Dwight Howard was a huge pickup for the Houston Rockets fulfilling their need for more size and post presence. They did however already have Omer Asik who’s been steadily improving. Asik was reportedly upset about the addition of Howard and wanted to be traded rather than be a backup. The trade never happened and Asik remains on the team and it looks like the Rockets have found another solution. Read more after the jump.
With Dwight Howard in the fold, the assumption by many was that Omer Asik would probably be used off the bench or slide to the four in 2013-14. As it often the case, assuming may not have been the wisest or most accurate thing to do, especially with an inventive GM like Morey at the helm.
“Coach McHale plans to experiment with Dwight at PF and Omer as C in training camp,” Moreywrote. “If it works and helps us win, obviously we would look at using it.”
If it works, great — that will be one heckuva frontline for opponents to try and score on or snag a rebound over — but if it doesn’t the Rockets will have to figure out another option. One might be swapping the two, using Howard at the four and Asik at the five. Another could be to use Asik off the bench, with either the efficient Greg Smith or one of the team’s promising second-year forwards — Donatas Motiejunas or Terrence Jones — getting the starting nod at the four. That’d leave Asik to fend for minutes withMarcus Camby behind Howard, and would force the team to use Camby in a limited role that would probably be best suited for the 39-year-old in his 18th NBA season
