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Last summer, after Dwight Howard agreed to sign with the Rockets, rumors immediately surfaced that Omer Asik was unhappy and would seek a trade out of Houston. The rumors were strong and immediate, indicating that they came directly from his agent. Now, some five months later as Asik is stuck in a bench role with the Rockets and has not been traded, he has fired his agent and hired Arn Tellem, one of the most aggressive agents in the NBA.
Asik is obviously unhappy with the fact that despite a pair of trade requests, he remains in Houston, and this move only solidifies that fact. Tellem is one of the most powerful agents in the league, and he likely holds more sway than Andy Miller, Asik's former agent. Tellem also represents veterans such as Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Joe Johnson, Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez, LaMarcus Aldridge and Al Horford, as well as Rockets players Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones.
At the end of the day, this doesn't change much as Asik would likely have been traded whether he switched agents or not, but Tellem will try to leverage the Rockets into making a move sooner rather than later. Whether he can be successful remains up for debate.
