No way they take this. Bass and Lee are only just barely pluses in terms of trade value. (Although I think they'll get more valuable the longer they keep playing at that level)

I think Bass, Lee, and a non-2014 first rounder is a fair deal that benefits both sides, Houston likely gets better offers elsewhere though.

[ssspence]

In theory I like the idea of Asik on the Cs, top five defensive center and all that... The big issue to my mind is that his contract is only through next year. Given this, he has limited value on the floor for us, as we wont be competing for a championship next year.

But if Houston would take Bass and Lee (plus a second round pick) then the value is as follows:

* a likely net loss of wins this year;

* a better singular asset for trading in the off-season or next year (i.e. Asik the best player of the three);

* the swap of contract works in our favor. Bass comes off the books next year like Asik, but Lee is on the books through 2015 (at approx 5.5 mill over next two years). Plus, while the salary of asik is 15 mill next year, the cap hit is only 8.5, whereas the salary/ cap hit of lee and bass together is approx 12.5 mill in 2014...

So final offer, take it or leave it Houston: Bass + Lee + 2nd rounder for Asik...

That's exactly what I would offer and no further.

I don't think I'm being bias, but I think that's actually a good deal for Houston. Both very good defenders who can provide some much needed spacing and bring significant playoff experience.

Houston really need that 4 depth. I think they would take this

No way they take this. Bass and Lee are only just barely pluses in terms of trade value. (Although I think they'll get more valuable the longer they keep playing at that level)

I think Bass, Lee, and a non-2014 first rounder is a fair deal that benefits both sides, Houston likely gets better offers elsewhere though.

You're right that HOU wouldn't accept this offer. That said, Lee's trade value is not a plus -- too much money for two more guaranteed years (after this one) for a highly replaceable player.