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Ever since that fateful day in July when Dwight Howard announced his intent to join the Houston Rockets, one player's future has hung in the balance: Omer Asik. The center, reportedly unhappy with an impending relegation to the bench, asked for a trade. To this day, there have been rumors of a deal, but Marc Stein of ESPN is reporting today that the Rockets are intensifying efforts to trade Asik in order to move him by December 19th.
Those efforts, indicate that the Rockets may not be acquiring players solely for this year's team, but rather in an effort to accumulate assets for another deal. Any players acquired after December 19th can be traded again, but cannot be re-packaged with other players until after the trade deadline.
With the Rockets springing leaks all over the place, a trade could inject much needed depth into a bench that is currently populated exclusively by minimum salary veterans. However, the Rockets also could have an eye for the future as they are reportedly seeking a lottery pick in what will be one of the deepest drafts in recent memory.
When December 15th rolls around and the free agent signings from this year become eligible to be traded, expect to see a flurry of trade rumors. Asik will likely be on the move in that four day period, and God knows Daryl Morey won't be sleeping much. As if he sleeps much right now.
