Asik is a top ten center and I wouldn't laugh at someone who valued him as a top five center in the NBA.
Slot him in there for me- where do you see him?
1. Howard
2. Hibbert
3. Chandler
4. M. Gasol
5. Noah
6. B. Lopez
7. Horford
8. Bosh
9. Drummond
10. Bogut
11. Vucevic
12. Jefferson
13. Pekovic
14. P. Gasol
15. Jordan
16. Splitter
17. Hawes
18. Varejao
19. Hill
20. Koufos
21. Valenciunas
22. McGee
...?
I put him around Drummond right now and next season, based solely on actual performance and not upside. (I'm not sold on Drummond, but that's an entirely different thread). I don't think there is a center who is clearly a better rebounder than Asik. I can see making a case that there is no center who is clearly a better defender.
I think Asik's offense is better than Jefferson's defense and Asik's defense is better than Jefferson's offense, so I think he should be above Jefferson. if you criticize Asik for being a one-way player, then you should be critical of Jefferson for being a one-way, offense-only defensive liability.
Asik's been a durable guy, so that would have me place him over guys like Bogut or Bynum, who might be better players when healthy but are huge question marks as to how healthy they will be. We'll see how Chandler returns from injury.
I could accept someone ranking only Howard, Hibbert, Gasol, and Lopez ahead of Asik, discounting Chandler and Noah due to health and claiming that Horford and Bosh are really PFs. Not saying I would rank them that way, just that I wouldn't think it crazy if someone else did. I have way more respect for the opinion of someone who would say that about Asik than for the opinion of someone who thinks that Asik is just a backup who shouldn't be starting in the NBA.