Asik is behind arguably the best center in the league. That's not exactly the same as not being good enough to start on a good team. And if I'm Houston, I just as soon let Asik rot on the bench than trade him for the rumored trade. I'm thinking that is the better option for them.
This whole concept is irrelevant.
Asik is playing behind arguably the best center in the league, but that doesn't mean he's a starting calibre center. Last year Jordan Hill was playing behind Dwight Howard. A couple of years back Keyon Dooling was playing behind Rajon Rondo.
Fact is that Asik is not a clear cut, starting center. He is not on the same level as say, Marcin Gortat, who is a two-way player.
People talk about Asik as being close to Tyson Chandler level - Asik has never had anything close to Chandler's athleticism, nor does he average up around 60% from the field as Chandler has over the past few years.
Also how many teams tid Chandler float around on before he found his niche in Dallas? His defense was a game changer on a Dallas offense that included elite scorer in Dirk Nowitski and some very good support pieces in Jason Terry, JJ Barera, Shawn Marion and Vince Carter. Dallas was a great offensive team, so adding Chandler gave them the defensive anchor they desperately needed to improve their defense and get over the top.
Boston does not have a single elite offensive player. Boston's offense pretty much sucks. Their defense is already very solid. Their rebounding is also already pretty solid. The two areas Asik helps a team are two areas that Boston isn't really desperate for help in. Boston is desperate for scoring, and our offense gets worse by trading Bass and Lee (two of our better offensive palyers) for Asik. It may well demote us to the worst offensive team in the NBA, unless Rondo can come back and take his game to a whole other level in leading this team beyond expectations.
Fact is that it's true - Asik really is a borderline starter. He wasn't good enough to start in Houston beside Dwight Howard, and he wasn't good enough to start in Chicago alongside Noah / above Boozer.
It would not surprise me in the least if both Olynyk and Sullinger are bigger impact players than Asik this time next season...maybe even Faverani.
Asik is good enough to start on a team with lots of offensive firepower and a severe lack of size and post defense - in other words he would be a dead set perfect fit in New York or in Miami. Anywhere that doesn't fit that desciption he'd have to fight for a starting spot and would eventually get it probably only because he is too [dang] expensive to leave sitting on the bench.
Plus he has a terrible attitude. For a 27 year old who has barely proven he is good enough to start, he's already complaining about coming off the bench...while guys like Pierce, Ray Allen and Andre Blatche have accepted and excelled in those roles.
You may be surprised how close in value the Lee + Bass combination is to Asik. Yes Asik is slightly higher than those guys (if he's playing), but add in a 1st round pick and you could easilly argue that Houston is better off after the trade.
Topic: Asik trade rumors (deal reportedly off) (Read 201104 times)