Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin are becoming subjects of NBA trade rumors anew, but analysts believe that the Houston Rockets will likely keep both players for the remainder of the season.
Sporting News reported that it is widely believed that the Rockets will not get what they are looking for in exchange for Asik or Lin. Sources said that the back-loaded contracts of both players are discouraging teams from striking a deal for either player.
Several teams believe that both players are capable of contributing well to any team, but the money they will be getting next season is not worthy of their potential contributions.
Lin and Asik both signed a three-year deal worth $25 million during the summer of 2012, but the contract stipulations were unique.
Under the contract, both players will receive $5 million in each of the first two years and then will get a whopping $15-million paycheck in the final year -- a huge amount that is close to what superstars like LeBron James and Kevin Durant are getting from their respective teams.
A league executive said that the Rockets should have traded both players earlier in the season when several teams have been expressing strong interests in acquiring Asik and Lin.
"It is a tough sell to bring something like that to your owner," one league executive stressed. "You have got to tell him, 'We're getting a pretty good player, an $8 million player. Oh, but we have to pay him $15 million. We will be giving him LeBron James money. That's OK, right?' That's not really a conversation you want to have."
Earlier in the season, teams like the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Milwaukee Bucks inquired about Asik, who has been unhappy in Houston since the Rockets acquired superstar center Dwight Howard during the offseason.
The disgruntled center was almost traded to the Celtics for Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee along with future picks, but the negotiations went down when the Rockets asked for a high future draft pick.
Since then, the Rockets pulled out Asik from the trading block, but the 27-year-old center has yet to play since December. Asik is reportedly bothered by a thigh bruise, but it is widely believed that the Rockets are not playing him due to the Turkish center's desire to be traded before the deadline.
© 2017 Jobs & Hire All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
