Report: Omer Asik asks the Rockets for a trade
By Ryan Donoho
When the Rockets signed Dwight Howard, everyone was happy in Houston. Everyone except Omer Asik. The Rockets signed Asik to a 3 year deal the off-season before, and he had a nice campaign for them last year. Asik averaged 10 points and 11 rebounds, and was a big reason that the Rockets made the playoffs.
Kevin McHale has tried to make the two centers play on the court at the same time, and it hasn’t been pretty. With the type of offense that Houston runs, the twin towers have slowed down the tempo. It has caused them to have slow starts, and it is just a mess.
Well now, Asik has asked for a trade, according to the Houston Chronicle:
"With his starting job gone and his playing time slashed, Rockets center Omer Asik has asked to be traded, two individuals with knowledge of the request said Thursday…The Rockets have no trade involving Asik in the works, with one individual saying a deal is more likely in months than in days."
The Rockets will now make it seem as if they have no plans to move him, so they don’t seem as desperate, and teams will have to offer up better assets to make the deal happen. Asik played just 4 minutes in Wednesday night’s loss to the Sixers, and he is frustrated. His agent said so himself:
"“I would say the situation is very frustrating right now and we’re trying to work through it,”,” (Asik’s agent Andy) Miller said. ““For Omer, the objective has always been to continue to develop and grow as a player. That’s why we came to Houston in the first place. If that objective can’t be met, if we can’t get the right platform to grow and contribute as a player, it’s certainly frustrating.””"
There will certainly be some teams interested. The Hawks, Pelicans, Thunder, Blazers, and many other teams could use a pretty good center that isn’t lacking in size. We will keep you updated as this situation continues.
Meanwhile at the Rockets-Knicks game:
