The Houston Rockets have been looking to trade Omer Asik all season and now that the December 15 deadline has passed for players that signed this summer to get traded, it looks like the team is ready to deal, as Daryl Morey may have a three-team trade in place and teams like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics or Los Angeles Lakers could be involved.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Rockets have a three-team deal in place for Asik and teams that have been rumored to be involved includes the Sixers and the Celtics, while the Cavaliers are likely out of things. Asik has been mentioned in trade rumors since Dwight Howard signed with the Rockets and he reportedly has asked multiple times for a trade since his starting job was taken and his minutes were cut and the Rockets wanted to wait at least until mid-December to pull it off due to the deadline of certain players getting moved.
The report says that a framework is in place for a three team deal and the wheelhouse is past the December 15 deadline and before the December 19 deadline, as those players can be traded again before the trading deadline in February. Teams will continue looking at Asik until a deal is done and the Rockets are motivated and the Sixers seem like the best bet, as they have the money to absorb a deal and a number of picks to move and general manager Sam Hinkie has said that he plans on trading Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young at some point and one of those players could fit well with the Rockets.
Hinkie used to work with the Rockets and that could make things move easier and ESPN.com is reporting that the Celtics could be involved in a trade as well. The Rockets feel that they can move Asik because of the emergence of Terrance Jones and the Celtic shave players like Jeff Green and Brandon Bass that could be nice complementary options for Howard in the offense. The team is looking to get at least one first round pick for Asik and that may be why the deal has taken so long to materialize, but the Rockets are motivated to move him.
The Rockets would take Thaddeus Young in a deal and that would be a very solid snag for the team, as he has shown great potential with the Sixers and he could thrive alongside Howard and James Harden. The Rockets are 16-9 this season with Howard and they feel that dealing Asik will give the team a chance to make a finals run and the team comes in ranked second in both points per game and rebounder per game and while the defense has been suspect, making a deal could help that as well.
