NBA Rumors: Jeremy Lin And Omer Asik To Lakers, Pau Gasol To Rockets?
By Alex Groberman, Wed, November 20, 2013
The Los Angeles Lakers had the option of trading Dwight Howard to the Houston
Rockets when it became apparent that he wasn’t happy with the way things
were going last year. They opted not to. Now the roles have reversed, albeit
in a slightly different way.
Omer Asik is currently playing ten fewer minutes per game because of Howard’
s arrival, and his totals have nosedived this season. The Rockets tried to
convince him over the summer that they could make it work with both him and
Howard in the starting lineup, but obviously they can’t. Reports coming out
of Houston say that all involved have come to terms with the fact that a deal
is inevitable.
According to the Latino Post, the Lakers supposedly have interest in
acquiring Asik. This is a bizarre and somewhat unbelievable rumor, but let’s
start at the beginning. Here is the LP report: “The Los Angeles Lakers
reportedly have the desire to trade for Houston Rockets center Omer Asik,
though the lack of assets they have make them a long shot candidate for the
serviceable big man, a reliable league source disclosed on Tuesday.”
The deal would supposedly involve L.A. shipping Pau Gasol to Houston.
Although the Latino Post story doesn’t mention Lin’s name, it’s pretty
clear that he would have to be involved. The Lakers desperately need a point
guard, and Lin has shined with the Rockets this year.
The problem with this admittedly juicy bit of speculation is that it makes no
sense for anyone. Asik is unhappy in Houston and his minutes are down, sure,
but why would Kevin McHale want to deal with an old, injury prone player like
Gasol? The Rockets are young and have their whole future in front of them –
Gasol is 33 years old and shooting 39 percent this season. He’s a liability
at this point, not an asset.
Along the same lines, why would the Lakers want to tie up money in Lin and
Asik? Sure they need a point guard and a young big, but neither of these guys
would push the franchise any closer to a championship.
Bottom line: Will this deal happen? Probably not.
大意：
湖人需要大個 + 控衛，火箭需要能跟 Howard 配合的長人。
所以雙方有可能這樣換...
火箭 湖人
Jeremy Lin <