NBA Rumors: Houston Rockets unlikely to trade Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik
By Josh Hill
All season long there seemed to be endless discussion about what would happen to Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik in Houston but neither ended up being traded before the deadline. Now that the Rockets have been bounced from the postseason in the first-round of the second consecutive year, the talks of trading Asik and Lin have resurfaced but no new progress has been made.
According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, the Rockets would like to get the contracts of Asik and Lin off the books but won’t do so unless there’s an endgame that sees a top free agent use up the extra money.
"That is less likely but definitely an option. It’s less likely because if the Rockets are not using cap space on free-agent replacements, they would need talent back, making a deal much tougher to complete. Asik is certain to leave a year later. Lin might, though he seems far more comfortable with his role."
Now, this doesn’t mean that the Rockets won’t be trading one or the other — Asik being the most likely to go — but if they do trade them then we know what is next for the Rockets. They have to be careful though as the only free agent worth going all-in for is Carmelo Anthony and as iffy as fans were on Lin and Asik this year, they can’t be given up for just anything in return.