Latest On Omer Asik, Rockets
With Omer Asik unhappy and demanding a trade on a weekly basis, the Rockets are surveying their options. Word is that they’re not boxing themselves into a specific position to target in a deal and they’re instead just looking for a difference-maker of any size, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
All indications are that Houston is still in the early stages of working through their Asik options, because even though he is a proven defensive anchor who protects the rim and gets boards, his offensive limitations hurt his value. There’s also sentiment within the organization that Asik is the club’s third-best player and with that mindset, they surely don’t want to give him away for nothing.
On top of that, there should be other options on the trade block including Iman Shumpert, Derrick Williams, Arron Afflalo and Jameer Nelson. In fact, Shump and the Knicks both concede that a trade is inevitable, league sources tell Stein. Despite all of the roadblocks, Stein expects Houston to find a new home for Asik between December 15th – the date when many trade restrictions are lifted – and the February trade deadline.
It remains to be seen where Asik is traded to, but Stein says not to expect a deal with New Orleans involving Ryan Anderson. The Pelicans are high on Anderson and believe that he’s a better fit for their offense than Asik. He’s also much more affordable – he still has two years left on his four-year, $34MM pact while Asik’s salary balloons to $15MM next season.
Southwest Notes: Asik, Mekel, Randolph
As the Rockets look to pull a half-game closer to the Spurs in the Southwest standings tonight, let’s round up a few of the latest notes out of the division….
- Speaking to reporters today, including Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, Omer Asik indicated that he has just been “frustrated” about his role recently, but is looking forward to returning to the court and helping the Rockets win.
- It’s only a matter of time until the Rockets find a taker for Asik, according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe, who says a deal will likely happen after December 15th. Lowe also addresses a pair of hypothetical deals for Asik, involving the Pelicans and Hawks. In Lowe’s view, a trade centered around Asik and Paul Millsap would work so well for Houston that, if it were to happen, rival Western teams would hold it against Hawks GM Danny Ferry “forever.”
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld discusses a pair of Southwest teams in today’s NBA AM column, examining Mavericks offseason addition Gal Mekel and the Rockets‘ situation with Asik. According to Kyler, Houston is believed to be seeking either an impact frontcourt player or a combination of a frontcourt player and unprotected draft picks for Asik.
- In a recent piece for the Los Angeles Times, Paresh Dave outlined the details of the deferred payments on Zach Randolph‘s last two contracts. While it doesn’t affect a team’s cap, up to 25% of a player’s salary can be deferred. In the case of Randolph’s current deal with the Grizzlies, $9.9MM of his $66MM (15%) is deferred compensation.
Odds & Ends: Asik, Odom, Iguodala, Rockets
The Rockets say they won’t give in to Omer Asik‘s trade demands, but it’s hard to imagine them keeping the disgruntled center when they can satisfy another need by moving him. Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops suggests three trades involving the defensively-minded center, including a deal that sends Asik and a future first-rounder to 76ers for Thaddeus Young and Kwame Brown. More from around the Association..
- Free agent Lamar Odom is working out with elite trainer Rob McClanaghan in Rhode Island this week, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
- A deal sending Asik to the Pelicans for Ryan Anderson makes sense, opines Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The Rockets‘ biggest weakness this season has been the play of their power forwards and Anderson would be the type of player that could help them stretch the floor. Meanwhile, pairing Asik with Anthony Davis would give New Orleans one of the best defensive frontcourts in the league.
- David Thorpe of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req’d) explains why Andre Iguodala and the Warriors are a great fit. Golden State likes to play fast and loose, which has helped Iguodala get his groove back.
- Todd Ramasar, an NBA agent who has worked for prominent basketball agents Arn Tellem and Bill Duffy, has opened his own shop and is in talks to merge with another basketball agency, writes Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal. You can keep tabs on everyone’s representation with the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Ford’s Latest: Raptors, Kings, Cavs, Bucks
Before fielding questions on the NCAA and the 2014 draft, ESPN.com’s Chad Ford addressed a number of NBA inquiries in his latest chat. Let’s dive in and round up a few of the highlights from ESPN’s draft guru….
- Rival general managers tell Ford that Raptors president Masai Ujiri has been active on the phones. However, Ford has heard “mixed responses” from those GMs on whether Ujiri is looking to blow up his roster or trying to improve in the short term.
- The Kings have “a lot of interest” in Derrick Williams, and could be a logical trade partner for the Timberwolves. Ford cites Chuck Hayes and “Jason Williams” as possible trade candidates, though presumably he means Jason Thompson.
- There are “rumblings” that Dion Waiters has been a source of chemistry issues in the Cavs‘ locker room. Still, even if Cleveland were to shop the second-year guard, Ford isn’t convinced the return would be great.
- In Ford’s view, the Cavs will likely need to make a roster move soon to either attempt a playoff push or a run at another high lottery pick.
- When the Rockets explore Omer Asik trades, they’ll likely be targeting a player such as Ryan Anderson or Ersan Ilyasova. says Ford, adding that both of those guys might be available. Asik may not be the right fit for either the Pelicans or Bucks though, according to Ford, so a third team might have to get involved.
- Even though Bucks owner Herb Kohl is known to be anti-tanking, Ford suggests John Hammond should be sending Kohl video of Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, and Jabari Parker every day until he reconsiders. The insinuation there, of course, is that a poor finish this season will be the Bucks’ best chance to land a star.
Sixers Notes: Holiday Brothers, Silas, Brown
The Sixers slipped below .500 with last night’s loss to the Pelicans, but somehow Philadelphia still leads a woeful Atlantic Division. The team’s 5-6 record is the sixth best in the Eastern Conference, so as we ponder whether the mediocrity of their opponents could allow the Sixers to remain in the playoff hunt all season, here’s the latest from Philly:
- Jrue Holiday doesn’t have hard feelings for his old Sixers teammates, but he told reporters Saturday that it took only a “couple minutes” for him to get over his trade to the Pelicans once he realized who his new teammates would be. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details.
- Holiday’s older brother is drawing interest from an Italian team. Vuelle Pesaro is eyeing Justin Holiday, though no deal is imminent, according to Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia. Justin Holiday played for the Sixers last season and was in camp with the Jazz last month.
- Another shooting guard who had a cup of coffee with the Sixers is also in the mix overseas. Xavier Silas has signed with Maccabi Ashdod in Israel, tweets Sportando contributor David Pick. Silas played a pair of games for Philly at the end of the 2011/12 season and was in camp this fall with the Wizards.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown has brought the player development chops he honed as a Spurs assistant to Philadelphia, observes Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times.
Odds & Ends: Heat, Smith, Akognon, Selby
In today’s mailbag, a reader asks Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel if Rockets big man Omer Asik might be a fit for the Heat. A suggested swap of Udonis Haslem and Joel Anthony for Asik wouldn’t work because Haslem can’t stretch the floor like Houston wants out of their power forward and even though Anthony could be a competent backup for Dwight Howard, the Rockets can do a lot better overall. More Saturday afternoon links from around the Association..
- Knicks coach Mike Woodson made his dissatisfaction with J.R. Smith over his latest Twitter trouble known to everyone, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “Eventually, no team is going to want to deal with you,” said the coach.
- Chinese team Qingdao waived Josh Selby to make room for yesterday’s signing of Josh Akognon, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The former NBA and D-League player lasted just two games in China. Selby came to the Cavs as a part of the three-for-one deal last year that sent Marreese Speights to Cleveland.
- Akognon will make significantly more money with Qingdao than if he had signed with one of the several NBA teams that showed recent interest, writes Shams Charania of RealGM. With Qingdao, Akognon’s season will be complete and have him available to NBA teams by early February. Three NBA teams had been interested in him and would be more inclined to sign him near the trade deadline, a source said.
- The value of Pacers forward Danny Granger next summer hinges largely on what he does this season, but he has yet to get back on the court. Pacers coach Frank Vogel doesn’t sound sure of when the 30-year-old might return. “We know he’s going to be out for a while with his calf,” Vogel said, according to Michael Pointer of the Indianapolis Star. “We want to get him back as soon as possible, but we’re not going to rush it. There’s no need to rush it.”
- David West never seriously considered leaving the Pacers even though many felt that he could have gotten a larger payday than the three-year, $36MM deal he signed with Indiana, writes Moke Hamilton of HoopsWorld.
- In this week’s maibag, a reader proposes to Sam Smith of NBA.com that the Bulls use Luol Deng to pry Eric Gordon from the Pelicans. While New Orleans would like to move one of their ball-handling guards for a small forward, Chicago can’t afford to take on the risk of taking on the Indiana product given his sizable contract and attitude problems.
- Wolves forward Corey Brewer had nothing but positive things to say about Denver after facing his former Nuggets teammates, writes Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. Brewer signed a three-year, $14.1MM deal with Minnesota this summer.
Rockets Have Sought Omer Asik Trade
5:38pm: Wojnarowski clarifies that the Rockets have discussed possible Asik trades with teams over the past few months, but those talks aren’t necessarily active (Twitter link).
5:17pm: The Rockets have asked for an “impact player” in return for Omer Asik in trade talks with multiple teams, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. That’s in spite of a report last night indicating that Houston had denied Asik’s trade request.
Teams have deemed GM Daryl Morey‘s asking price too high so far, Wojnarowski writes. The GM would prefer to acquire a frontline player who can help the team compete for a championship this year, but if he can’t find someone like that for Asik, he’d like to get a largely unprotected 2014 first-round pick. The Rockets were in talks with the Wizards before they traded for Marcin Gortat last month, but Morey was unwilling to take back Emeka Okafor, as the Suns did.
Morey and Andy Miller, the agent for Asik, have been regularly discussing how the Rockets can offload the 7-footer, as Wojnarowski reports. Asik’s camp this week reiterated the trade request they originally made back in July, when the Rockets were closing in on signing Dwight Howard. A rumor around that time suggested the Rockets might trade Asik for Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson, but New Orleans never showed much interest, and Wojnarowski hears the Rockets have been unwilling to get the Pelicans to reconsider.
Just as Woj’s report surfaced, the Pelicans announced center Greg Stiemsma will be out six to eight weeks with a left knee injury that he suffered Tuesday. Perhaps his absence will prompt GM Dell Demps to listen more closely to what Morey has to offer, though that’s just my speculation. It’s unlikely that any deal will take place before December 15th, when players who signed this past offseason may be included in deals, Wojnarowski points out.
Odds & Ends: Asik, Carmelo, Garrett
During tonight’s game between the Knicks and Rockets, Kevin McHale opted to start Terrence Jones at power forward and made second-year man Greg Smith as the first big man to come off the bench. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle says that although you could read into Omer Asik‘s trade request as a reason for him not playing much, he underscores that it’s more about how McHale has been unhappy with Asik’s play as of late (Twitter links). While it’s anyone’s guess at this point, I don’t think it would be too far-fetched to argue that Houston would look to get a deal sooner rather than later in order to avoid the situation turning into a possible major distraction for the team.
Here’s more of tonight’s miscellaneous news and notes from around the league:
- Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated thinks that two trade calls the Rockets should make regarding Asik would be for the Pelicans’ Ryan Anderson or Thaddeus Young of the 76ers (Twitter link).
- ESPN’s Chris Broussard turned to four long-time executives – two from the Eastern Conference, two from the West – to weigh-in on Carmelo Anthony‘s current standing in the NBA (Insiders only).
- Nate Gagon of the Deseret News ponders what the future holds for recent Jazz addition Diante Garrett and whether or not he’ll follow the same path as Sundiata Gaines, whose career in Utah was short-lived after a promising start.
- HoopsHype presents a slideshow of the top 100 free agents of 2014.
- Michael Pointer of IndyStar.com discusses why not much can be concluded yet from the Pacers’ 8-0 start.
Odds & Ends: Wizards, Pelicans, Nash
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis has said he expects his club to be a “playoff-caliber team” this year, but today he backtracked from the notion that the Wizards face an ultimatum of making the postseason, observes Joseph White of The Associated Press.
“Playoffs or bust, what does that mean?” Leonsis said in an interview that also touched on his ownership of the NHL’s Capitals. “Shut the team down if we don’t make the playoffs for the Wizards? We would certainly, if we don’t make the playoffs, for both teams we would do our due diligence in a more hypersensitive manner, right? Because we didn’t meet our expectations. But the team’s not going bust. The fan base isn’t going bust. It would just heighten the scrutiny that we have to do.”
The Wizards, with GM Ernie Grunfeld and coach Randy Wittman on expiring contracts, fell to 2-5 with tonight’s loss to the Mavericks. Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Pelicans coach Monty Williams said the team had been considering signing Josh Childress and Louis Amundson for weeks, but he called their additions today “nothing to write home about” and said “we’re just taking a look” at the veterans, notes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter link).
- Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni rolled his eyes at the suggestion that Steve Nash should retire, according to Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, and Marc Stein of ESPN.com points to Nash’s determination to overcome his injury and continue playing.
- The Knicks plan to send Chris Smith to their D-League affiliate once the season starts next week, as Marc Berman of the New York Post writes within a piece highlighting the Knicks’ woes.
- Kevin Martin‘s shooting has been a boon for the Wolves, and the free agent pickup feels he’s benefited just as much from his pairing with Kevin Love, as Bruce Brothers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press observes. “After playing with Kevin (Durant) and Russell (Westbrook), guys that can score 30 in their sleep, I wouldn’t go to another team without a superstar,” Martin said. “That’s what I have in Kevin Love.”
- RealGM’s Andrew Perna examines the learning curve for Bucks first-round pick Giannis Antetokounmpo, still just 18 years old and adjusting to life outside of his native Greece.
Western Notes: Pelicans, Warriors, Kings, Garrett
There are only four games on the NBA slate tonight, but Western Conference teams provided plenty of excitement off the court. The Pelicans waived Lance Thomas and Arinze Onuaku so they could bring aboard veterans Louis Amundson and Josh Childress. The Jazz went the opposite direction, dumping vet Jamaal Tinsley as they eye a younger replacement. The Timberwolves are reportedly shopping a pair of players while the Lakers are considering a point guard search. We have more on a couple of those story lines as we check the latest from the West:
- Pelicans coach Monty Williams says the team has been thinking about making today’s roster moves for the past few weeks, but Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune chastises GM Dell Demps for acting out of apparent desperation to win immediately.
- The latest plan for the Warriors‘ new San Francisco arena is reduced in scale, but it’s still likely to face an uphill battle against local political opponents, as John Coté of the San Francisco Chronicle details.
- For all the excitement surrounding the new ownership, GM and coach in Sacramento, the Kings are just 1-5 to start the season, and coach Michael Malone acknowledges the team’s losing habits will be tough to shake, observes Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee.
- It’s unclear whether Diante Garrett has a job with the Jazz virtually sewn up or if he’ll have to be especially impressive when he auditions, but we might have our answer soon, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports tweets that Garrett’s workout is set for Wednesday.