There's like 10 quality centers in the NBA. I would think that if the Rockets do decide they want to trade Asik I don't think they'll have any trouble finding a team willing to trade a good player for him. What I don't understand is why nobody is talking about doing a twin towers sort of thing. Last off-season the dream of getting Linsanity, Harden and Asik was that you'd have a super high scoring back court and a mostly defensive front court. Does Dwight's existence change the scheme that much? What's so wrong with a Lin, Harden, Parsons, Asik and Dwight lineup?
Since neither have a jumper there aren't any driving lanes for Harden or Lin AND neither can work in the post effectively because whichever one isn't in the past is having his man leave to double the other. They can't be on the court at the same time on offense at all.
I honestly think that some teams (or at least owners) aren't sure they want to pay 10M a year to Asik (5 and 15) and give up anything quality. From Houston's vantage point Lopez for 10M for the next two years playing 15 mpg might be better than Asik for 20M playing 15mpg. I know it sounds crazy but it sure seems like Lopez and a future first (2015) could possibly get it done. Meyers right now should for sure if you're Houston, with his jumper you could pair him with Dwight on the floor. However, we can't absorb the contract of Asik so there's that.
I actually really hope Morley keeps asik. His value will drop dramatically and they will lose some games. Then we can showcase our awesome pick-ups and trade him before the all star break.
To answer your question, some people ARE talking about it. In fact, I'm pretty sure Morey himself talked about it in a radio interview in which he surprisingly and emphatically stated that "twin towers" lineups would not be in the plans. He went onto say, however, that he had no interest in trading Asik because the 10-15 minutes of stud defense Asik offers in backup minutes will be more valuable to the team than what Asik could command in a trade. I think the most obvious way to look at this is as an attempt to keep Asik's trade value as high as possible. Asik's reported trade demands came AFTER this radio interview (the interview came when Howard to Houston was still a mere possibility). The fact that Morey himself doesn't value a twin towers lineup, and the fact that Asik is mad, points to a trade before the deadline in my opinion. But yeah. They should be able to get quite a bit for him, putting the Rockets in an enviable position if they can convince the league they aren't accepting pennies on the dollar. A stud defensive center who himself falls short of all-star level talent might be able to get a star-level wing or shooter in return.
So how does the 15 million he is due in 14-15 work? So for salary cap purposes they take an average? But what about actual payment. Was it back loaded?
For actual payment, it's 15M, as in he'll get paychecks that will amount to a total of 15M in 2014-15. For cap hit for the team, it's 8.3M.
I would think that would bring his trade value down a little. No wonder the Lakers wanted no part of him in a sign and trade.
