The Houston Rockets' self-imposed Dec. 19 deadline to trade Omer Asik is approaching. With the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers and a "wildcard" team all mentioned as possible suitors for Asik, below are the potential trade scenarios involving each team.
What's known: Houston prefers a first-round draft pick for Asik and any trade will likely include three teams (via ESPN).
Philadelphia 76ers:
Philadelphia is believed to be the most probable landing spot for Asik, according to ESPN. 76ers center Spencer Hawes is mentioned as the Philly player Houston would prefer to acquire because of his expiring contract and ability to produce offense.
76ers forward Thaddeus Young has also been mentioned, but the Rockets are more hesitant to pick up Young's contract, which expires after his $9.97 million player option in 2015-16. Because Rockets forward Chandler Parsons becomes a free agent in 2015, the Rockets would want a third team to pick up Young's contract to maintain cap space for re-signing Parsons.
Boston Celtics:
The Celtics, who have draft picks to spare, are the latest suitors for Asik and are believed to be the 76ers' biggest competition. Houston believes Brandon Bass would complement Dwight Howard's skill set, and Bass's contract expires after the 2014-15 season, leaving room to re-sign Parsons.
Jeff Green was also mentioned by ESPN as a possibility in the trade, although, like with Young, Houston would want a third party involved to take over Green's contract, which has two more seasons on it.
Atlanta Hawks:
The Hawks are believed to be Houston's ideal trade partner because of forward Paul Millsap. Houston has reached out to Atlanta, but the Hawks are "lukewarm" to acquiring Asik because of the $15 million that he's due next season, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Anderson Varejao was linked earlier this week to an Asik trade, although the Cavaliers reportedly aren't interested in acquiring the 7-footer. At this point, Cleveland is thought to be the third team in any deal involving Asik.
"One possible scenario that has emerged, sources say, is a three-way trade in which Boston lands Asik, Cleveland absorbs the contract of Celtics forward Jeff Green and Houston scores no fewer than one of the future first-round picks it covers for surrendering Asik," ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Stein wrote.
ESPN cites Cleveland's desire to upgrade at the 3-spot as the team's motivation to become involved in the trade.
Wildcard Team:
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported on Tuesday that a "wildcard" team is "on the edge of negotiations and could become more seriously involved" before the Rockets' Dec. 19 deadline to trade Asik.
