The Houston Rockets have been one of the best teams in the western conference this season and many think they will be active at the trade deadline with Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, but all signs show that the team is likely to keep those players, taking deals to the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls or Brooklyn Nets off the table.
The Rockets looked motivated to move center Omer Asik for most of the season, but that has subsided as the trade deadline has gotten closer, as the team has not been able to find what they feel is fair compensation. The same could be said for Lin, as Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports writes that the team is not going to give him up without getting a fair amount of compensation in return, as they will not give up depth simply to make a move.
The Rockets have shown under general manager Daryl Morey that they are willing to make deals and they have made at least one significant move at the deadline each year under him, but this time around things could be different. Asik has been mentioned in trade rumors since the summer and that was when the team signed Dwight Howard and after trying to use the two together on the court, the team swiftly disbanded that and yanked his starting job.
Asik had played in all 82 games last season and averaged over 11 rebounds and 10 points, but his numbers were basically cut in half this year. The team looked like they had a deal going to the Boston Celtics, but that fell through after the two sides could not agree on compensation and that was mentioned to be first round picks. Asik then was being shopped hard around the league, but no one wanted to meet Morey's asking price and now it looks like it's possible he will stay with the team through his contract.
The Rockets have picks to spare when it comes to the drat, but they don't want to give any of those up unless the deal is worth it and with Patrick Beverley and Aaron Brooks on and off lately, they may feel it's best to hang onto him for the time being. As the deadline gets closer over the next two days both Asik and Lin will get attention, but it's likely that no major moves are going to go down. ESPN.com and Pro Basketball Talk have reported that the deadline is likely not to be crazy with moves and one reason is the depth of the draft coming up.