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Omer Asik

Odds & Ends: Durant, ‘Melo, Rockets

January 30th, 2014 at 5:39pm CST by Ryan Raroque

There are plenty of things to look forward to tonight in the NBA, including the announcement of the All-Star game reserves as well as the follow-up showdown between the Warriors and Clippers, whose Christmas Day match-up gave us a taste of how intriguing the playoff atmosphere in the Western Conference could be come April. Shortly after the 105-103 loss, Clippers forward Blake Griffin spoke about being ejected and didn’t seem too happy with Golden State:

“If you look at it, I didn’t do anything and I got thrown out of the game. It all boils down to they (referees) fell for it…To me, it’s cowardly basketball. I don’t know their intentions, but it worked…If I knew the answer I’d probably be in a different position. Tonight I got two technicals for nothing.”

Although Warriors coach Mark Jackson continues to insist that LAC-GSW isn’t a rivalry, Matt Moore of CBS Sports provides the evidence which suggests otherwise. In the meantime, here are some links to pass along from around the Association this afternoon:

  • Kevin Durant‘s decision this summer to sign with Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports agency came from a desire to enhance his off-court marketing, and it had nothing to do with his feelings about Oklahoma City, sources tell Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
  • An agent with ties to the Knicks tells Bleacher Report’s Jared Zwerling that he thinks Carmelo Anthony is “too Hollywood” to choose the Bulls in free agency and prefers New York or Los Angeles instead.
  • Some executives around the league were put off by the public negotiating the Rockets did when Omer Asik was on the block, and other front-office types were annoyed with Houston’s boasts after the Dwight Howard signing, as Zwerling reports in the same piece.
  • The Bulls would be “ecstatic” if Nikola Mirotic signed this summer for the mid-level exception, tweets Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. He’s almost certainly referring to the non-taxpayer’s mid-level, which would allow for a starting salary of $5.305MM.
  • Marco Belinelli says the Bulls didn’t make an offer to re-sign him this past summer, and he finds that surprising, as Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com observes. The Bulls chose to sign Mike Dunleavy instead, reportedly because they felt he was a better fit with Derrick Rose.
  • Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays a report from El Mundo Deportivo that China and Russia have decided to withdraw their bids from the FIFA World Cup Wild Card. Ryan Wosltat of the Toronto Sun (via Twitter) says that with those two teams out of the picture and Brazil, Greece, and Turkey locks for the tournament, then Canada should have a shot to make it as well.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post. 

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Rockets GM On Asik, Parsons, Motiejunas, Trades

January 26th, 2014 at 9:35am CST by Jonathan Nehring

Rockets GM Daryl Morey participated in a Q&A session with Houston season-ticket holders before Friday night’s game. Ben DuBose of ClutchFans.net combined Morey’s discussion that Miguel Nistal tweeted while attending the event. Below you can find some of Morey’s more notable responses. 

On Omer Asik and his contract:

“At this point, Omer is very likely going to be here until the end of his contract at the end of next season, not this season. The window to trade him was [in December], and teams weren’t aggressive enough to get him, so we’re excited about him being a part of our future.”

On the upcoming free agency of Chandler Parsons:

“With Chandler, we have an interesting decision. At the end of this year, we can turn down his option. People wonder why, because it’s so cheap, but then he’d be a restricted free agent. Or he can go through his fourth year and be an unrestricted free agent. There are advantages to each, so it’s something we’ll continue to talk about. He’s going to make a lot of money on his next contract. We don’t know how much. But we’re committed to keeping him.”

Reflecting on his worst moves as Houston’s GM: 

“I take some sort of pride that you could argue that Royce White is the worst first-round pick ever. He’s the only one that never played a minute in the NBA that wasn’t just a foreign guy staying in Europe. It just shows we swing for the fence.”

On inquiries about Donatas Motiejunas after he requested the Rockets trade him:

“Teams are opportunistic. Any player that other teams like and think is good and that’s not playing, generally that’s who you get calls on. We’ve gotten a lot of calls on Donatas because he’s a mobile 7-footer with offensive skill. He’s not a perfect player, but because he wasn’t playing, teams are like ‘Maybe we can get him on the cheap’.We believe in him. I expect him to be here. The reality is, it’s very hard to get a 7-footer who can play as well as him on a $1 million contract.”

On the upcoming trade deadline:

“The reality is, the more you prescribe what you’re going to do at the deadline, the worse off you are. “If you say you’ve got to go with X, if other teams sense you’re locked into a player or a particular direction, they take advantage of that. We’re very opportunistic. We didn’t know James Harden was going to be available. We just knew we wanted to build up the right sets so that when the next star acts, we’re ready to pounce.

“We’re valuing now and this season much higher than we have in the past. We feel like, while maybe not the favorite, we have a legit chance to win the title this year. So if an opportunity presents itself to get a lot better this year, we’ll do it. We’ll give up some future for now.

“That said, we do feel like we have a long run with this group. But you never know how long. It’s a balancing act. You’re always judging future vs. now, and what we’re optimizing on is the probability of us to win the title over a 3-to-4 year window. We’re trying to maximize that.

“We’ll push down the future if it pushes up today high enough. If we can push up the future dramatically, we’d even push down today a little bit.”

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Rockets Likely To Keep Asik, Lin Through Season

January 14th, 2014 at 11:53am CST by Chuck Myron

Omer Asik was the hottest trade candidate in the NBA a month ago, but it doesn’t sound like that will be the case again in advance of the trade deadline. It’s likely he and Jeremy Lin will finish the season on the Rockets, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News, who hears that the market for them is becoming increasingly worse.

Both are due balloon payments worth nearly $15MM next season, though they’re only seeing about $5MM this year. With each paycheck the Rockets issue Asik and Lin, their trade value slips, since part of the rationale for other teams who would absorb next year’s increased costs had been this year’s bargain prices, as Deveney explains.

Their cap hits are close to $8.4MM each this season and next, but that doesn’t reflect the actual payments they’re receiving because Houston signed them via the Gilbert Arenas Provision, as I pointed out last month in examining the way Asik’s contract affected his trade value.

“It is a tough sell to bring something like that to your owner,” an executive from a rival team told Deveney. “You have got to tell him, ‘We’re getting a pretty good player, an $8MM player. Oh, but we have to pay him $15 million. We will be giving him LeBron (James) money. That’s OK, right?’ That’s not really a conversation you want to have.”

It’s still possible that the Rockets could find a deep-pocketed team willing to trade for Asik, but Houston probably isn’t as motivated to find a new home for Lin, who’s having the best shooting year of his career, Deveney notes.

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Pacific Rumors: Suns, Frye, Clippers, Bynum

January 10th, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

Here’s the latest on two of the three Pacific teams currently in playoff positions, the Suns and Clippers:

  • In a piece on Eric Bledsoe‘s injury, Grantland’s Zach Lowe examines whether it makes sense for the 21-13 Suns to try to “re-tank.” Lowe offers up a few potential destinations for Goran Dragic, if Phoenix wants to trade him, but suggests that he’d rather see the team stay on its current path, perhaps adding a solid point guard behind Dragic.
  • Lowe also reports that the Suns were prepared to use Channing Frye as a trade chip in three-team trade scenarios involving Omer Asik when the Rockets were actively looking to move the big man. Phoenix wouldn’t have been the club acquiring Asik in those hypothetical deals.
  • The Clippers have frequently been mentioned as one of Andrew Bynum‘s preferred destinations, but reports have indicated that L.A. is lukewarm on the former All-Star center. According to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter), the Clips have gone “back and forth” on Bynum, but have had a few more internal discussions recently and have some interest. The club currently has no open roster spots, but two players are on 10-day deals, so there could be a pair of openings soon.
  • Ricky Davis was last seen in the NBA with the Clippers, and even as L.A. searches for backcourt help, a reunion is not too likely. Still, speaking to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report, Davis, who is currently averaging 14.1 PPG for the D-League’s Erie BayHawks, says he’d love one more shot at the NBA: “It could be one game. It could be 20 minutes. It could be a 10-day contract. It just lets me know that guys are watching and guys do see that I can still play the game. However long it is, just as long as they know I can play.”
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Berger On Lakers, Love, Spurs, Bulls, Miller

January 10th, 2014 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

Last month, we heard that the Nets and Rockets discussed the idea of a trade that would have sent Deron Williams to Houston and Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to Brooklyn. While it’s not clear how serious those talks were, or if they still had any legs at all, they’re probably “dead for good” after D-Will underwent multiple injections in his ankles, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. Berger’s latest piece includes several other trade tidbits from around the NBA, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

  • The Lakers are seeking an athletic power forward that would fit Mike D’Antoni‘s system, but league sources tell Berger that it’s unrealistic for the team to expect to land an impact player for Pau Gasol, whose trade value has “plummeted.”
  • Rival execs are also skeptical that the Lakers would take on any long-term salary. One Eastern Conference exec even tells Berger that “everyone knows” Kevin Love wants to sign with L.A. in 2015, so if the Lakers believe they have a shot at the star forward, it’s unlikely they’d tie up their ’15 cap space and compromise their chances.
  • Arn Tellem of Wasserman Media Group continues to work hard to try to find deals that would get two of his clients, Asik and Donatas Motiejunas, out of Houston.
  • The Spurs have been “unusually aggressive” in pursuing roster upgrades via trades this season, which signals to rival executives that the team recognizes its window may be closing.
  • As anticipated, J.R. Smith has generated “zero” trade interest, says Berger.
  • The Bulls are receiving interest in guards Kirk Hinrich and Mike Dunleavy, according to Berger, who reiterates that the Warriors are eyeing Hinrich and the Rockets like Dunleavy.
  • The Nuggets‘ talks with the Kings about Andre Miller have not gained any further traction, writes Berger. Meanwhile, Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities says (via Twitter) that Denver coach Brian Shaw wants the club to land a skilled big man in any Miller deal.
  • Team executives around the league are encouraged by a growing perception that new commissioner Adam Silver will be more open-minded than David Stern. Among the ideas gaining traction among front offices that could be considered by Silver: A 16-team playoff bracket that includes the league’s 16 best teams, not sorted by conference.
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Rockets To Target Mike Dunleavy?

January 8th, 2014 at 11:23pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Rockets have interest in acquiring Bulls forward Mike Dunleavy, reveals USA Today’s Sam Amick. According to Amick, Houston GM Daryl Morey is interested in pushing his team to the elite level, and he believes acquiring Dunleavy will help bolster the team’s depth off the bench and provide relief for star guard James Harden.

Dunleavy is earning a modest $6MM over the next two seasons and is held in high regard by the Bulls front office, so it’ll be difficult to pry the three point specialist away from Chicago GM Gar Forman. Amick hears that the Rockets have yet to inquire about a possible deal, but apparently Dunleavy is “high on their wishlist.” So far this season, Dunleavy has averaged 10.7 points per night in 28.7 minutes.

Amick also hears the Rockets are likely to keep Omer Asik past the trade deadline. Earlier this season, Houston set a self-imposed deadline to move the disgruntled center by December 19th. The Rockets couldn’t find a way to put together a deal to their liking with another club, and they eventually wound up retaining him. However, Amick says this deal is unrelated to any potential Asik moves. Instead, the desire to acquire the veteran forward proves that Morey wants to push his team to the next level, and apparently he sees a potential Dunleavy acquisition as the first step in doing so.

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Berger On Asik, Lakers, Clippers, Lowry

January 3rd, 2014 at 3:12pm CST by Zachary Links

Word is the Rockets now expect to keep center Omer Asik past next month’s deadline and beyond, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.  Houston worked hard to find a deal last month but the market for the big man right now isn’t so great.  “Teams that are tanking don’t want him to make them better and winning teams want to steal him,” one rival GM said.  On top of that, the teams with room in 2015 can sign him anyway as a free agent on a more reasonable contract.  More from Berger’s column..

  • For now, the Lakers intend to keep Pau Gasol and ride it out with the current group.  In fact, league sources say the Lakers even inquired on Raptors guard Kyle Lowry to help patch up at the one spot, though the talks didn’t go anywhere.  Things could change, however, as the temptation to dump salary and avert a date with the dreaded repeater tax will remain given their current position
  • Doc Rivers is realizing the Clippers‘ roster has more holes than he initially thought and league sources say he’s is looking for frontcourt help on the trade market.  It would help matters if they still had Eric Bledsoe to dangle but he went in the three-team deal that yielded J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley.
  • Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are also after frontcourt help in the form of an athletic rim protector.
  • League sources say the pairing of Bledsoe and Goran Dragic in the Suns backcourt isn’t expected to be a long-term solution for the Suns.  Execs believe Dragic will opt out of his contract following the 2014/15 season, putting pressure on GM Ryan McDonough to make a trade.  Jazz standout Gordon Hayward has put his team in a similar spot as his price may prove too high for Utah when he hits restricted free agency this summer.
  • The Cavaliers and Kings have been among the most aggressive teams in pursuit of trades, league sources say.  On the heels of acquiring Rudy Gay from Toronto, the Kings are “swinging for the fences” on the trade market, one rival executive said.  Sacramento wants to shore up the point guard position, but Kings GM Pete D’Alessandro‘s true long-term target is said to be Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
  • In addition to the Lakers, Knicks, and Nets, the Timberwolves, Warriors, and Celtics are among the teams that have inquired about a deal with the Raptors for Lowry, league sources say.  Raptors GM Masai Ujiri is said to have multiple deals he could do for Lowry that would involve receiving an expiring contract in return or slotting him into another team’s trade exception.  For Toronto take on future salary, they’d probably demand a first-round draft choice.
  • The reception to the proposed “wheel system” to determine NBA draft placement has been mixed.  Meanwhile, it has sparked other ideas, including a straight lottery with all 14 non-playoff teams getting an equal shot at the No. 1 pick.
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Southwest Links: Asik, Lin, Spurs, Evans

December 23rd, 2013 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

Let’s round up a few of Monday’s notes out of the Southwest Division….

  • Following up on a weekend report, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (Twitter link) confirms that the Rockets and Nets discussed Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin, and Deron Williams. However, a source tells Beck that nothing came of the talks, which appear to be dead.
  • In a piece for SBNation.com, Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com argues that the Rockets‘ leverage in Asik trade talks could actually improve as the trade deadline approaches, as rival teams feel more pressure to make a move. Deeks also points out that keeping Asik and giving him minutes that may otherwise have gone to Greg Smith will help keep Smith’s value down as he approaches restricted free agency, which should help the Rockets keep him.
  • The Spurs have recalled Malcolm Thomas and Nando De Colo from the D-League, according to a press release from the team. Thomas and De Colo appeared in just one game during their stint with Austin, combining for 53 points to help the Toros blow out the Delaware 87ers on Saturday.
  • Although he’s a Pelican now, Tyreke Evans keeps an eye on his old team, and tells Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee that he was happy to see the Kings remain in Sacramento “after all the uncertainty.”
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Spears’ Latest: Asik, Raptors, Afflalo, Young

December 23rd, 2013 at 8:41am CST by Luke Adams

As usual, Marc Spears’ power rankings for Yahoo! Sports include some noteworthy tidbits on trade possibilities for a handful of clubs. Let’s check in on the latest from Spears….

  • Even after the Rockets let their self-imposed December 19th deadline pass without moving Omer Asik, the Celtics continue to have discussions about acquiring the big man, according to Spears. With Houston’s unofficial deadline in the rear-view mirror, there’s no rush for the team to make a move, since the actual trade deadline is nearly two months away.
  • After sending Rudy Gay and two other players to Sacramento, the Raptors aren’t done making deals, a source tells Spears. Kyle Lowry continues to be the most logical trade candidate on the roster.
  • NBA teams continue to ask the Magic about Arron Afflalo‘s availability, but Orlando continues to turn away potential suitors, telling clubs that Afflalo is not on the trade block.
  • While Thaddeus Young denied last week that he has asked the Sixers to trade him, the veteran forward remains a candidate to be moved, says Spears.
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Central Notes: Pacers, Varejao, Deng

December 22nd, 2013 at 12:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers aren’t looking for Danny Granger trades, but they wouldn’t be averse to such a move if they came across the right deal, as we passed along yesterday. Team president Larry Bird can envision re-signing both Granger and Lance Stephenson in free agency this summer, as Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star noted in his piece, but that could be a tight squeeze unless owner Herb Simon relents on his no-tax pledge, a change of heart Bird seems to hope for. Here’s more on the teams looking up at the first-place Pacers in the Central Division standings:

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