Last week news broke that the Houston Rockets were planning to trade center Omer Asik by December 19th. Tonight, ESPN’s Marc Stein provided an update, suggesting that the Rockets already have a deal in place, but may hold out until the 19th to see if anybody can top it.
Latest rumbles from the Omer Asik trade front via Stein Line Live: http://t.co/Cuk5jTlSdq
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 16, 2013
For those wondering why the Rockets have placed a hard stop on this coming Thursday to deal Asik, USAToday’s Sam Amick explains that,”Thursday is the last day on which teams can acquire players who could be traded in later deals before the deadline.”
Asik is a coveted player around the league. He is an elite rim protector and has enough skill offensively to stay on the floor in crunch time. It’s rare to find such a skilled seven footer in this league. Stein believes that the situation currently stands:
While strong rumbles persist that the Sixers are the team most likely to go along with such an arrangement, given the close ties between Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and Philly counterpart Sam Hinkie, there’s fresh talk in circulation about another potential co-conspirator.
The Boston Celtics.
The advice offered us Sunday was stern: Keep an eye on Boston. The Celtics possess two players in different salary ranges that would presumably fit in useful ways next to Dwight Howard: Jeff Green and Brandon Bass. The Celts also have a spare first-round draft pick or two to plug into any trade equation to sweeten the deal for Houston, amid rising suspicions around the league that Morey’s Rockets are going to find a way to come out of the Asik saga with at least one future first.
The same Rockets who happen to have a GM (Morey) and coach (Kevin McHale) who have longstanding relationships with Celts president Danny Ainge.
So, yes, I’d say you should keep an eye on Boston.
Jeff Green or Thaddeus Young would both be great additions for Houston on paper. Both players, who can play either the three or four, are posting similar numbers this season. Young is averaging 16 points and nearly seven rebounds a game this season while Green is averaging 17 points and just under five rebounds per game. They are both shooting over 35 percent from three-point range, with Green shooting an excellent — and slightly higher — 41 percent.
It should also be noted that, according to Stein, the Cleveland Cavaliers — who were thought to be a contender for Asik while dangling Anderson Varejao — would likely only be involved as a facilitator in a three-team trade.
This would match reports from Rockets beat writer Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, who Stein mentions:
Jonathan Feigen, longtime Rockets beat writer from the Houston Chronicle, quoted a “person with knowledge of the Rockets’ thinking” earlier Sunday saying that the Dec. 19 deadline was set in part because Morey indeed already has an offer he knows he’s willing to take. The source told Feigen: “It very likely will be a pretty complicated, three-way deal. There are a lot of moving parts.”
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Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.