The Rockets are determined to trade Omer Asik in the next few days, and the latest update says that the framework of a three-team deal may be already in place.
Now that Dec. 15 is upon us, players who signed new contracts last summer are eligible to be dealt, and players traded before Dec. 19 are eligible to be included in another deal before the Feb. 20 trade deadline passes.
Houston will continue to shop Asik to get the most they can in return for the talented but disgruntled big man, but if no further offers materialize, there’s one that the team is reportedly willing to accept that may net draft picks in return.
From Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:
Morey would not discuss his plans, but a person with knowledge of the Rockets’ thinking said Morey set his Dec. 19 deadline in part because he knows he has an offer he is willing to take. Though things can change several times by Thursday, that individual said “it very likely will be a pretty complicated, three-way deal. There are a lot of moving parts.” …
According to individuals with knowledge of the talks, the Rockets do not have a deal in place but were greatly encouraged when trade talks intensified Dec. 6, so much so that the confidence that they would be ready to pull the trigger helped inspire the Dec. 19 “deadline” as much as needing a deal by then to be able to move players again this season.
As much as speculation has centered around Thad Young, if the Rockets are to do a deal with Philadelphia and former Rockets assistant GM Sam Hinkie, it is more likely to be a three-team deal in which the player the Sixers trade goes elsewhere.
The rumored deal with the Sixers always made the most sense. But if Houston is after picks instead of frontcourt help to bolster the team’s roster, then involving a third team might be the best way to accomplish that.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that the Celitcs may be an option.
The advice offered us Sunday was stern: Keep an eye on Boston. The Celtics possess two players in different salary ranges that would presumably fit in useful ways next to Dwight Howard: Jeff Green and Brandon Bass. The Celts also have a spare first-round draft pick or two to plug into any trade equation to sweeten the deal for Houston, amid rising suspicions around the league that Morey’s Rockets are going to find a way to come out of the Asik saga with at least one future first.
Houston placed championship-level aspirations on this season after acquiring Dwight Howard, and it’s worth noting that dealing Asik for future picks won’t do anything to help the team accomplish that goal. There may be other deals on the horizon for the Rockets, but this one alone involving Asik doesn’t sound all that promising, at least in terms of providing immediate help this season.
