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Boston Celtics have interest in Omer Asik

The Houston Rockets are expected to trade Omer Asik soon. Here’s ESPN.com reporting some possibilities:

Boston Celtics reportedly have interest in Omer Asik

The day has arrived for the Houston Rockets to live up to their vow to trade disgruntled center Omer Asik.

The Rockets have been telling teams for two weeks that they will trade Asik by Thursday, and according to sources close to the process, they gradually continued to move in that direction Wednesday.

ESPN.com reported Tuesday that the Boston Celtics had emerged as the strongest rivals to the Philadelphia 76ers in terms of Asik’s likely destination. Entering the final hours before the Rockets’ self-imposed deadline, sources said Houston officials spent much of Wednesday weighing the merits of Boston’s offer of forward Brandon Bass, guard Courtney Lee and a future first-round draft pick for the 7-footer from Turkey while also remaining engaged in talks with Philadelphia and leaving open the possibility that other teams could still join the bidding.

The Rockets, sources said, have been interested in prying veteran center Spencer Hawes away from the Sixers along with a future first-round pick, but they won’t know until Thursday whether Philadelphia is prepared to part with that much for Asik or whether Boston’s offer is the best available.

Kevin McHale gets back to work for Rockets

Here’s the Houston Chronicle with an update on coach McHale and the Rockets:

Rockets coach Kevin McHale didn’t waste any time getting things back to normal in the practice gym at Toyota Center on Tuesday.

It was business as usual for McHale, who has been away from the team for a week due to the Dec. 10 death of his mother Josephine in Minnesota.

McHale came in with a list of things to practice, went over his thoughts about the last two games, and worked on getting the Rockets prepared to host Chicago on Wednesday night.

“It’s nice to be back,” McHale said.

His players agreed.

Guard Pat Beverley said the team missed having McHale on the sideline.

“It was good to see his face. Definitely missed him,” Beverley said. “I’m glad he is back, and he came right in talking about the game from his point of view, which is good for this team.”

Houston Rockets discussing Omer Asik trade possibilities

The Houston Rockets and Omer Asik will probably part ways soon. Here’s ESPN.com with a look at some trade scenarios:

The Houston Rockets, as they’ve been telling teams all month, remain on course to trade disgruntled big man Omer Asik by Thursday, according to sources close to the process.

Numerous teams consulted by ESPN.com in recent days have said they are convinced the Rockets will indeed go ahead with a trade headlined by Asik before their self-imposed deadline of Dec. 19, with sources saying Tuesday that the Boston Celtics are increasingly active in the Asik talks.

As a result, the Celtics now are widely regarded as the strongest rivals to the Philadelphia 76ers in terms of the likely destination for Asik, with many rival executives expecting the final form of a trade built around the 7-footer from Turkey to feature at least three teams.

Sources have described the Atlanta Hawks as Houston’s preferred trade partner because the Rockets came to the conclusion last month that, despite their attempts to placate Asik, they eventually would have to give in to the unhappy center’s long-running desire to be moved in the wake of Dwight Howard’s arrival in July. Yet it remains unclear, sources say, how interested Atlanta really is in parting with coveted forward Paul Millsap — who’s considered an ideal frontcourt complement to Howard — in exchange for Asik.

Omri Casspi loving NBA life with Houston Rockets

Here’s the Houston Chronicle on Israeli forward Omri Casspi, who has been a great fit as a supporting cast member of the Rockets this season:

A career that had gotten off to a promising start in Sacramento had seemed to hit bottom in Cleveland. He did not know where basketball would take him next but had begun to accept that he could be headed back to Europe, rather than back to Sacramento this weekend as such a vital part of the Rockets rotation.

Then with one voice message that he still won’t delete from his phone, everything changed. With that call, he not only knew where his career was headed, the confidence that had become so fractured, taking much of his game with it, was revived. All that had gone wrong seemed to have been made right again.

“Coach (Kevin) McHale left me a message over the summer when they started recruiting me and we started talking,” Casspi said. “I still have it. He said he wanted me to play the three and the four. He explained I could spread the floor and help the team win and that he liked the way I compete. That was one of the main reasons I came here. I still have that message and I still listen to it once in a while.

“It was the first time I really talked to a coach that really talked to me. This team was obviously was supposed to be good whether I was going to be here or not. But to be a part of the team that can compete and compete for a championship, after what I’d been through, and then he left me this message that said he loves me and wants me to come and play hard and help and do the things I do. That was just an emotional day, you know.”

Dwight Howard speaks on Omer Asik`s frustrations

Omer Asik and the Houston Rockets are in a tough situation. Asik wants a bigger role, but Dwight Howard is the bigger talent. And while the two have spent time playing next to each other, that does not appear to be a long-term solution. Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting:

Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons said they understand Omer Asik’s frustrations with his role with the Rockets this season. Asik has started eight of the 10 games this season. He didn’t play on Thursday in New York amidst reports that he was requesting to be traded.

Howard said that understands that Asik is in a tough situation.

“Totally, I understand where he is coming from – his frustration, sharing the floor,” Howard said. “I understand it’s tough for him. The only thing I can do is be his friend off the floor and help him anyway I can. I understand its a tough situation for him, but we are all family and we have to learn to fight through frustrations.”

Jeremy Lin says return to MSG is no big deal

NBA players tend to say that returning as a visitor to play in an arena that used to be their home is no big deal. And while sometimes that may be true, but in general I always assume they’d love to step up and drop an especially big game on their former fans. Here’s New York Newsday:

It’s been nearly two years since Jeremy Lin reached uncharted territory and his popularity took off internationally with the Knicks.

Now, in his second season with the Rockets, Lin makes another return to Madison Square Garden Thursday night to play the Knicks. Lin still gets excited about playing in New York, but the 25-year-old puts the situation in perspective.

“For me it’s just another game. It’s two years removed so I’m just going to play basketball and not going to worry too much about Madison Square Garden,” Lin said. “Obviously I have so many great memories there and will cherish it forever, but it’s just basketball.

“A lot of the attention will be on James [Harden] and Dwight [Howard], them coming to the Garden.”

Houston Rockets to try a smaller lineup

Here’s the Houston Chronicle on the Rockets shaking up their lineup:

The Rockets’ great two-centers experiment could be over.

If not over, it will likely be put on hiatus. With matchups against the smaller lineups of the 76ers tonight and Knicks on Thursday ahead, Rockets coach Kevin McHale apparently decided it is too big to succeed, at least for now.

McHale would not specify the lineup change he had in mind, but said there would be a change to go smaller than the combination of Dwight Howard and Omer Asik that has started every game this season. Second-year forward Terrence Jones started the second half on Monday and played 32 minutes, 15 more than he had played in the season’s first seven games combined. Omri Casspi has received the bulk of the minutes at power forward off the bench.

“We’re going to try something different here these next couple games with the big lineup,” McHale said. “I looked at that. Mixed results on the whole thing. With matchups, guys are a little smaller, so we’re going to go a little smaller.”

Kevin McHale urges Dwight Howard to get low

When you’re a big man and low-post legend Kevin McHale gives you tips, you’d be smart to listen. Here’s the Houston Chronicle reporting:

Kevin McHale’s low-post lessons for Dwight Howard have only just begun, but the coach started close to home — his home. The dedicated Minnesota Vikings fan cited the play of All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson.

“Just staying low,” Howard said of McHale’s direction. “He always refers to Adrian Peterson and how he runs through different holes in the game. He runs real low. He was saying I have the ability to do the same thing: use my quickness and my speed to get around guys. I have to get low to be able to do it.”

McHale does have more in store.

“We’re just getting started together,” McHale said. “It’s a whole new offense for him. We’ve worked, but not as much as we will work.”

Houston Rockets waive Marcus Camby and Reggie Williams

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced that the team has waived center Marcus Camby (as of Oct. 27) and guard Reggie Williams, which brings the Rockets roster down to 15 players.

Camby has had lingering injury problems, and it doesn’t appear he’ll be able to help any NBA team in the near future. It’ll be interesting to see if he tries to keep playing, or calls it a career.

Dwight Howard discusses leaving the Lakers

“Everybody’s saying I was a ‘coward’ for leaving [the Lakers], and I knew I was going to get that,” [Dwight] Howard said Tuesday. “But I think with the situation I had to do what was best for Dwight.

“I know when I wanted to leave Orlando, and I decided to stay, I wasn’t happy on the inside. I wanted to please everybody else and ended up hurting a lot of people by doing it the way I did. So, this time it’s like I had a second chance.

“I said, ‘You know what? People are going to hate me for whatever reason, so I can’t allow that to stop me from making my decision.’ I thought that my decision took a lot of guts because everybody’s saying, ‘How could you leave the Lakers and six billion fans?’ But I don’t care about being an outcast or about being somebody that may look bad. All I’ve got to do is win now, and I’m in the right situation.”

Reported by Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel