Houston Rockets center Omer Asik is the perfect trade asset for Houston to acquire what it needs: a true power forward. Although centers Asik and Dwight Howard are dominating the glass, Houston's rendition of the "Twin Towers" isn't going to win a championship.
Houston's attempt to replicate the "Twin Towers," the pairing of David Robinson and Tim Duncan in San Antonio, isn't going to work in the long-term. Asik and Howard create an imposing frontcourt, averaging 25.5 rebounds per game, but other areas of Houston's game are suffering because of it.
Asik and Howard can disrupt offenses, but they're slow to get back on fast breaks, which hurts the team.
Playing Asik and Howard, both true centers, at the same time also handicaps the Rockets to three shooters on the floor. Asik isn't a scorer - he has a career average of 5.5 points per game. Howard can score down low, but he hasn't yet - and likely never will - become the kind of prolific scorer that Shaquille O'Neal was in the paint. Having Howard at the 4-spot takes away a scorer who can stretch defenses.
There's no question about Howard's ability on defense, but Howard guarding a true power forward is bound to create favorable matchups for certain opponents; especially if the other team's forward can shoot from outside, which would force Howard out of the paint in man-to-man situations and away from the rim, where he's most productive.
Trading Asik could let the Rockets acquire a true power forward. Houston needs a third scorer, assuming they have a second scorer in Howard. One able to hit outside shots alleviates some of the defensive pressure on James Harden, who teams seem happy to stifle with double teams, and it creates more space down low for Howard to work in.
Asik, 27, is due $5.2 million this season and $14.8 million the next.
