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With his starting spot gone, Rockets center Omer Asik requested a trade in the past 48 hours, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Asik signed a three-year, $25 million contract with Houston in the summer of 2012, but his presence on the roster became redundant after the Rockets landed Dwight Howard in free agency this offseason.
Asik started all 82 games in his first season with the Rockets, averaging 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game while developing into one of the NBA's most intimidating rim protectors. The Rockets seemed committed to starting Asik alongside Howard to begin the season, but he was replaced in the starting lineup by Terrence Jones in an overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. Asik played only four minutes in the game, and didn't see the court in the second half.
A Rockets source told Feigen that no deal involving Asik is in the works for Houston at the moment, and that a timetable for a potential trade would be "more likely in months than in days."
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