The Houston Rockets are expected to trade Omer Asik soon and general manager Daryl Morey may already have a deal in place for the big man. The Rockets are working around a self-imposed deadline of Dec. 19 to trade Asik because the team already has a trade they are willing to take, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

Morey would not discuss his plans, but a person with knowledge of the Rockets' thinking said Morey set his Dec. 19 deadline in part because he knows he has an offer he is willing to take. Though things can change several times by Thursday, that individual said "it very likely will be a pretty complicated, three-way deal. There are a lot of moving parts."

This follows up a report that revealed rival executives believe Morey has a deal in place with former Rockets front office executive and current Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie centered around Asik and Thaddeus Young, though Houston is waiting to see if a more appealing deal presents itself.

The Rockets options have opened up with the emergence of starting power forward Terrence Jones, who has replaced Asik in the starting lineup after Houston decided against playing Dwight Howard and Asik together eight games into the season. Jones is averaging 10 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc. Houston could be in the market for a defensive specialist who can shoot from long-range at small forward, a backup big man who can play both frontcourt positions, or expiring deals with first-round draft picks as the incentive, according to Feigen.

Houston has gone 16-8 in its first season since acquiring Howard, good for the fifth-best record in the Western Conference. Asik has already changed agents and requested a trade multiple times since the team signed Howard this summer. Asik is averaging just 18.3 minutes per game off the bench after putting up career-highs in scoring, rebounding, blocks, steals and assists in his first year with the Rockets.

Asik has not played for Houston since Dec. 2 after suffering a bruised right thigh.

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