Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey reportedly ended all trade discussions for disgruntled center Omer Asik. Morey reneged on his self-imposed trade deadline of Dec. 19 to find a better deal than what the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers offered, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports.
"Houston has ended talks on an Omer Asik trade and plan to keep him for now, (one) league source tells Yahoo Sports," Wojnarowski tweeted on Thursday. "Houston has found too many teams leery of Asik's contract next season, and hasn't found a deal it wants. ...
"Houston GM Daryl Morey has also informed Asik's agent, Am Tellem, that he's ended talks about a trade for his client, source tells Yahoo. Houston needs more time to find a deal. Rockets weren't dealing from a place of leverage, and rest of league knew it."
Morey had originally intended to trade Asik between Dec. 15 and Dec. 19 with Boston or Philadelphia as the most likely destination. Boston offered Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and a future first-round pick; the deal stalled, according to Wojnarowski, when the two sides were unable to agree on which first round pick Houston would receive.
Philadelphia was believed to be willing to part with a first-round pick and either Spencer Hawes, who Houston preferred, or Thaddeus Young, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
As Wojnarowski indicated, Asik's contract - $5.22 million this season and $14.89 million the next - became an obstacle in negotiations. The Rockets were believed to have structured the drastic pay raise in Asik's deal to deter the Chicago Bulls from matching the Rockets' offer sheet.
Asik, a premier defender, has reportedly requested to be traded on multiple occasions since Houston's acquisition of Dwight Howard in the offseason.
Failing to complete a trade by Dec. 19 doesn't mean Asik is destined to remain in Houston for the entire season. The NBA's trade deadline is on Feb. 21, which gives Morey more time to find a better offer.
