Would The Denver Nuggets Consider A Trade For Omer Asik Of The Houston Rockets?

May 3, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets center Omer Asik (3) reacts after a play during the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder in game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Nuggets Should Look Into Trading For Omer Asik

The Denver Nuggets currently sit at an even (24-24) on the season without three key players in their line-up. Danilo Gallinari who was expected to return in late-November, recently had a standard reconstructive surgery on his ACL that he tore last April against the Dallas Mavericks and is done for the season. Nate Robinson recently went down with an ACL injury of his own as he is set to miss the rest of the season after recently undergoing surgery. Last but not least center JaVale McGee suffered a stress fracture in his left tibia that happened just five games into the season and will likely be out for the rest of the season after finding out recently the bone hasn’t healed properly.

The Nuggets need to find a replacement for McGee in the meantime if they want to make a playoff run. The Denver Nuggets have the second longest active streak in the National Basketball Association behind the San Antonio Spurs with 10 consecutive playoff appearances (2004-13′) — it is on the verge of getting snapped. Denver desperately needs help in the front-court due to their lack in size. J.J. Hickson who stands just 6-feet-9 inches is a terrific player and all, but having him at the starting center position only creates problems for the Nuggets, especially when you are facing teams like Indiana Pacers with a player like Roy Hibbert.

Which brings the topic of this column to question. Would the Denver Nuggets consider a trade for Houston Rockets big-man Omer Asik? Asik has been pushing the Rockets to trade him since early November when the team acquired big-man Dwight Howard. Howard took Asik’s starting spot in the rotation which slashed his playing time basically in half.

Would the Denver Nuggets consider trading power forward Kenneth Faried in a deal for Omer Asik? According to the Trade Machine on ESPN.com, the Nuggets could pull off a trade with Faried for Osik straight-up by using the Andre Iguodala trade exception. Kenneth Faried has been rumored in trades since the start of the season in a proposal from the New York Knicks for Iman Shumpert straight-up; Denver of course would turn down the trade offer. Faried has been a headache for Denver most of the season with his head-scratching defense.

Nov 5, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) reacts during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Pepsi Center. The Spurs won 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Just in last night’s game against the New York Knicks, Faried posted a plus/minus rating of -28 according to ESPN as he was the least efficient player to step foot on the court. A trade of Faried would slide J.J. Hickson back into the power forward position which he usually played — that’s the main reason why Denver brought he and Darrell Arthur to the club in the offseason for. Asik could step in to the starting center role with Timofey Mozgov serving as a solid back-up as both players stand just over seven-feet tall — a tall mountain for opposing teams to climb.

Whether Denver looks into this deal or not it is just all speculation from this point on, but this trade could a win-win for both teams. Faried could bring hustle and excitement to the Houston Rockets fan base while Asik fills a hole in the center position which the Denver Nuggets desperately need.