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After a busy day yesterday we will catch up on where the Omer Asik trade saga stands at the moment. Currently it looks like the Boston Celtics are closing in on a deal for the Houston center that may or may not also include the Philadelphia 76ers. Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Wednesday that the Hawks and Cavaliers had fallen back significantly in the discussions.
That is not surprising since the Hawks normally keep rumors to a lock down. Given this from the AJC's Chris Vivlamoreits quite possible that much of the Asik for Millsap talk was coming out of Houston.
CBS Sports' Matt Moore explained on Wednesday why acquiring Omer Asik never made sense for the Atlanta Hawks in the first place. Moore cites Asik's contract for next season which carries a cap hit of $8.3 million but actually pays out $15 million as a starting point but the most important part is that it would cost the Hawks Paul Millsap who has been really good for them and is on one of the best contracts in the league.
Some will give the "Al Horford is not a center argument" which Moore also touched on:
As for Horford at center, take your picks. 1. He's done it his entire career which has resulted in two All-Star appearances, 2. His numbers are just as good if not better at center, 3. He provides versatility while giving up nothing in post strength and 4. He's literally never complained about it publicly. He's said he'd like to play at power forward but that's not the same as complaining about his position. Can this thing die now?
Kudos to Moore for getting this situation right.
Naturally some Atlanta fans will be disappointed by this news and will even chalk it up to a missed opportunity by Danny Ferry. However, the Hawks are clearly trying to build assets and not reshuffle assets which is what this potential move would be.
I'd loved to have had Omer Asik in an Atlanta Hawks uniform but that window closed during the summer. Swapping him for Millsap as Moore states "doesn't make sense."