NBA Rumors: Houston Rockets making Omer Asik available in pursuit for Dwight Howard

The Houston Rockets are going after Dwight Howard. They think they have a very real chance of prying the all star big man from the Los Angeles Lakers. As a result, some of their other players could be made available. The Rockets had to trade Thomas Robinson to clear cap space for Howard and they did so on Sunday evening. Houston agreed to a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers which sent Robinson away and opened the door for a max deal for Dwight. According to Ken Berger, the Rockets might not be done. Berger reports that the Rockets will make Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik available to trades due to the fact that they believe Howard will be coming to Houston.

Emboldened by their pursuit of free agent Dwight Howard, the Rockets have called several teams and made Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin available in potential trades, league sources told CBSSports.com.

The Cavaliers were interested in Asik before Houston made that big offer for the defensive-minded center. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Cavs try to make a play for Asik in the trade market.

Berger also suggests that the Philadelphia 76ers would be interested in Asik due to the fact that Sam Hinkie was a part of the Houston front office prior to going to Philly. That'd certainly be an interesting mentor to Nerlens Noel...*shudders*

Now, before you ask: I have no idea what it would take to trade for Asik. He would provide a big defensive presence for a Mike Brown defense, but how do you get him? The Cavaliers have tons of future draft picks to throw around, so if Chris Grant wants to make a play for him, he'll have the assets at his disposal. Tyler Zeller could also be available, in theory. He'd be a much cheaper option for the Rockets at backup center.

As far as Asik's contract is concerned, a lot was made about how the Rockets structured his deal to pry him from the Chicago Bulls. This is irrelevant for the Cavs. The cap hit is evenly distributed for every year on the deal, despite the actual salary being backloaded.

Lots of people have expressed concern about the Cavaliers' interior defense (rightfully so) and seem to want to focus on the center position after drafting Anthony Bennett instead of Nerlens Noel. If that's how you feel, Asik is a solid option. The only question is how much you're willing to give up in order to acquire him.