20 best players who could be available at NBA trade deadline
By John Buhler
Omer Asik
Center, New Orleans Pelicans
In a similar situation with Smart and the Celtics, if the New Orleans Pelicans want to make a trade before the deadline, it will have to involve veteran center Omer Asik. Though valuable in the right system, Asik has proven to be an offensive liability for the Pelicans the last few years. However when he leaves the court, their defense implodes.
In short, the Pelicans are looking for a better fit at center to play alongside star power forward Anthony Davis. Ideally, the Pelicans are looking for a rim protector with a little more giddy-up down the court in transition offense. Asik certainly isn’t that.
All that aside, Asik does have some trade value, though not as much as he did when he previously played for the Houston Rockets. If a playoff team wants to get a physical rim protector either as a starter or coming off the bench, Asik would not be a bad fit.
He’d be like a Timofey Mozgov type of player that Cleveland needed two years ago in their trade with the Nuggets. When the games slows down, Asik becomes increasingly more valuable. Fortunately for him, a slower pace is synonymous with playoff basketball. He would be a better player if he finds the right situation for him. Asik clearly doesn’t fit with the pace-and-space Pelicans.