When superstar free agent Dwight Howard chose to go to the Houston Rockets, center Omer Asik requested a trade. The big man didn’t want to be apart of the Rockets second unit. The Rockets however toyed with the idea of playing Howard at the power forward position and keeping Asik in as the starting center. Well that’s unlikely to actually happen and an Asik trade could be pending. Read more after the jump.
The Rockets did not get the league’s top center to make him a power forward and don’t want to turn one of their outstanding defensive centers into a liability defending the 3-point arc. Instead, they will likely choose between … Greg Smith… Terrence Jones might have the edge after strong showings late last season and in summer league. Donatas Motiejunas … (is) better suited to coming off the bench when Howard is not on the low blocks.
Asik reportedly said he wanted to be traded after the Rockets signed Howard and he will likely not drop his demand if the season starts and the big man is part of the second unit. Dealing Asik is tricky as he counts $8,374,646 towards the salary cap the next two years, but he actually earns $5.22 million in 2013-14 and $14.89 million in 2014-15.
Dwight Howard’s arrival in Houston doesn’t necessarily mean Asik’s exit. The Rockets will surely experiment with playing both big men together after successfully starting Asik alongside another paint-bound player, Greg Smith, late in the regular season. But if that combination clogs up Houston’s spacing on offense, Asik is much too valuable to relegate to backing up Howard. If the Rockets can parlay him into a stretch 4 to complement Howard, GM Daryl Morey surely won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
