I'm not sure we need to make these moves to get Asik though. Just wait a season and let Houston pay his big final year bill. If he walks and we finish 'blowing things up' then we've wasted a crucial season of another possible top 5 pick.
Bring him in the offseason with the other free agents if we can afford it.
Adding Lin and Asik turns us into a 35ish win team? Maybe a first round exit and then they can walk to the highest bidder.
Danny Ainge doesn't operate like this. He's goes in guns blazing or he retreats to the strategy HQ- he doesn't muddle around in between.
Other than Eddie's points about Sully and KO being able to play their natural position there doesn't seem to be enough incentive to do this for just a late first round pick when the potential lottery pick we'd gain is worth squillions more. To continue on Eddie's point, we can still draft a center of our own or trade one of our 20 picks for a center we like this season if we need to move up a few spots from 18 and want Sully and KO to play their natural games.
The aim is to get a top 20 player here first. Fry a big fish, and then get guys like Asik. Move Jeff Green to get Asik if we need that elite rim protector. Give up a late first rounder of our own ie the Clippers pick if we have to.
I can't see any situation where an expiring Asik comes here with an expiring Lin as a filler in a rebuilding project- unless there is far more incentive than a lone late first rounder.
Just my opinion.
I understand your point of view, but I think you may go too far when you attribute this philosophy not only to yourself, but also to Danny.
How does this explain the fact (or, at least, strongly-sourced rumor) that Danny had interest in acquiring Asik last year, and would have surrendered trade assets to do so?
Good question.
The rumors I remember involved either Bass +Bogans or Jeff Green.
Morey didn't seem to bite- I think because he wants the cap room for Melo or another star.
In my opinion Danny wants to dump Jeff Green's contract more than anything on this roster- to make room for 2015 and 2016 free agents because there is no way that Green turns down his qualifying offer in 2015/16 and he'll be stuck with Green and Wallace's deals clogging up 20 million while we're trying to re-sign Rondo and some co-stars.
As I said earlier, if he has the groundwork in place with Flip Saunders for a sign and trade of Kevin Love or some kind of Carmelo trade in the works, then bringing Asik here makes sense because he can dump Green+Bass, and maybe even Wallace with one of our future first rounders in any of those deals- and we'd want to go as deep in the playoffs as possible.
There's simply not enough incentive for us to send all our expirings and make our team medicore instead of terrible for a single late first rounder.
Morey won't take Green or Bass until he knows Melo is off the table and even then he'd want a pick of his own to take on Green until 2016.
Just my take on the situation. Would the Bulls give us their pick from the Bobcats this year if we took Boozer off their hands? It would be pick #16 and he expires at the end of this year.
Or woud they swap their bobcats pick this year for our clippers pick if we took Boozer for a season?