Asik trade rumors (deal reportedly off)

[droopdog7]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

[Fafnir]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

Rotation player(s) plus a pick for a guy who is only under contract for one more year is tough.

Especially with whom you have little leverage because of his attitude and the depth situation ahead of him (Howard).

Fair value doesn't mean equivalent basketball value if Houston didn't have Howard. It means what teams will give you for him and what value you'll get out of the players who are coming in return. Morey made a fake deadline to try and create a market, other GMs didn't bite. We'll have a do-over in two months stay tuned.

[droopdog7]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

Rotation player(s) plus a pick for a guy who is only under contract for one more year is tough.

Especially with whom you have little leverage because of his attitude and the depth situation ahead of him (Howard).

Fair value doesn't mean equivalent basketball value if Houston didn't have Howard. It means what teams will give you for him and what value you'll get out of the players who are coming in return. Morey made a fake deadline to try and create a market, other GMs didn't bite. We'll have a do-over in two months stay tuned.

While it is true that the rockets are dealing from a bad position because asik wants out, I think you take the idea of fair value too far.  Obviously each team is looking for fit to improve themselves, but you don't ignore value to this degree.  Bass and lee, with their contracts, have close to zero value in my book.  As I have stated, I think DA would gladly give he away for expiring contracts right now.  But I don't think he could get that, nevermind someone like asik.

[nickagneta]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

Rotation player(s) plus a pick for a guy who is only under contract for one more year is tough.

Especially with whom you have little leverage because of his attitude and the depth situation ahead of him (Howard).

Fair value doesn't mean equivalent basketball value if Houston didn't have Howard. It means what teams will give you for him and what value you'll get out of the players who are coming in return. Morey made a fake deadline to try and create a market, other GMs didn't bite. We'll have a do-over in two months stay tuned.

Agree 100% and in the end I am not sure he will get what he is looking for unless a player like Duncan or Aldridge or Bosh goes down for an extended period, thereby necessitating a move to keep the ability to contend for a title alive.

GMs across the league know that Morey has to trade Asik. That alone decreases any return value Morey would receive. Factor in the fact that Asik may not be faking these knee and leg injuries and suddenly Asik's value comes down to about what Ainge was offering.

If this was last year before the Howard signing would Morey be receiving offers this low on a possible top 3-5 defensive center in the league? Of course not. But Morey did sign Howard, Asik did quit on his team over playing time and he does have a $15 million balloon payment for next year and a year later, that all depresses his trade value significantly.

[BballTim]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

  What's fair value for Asik, though? Because whatever that value is, it's dropping over time. If he doesn't get something done at the trade deadline he might have to send out a pick to get someone to take Asik on a $15M 1 year rental for something of a malcontent. One would wonder how smart that would look.

[More Banners]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

  What's fair value for Asik, though? Because whatever that value is, it's dropping over time. If he doesn't get something done at the trade deadline he might have to send out a pick to get someone to take Asik on a $15M 1 year rental for something of a malcontent. One would wonder how smart that would look.

The first round pick with no trash attached is key.

I'd say that both Bass and Lee are making fair-value contracts, and so is Asik, so there's no garbage getting attached in terms of players or contracts.  They're both playoff rotation guys at their positions, and the Rockets can use depth at those positions.  That, plus a 1st, is a nice return, as far as I'm concerned.

I'd say Bass, Lee, and a 1st is a good trade package to offer for Asik, and a lot of other players most likely.

[Evantime34]

I'm nor surprised the Rockets didn't do the deal. It was reported that they wanted to shed salary, this deal would take on more long term salary. I think they do move Asik at the trade deadline for more than they would have gotten from Boston, at that point we will know for sure they made the best decision for their organization.

[More Banners]

I'm nor surprised the Rockets didn't do the deal. It was reported that they wanted to shed salary, this deal would take on more long term salary. I think they do move Asik at the trade deadline for more than they would have gotten from Boston, at that point we will know for sure they made the best decision for their organization.

Jeez, if swapping Bogans for Lee would've gotten it done, I would've bit.  Too many advantages (for everybody) in having a legit big man in the middle.

[CelticG1]

I'm still confused over what better offer Houston thinks they will get even at the deadline even if there are injuries.

Even if a contending team loses an important big, its not like Asik has some long great trackrecord. How much would these teams really be willing to give up? I just ddon't really see it.

I don't see a ton of value in Asik anyway but that's beside the point.

[Chris]

I think Morey's thinking is probably that he doesn't really know what his teams biggest needs are right now.  At the deadline, the needs could be different, and the options could be different, because more players are always available then. 

His thinking in trading Asik now was to try to move him for more flexible parts and currency that would be valued by more teams.

While Asik is a real commodity, he really only holds value to a handful of teams, and most of those teams are contenders, and would therefore not be too willing to part with impact players, which would require complicated three-way trades. 

So, if Morey was able to swap out Asik for more movable pieces, who could also help their team win games, and also get a valuable asset like an unprotected first to then use as the currency rather than Asik, then it made sense.

But, without that valuable asset, it doesn't make much sense, because Asik's value is unlikely to change much before the deadline...it just makes the trade harder to make, because you have to go through just a handful of suitors to make it happen.

[LooseCannon]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

  What's fair value for Asik, though? Because whatever that value is, it's dropping over time. If he doesn't get something done at the trade deadline he might have to send out a pick to get someone to take Asik on a $15M 1 year rental for something of a malcontent. One would wonder how smart that would look.

Some form of non-expiring contracts plus a pick that is unlikely to be in the lottery will always be on the table from Boston until the deadline, unless Ainge finds a center elsewhere.

It makes sense for Morey to wait and hope a desperate team suffers an injury and feels a need to make a move.

[MBunge]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

  What's fair value for Asik, though? Because whatever that value is, it's dropping over time. If he doesn't get something done at the trade deadline he might have to send out a pick to get someone to take Asik on a $15M 1 year rental for something of a malcontent. One would wonder how smart that would look.

Some form of non-expiring contracts plus a pick that is unlikely to be in the lottery will always be on the table from Boston until the deadline, unless Ainge finds a center elsewhere.

It makes sense for Morey to wait and hope a desperate team suffers an injury and feels a need to make a move.

The problem is what possible deal could he ever get better than Ainge's?  Who else out there can both offer something better than Bass, Lee and a 1st rounder AND has the right contract to make the deal work under the cap?  On the other hand, there is a real chance that Boston could either start playing better when Rondo returns, which could make Ainge reconsider his offer.  Or, Boston could start playing worse, which could make Ainge turn his thoughts to the draft and not adding any more salary.  Ainge may not always be willing to offer Bass, Lee and a pick or might only offer a much more protected pick.

Mike

[LooseCannon]

Morey isn't looking for a clear win.  He is looking for fair value.  And thus far, it is not even close.  It seems, it is the celtics who are looking to fleece the rockets.  So far, Houston has not shown itself to be that stupid.

  What's fair value for Asik, though? Because whatever that value is, it's dropping over time. If he doesn't get something done at the trade deadline he might have to send out a pick to get someone to take Asik on a $15M 1 year rental for something of a malcontent. One would wonder how smart that would look.

Some form of non-expiring contracts plus a pick that is unlikely to be in the lottery will always be on the table from Boston until the deadline, unless Ainge finds a center elsewhere.

It makes sense for Morey to wait and hope a desperate team suffers an injury and feels a need to make a move.

The problem is what possible deal could he ever get better than Ainge's?  Who else out there can both offer something better than Bass, Lee and a 1st rounder AND has the right contract to make the deal work under the cap?  On the other hand, there is a real chance that Boston could either start playing better when Rondo returns, which could make Ainge reconsider his offer.  Or, Boston could start playing worse, which could make Ainge turn his thoughts to the draft and not adding any more salary.  Ainge may not always be willing to offer Bass, Lee and a pick or might only offer a much more protected pick.

If a long-suffering team such as Washington, Cleveland, or Charlotte sees a center go down just when they are on the cusp of the playoffs, could those teams offer a better deal?  For example, if Bynum has a season-ending injury in a couple of weeks after the Cavs go on a win streak, what if Cleveland offered Bynum's partially-guaranteed contract, Waiters, and a top-10 protected pick?

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I havent read the entire story. But last time I checked it's pretty much about done except Morey want a 2014 pick, that Danny won't give up?

I dont know if I would take that risk, but I think giving up the Brooklyn/Atlanta pick should have been alright. I understand the talent level the next year's draft would yield, but Asik (if he isnt busy qutting) would help us in a lot more ways than an upcoming rookie picked in the 18-24 range would.

[aporel#18]

If I'm Ainge I'm asking for Motiejunas and the rights to either Llull or Papanikolau to be added to Asik if Morey wants Bass, Lee and the Clippers' pick. That's fair value today. I would still settle for just Motiejunas or one of the stashed players, but just because McHale is a great guy and Morey was part of our front office. We like to help our friends when it's for mutual benefit.

Fair value? There's nothing fair in NBA trades, you can ask Dolan his opinion about trading with Masai... Morey made his bed with those backloaded "genius" contracts to Asik and Lin, and now he's trying to get away without big losses. This is a good way to ease the pressure for him, and a good way to get a a better chance at the title.

The Celtics are in no hurry, time counts against Morey.

EDIT: nbadraft.net has Cauley-Stein on Clipper's spot of their 2015 mockdraft. Still a lot of time and lots of changes, but that shows a late first rounder could be very valuable.