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The last week or so of trade rumors has been quite the whirlwind. The Rockets are going to trade Omer Asik at some point today or tomorrow, but he could be headed anywhere from Boston, Philadelphia, Charlotte, or Atlanta. At some point in the last week, each of those destinations was seen as likely. Now, Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the Boston Celtics have jumped into the lead of those negotiations and are offering a first round pick in return.
Here's what Woj had to say:
The Boston Celtics are gaining traction in talks to acquire Houston center Omer Asik, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 18, 2013
Serious talks on Boston-Houston package for Asik have included Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and a 1st round pick, sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 18, 2013
If such a package were to come together, it is unclear if Lee would go to Rockets or be routed to a third team.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 18, 2013
What he is reporting isn't anything that deviates from the narrative emerging since last night, but his reports seem to give some indication that the Celtics are heavily favored to get this deal across the finish line. Boston is obviously interested, and they have the draft picks to make it happen.
The Celtics have extra draft picks from the Nets and the Clippers, and with so many excess picks in hand, it makes sense that they would make a deal surrounding at least one pick. But is that enough to convince the Rockets to give up Omer Asik?
Wojnarowski notes that it isn't clear whether Lee will be routed to another team if a deal goes down, but I would expect any deal that includes Lee to be a three-way as Morey wants no part of that contract. Brandon Bass is a solid power forward, but he's not a backup center at just 6'8". If the Rockets were to land him, it would help solidify a front court that has looked weaker in recent days without Asik, but he is not going to solve their problems behind Dwight Howard.
Finally, we come to the draft pick. The Rockets would be making this deal for the draft pick, but the value of the pick depends a lot on which pick it is. If the pick is the Nets or Celtics pick this year, the Rockets can expect it to fall in the mid-teens. That is good value, but I'm not sure it's enough to get a deal done.
I suspect we will find out more as the day goes along, so stick here at The Dream Shake for all you need to know about the developing story.
