Houston Rockets: Omer Asik To Stay Put For The Time Being

Nov 23, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets power forward Dwight Howard (12) and center Omer Asik (3) on the bench during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports

It appears that Omer Asik will suit up for the Houston Rockets again after he was not traded 2 weeks ago. While Asik has not played in a game due to a knee injury, Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that the Rockets are expected to keep Asik for the remainder of the season.

“Word is the Rockets now expect to keep center Omer Asik past next month’s deadline and beyond. The team ramped up efforts to create a market for Asik last month because it believed that was the most realistic window to get a deal done. Now, Houston is caught in a bit of a no-man’s land. “Teams that are tanking don’t want him to make them better and winning teams want to steal him,” one rival GM said.”

Both head coach Kevin McHale and assistant coach Kelvin Sampson have stated numerous times that they expect to get Asik back and he will continue to back up Dwight Howard just as he was doing before being injured. In 17  games played this season, he’s averaging 4.4 points and 6.8 rebounds in 18 minutes per game.