Even though they won’t rule out trades after landing Dwight Howard, the Rockets are now open to keeping both Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin, league sources tell Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (via Twitter). As it stands, the Rockets have no deals in place and no plans in place, one source tells Berger (Twitter link).
Asik and Lin, who earn a combined $16.7MM next season, have popped up in trade talk as the Rockets were reportedly looking into revamping the roster around their prized acquisition. Last night, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com heard that the two sides were discussing a sign and trade for Hawks forward Josh Smith involving the duo. While that was later disputed by a second report, the Rockets’ past interest in Smith is well-documented and those two would undoubtedly need to be involved in such a deal.
Just last year, the former Bulls big man and Knicks’ guard were the talk of Houston as the Rockets landed both players with heavily backloaded deals. They’re in the team’s plans, for now, but that could change if GM Daryl Morey sees an opportunity to pair Howard and James Harden with a third superstar.