ISTANBUL – Former Rockets’ center Omer Asik said that he was going to miss Houston and was grateful for his time with the Rockets.

Asik, the only NBA player on the Turkish national team, is preparing for the FIBA World Championships taking place later this month in Spain.

Just before coming back to Turkey this summer, he found out he would be traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. Asik said he was excited for the opportunity and that he would miss the people in the Rockets organization and his teammates.

He said there were no hard feelings toward the franchise despite the early season drama that surrounded the team’s acquisition of Dwight Howard. Asik, a former starter, had been made a backup to Howard and then suffered a series of leg injuries. Despite the tough year, he was key in the postseason, starting alongside Howard against the Blazers and giving the Rockets the “twin towers” look that they were after when the season started.

Asik said that his experience with the Rockets has helped make him a better player. He said he would miss the coaching and the fans.

“I just really want to thank all the fans and all the support I had in Houston,” he said. “I want to thank everyone in the organization and especially my teammates. I really enjoyed my time in Houston.”

Before Asik puts on a Pelicans jersey, he will compete with Turkey in the championships. The first games start Aug. 30 and Turkey will face the United States in the second game of the tournament. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round.

“I am just excited to play in the games,” Asik said. “Last time (2010), it was in Turkey and we made it all the way to the final (before losing to the U.S.). It was a lot of fun to play.”

He said the globalization of the game of basketball has grown a lot since he started playing. He will play against several other NBA players during the championships because so many international players play in the NBA and for their countries.

“It’s crazy because for example, Spain has six or seven NBA players on their team,” he said. “I think Europe and the NBA are becoming closer since NBA players are playing more on their international teams.”

Although the game is becoming more global, there are still a lot of technical differences in the actual sport.

Asik said that the NBA game is much quicker than what he sees in Europe.

“It isn’t as fast as the NBA because it is mostly set to set – not as many fast breaks and transitions so it slows down, but of course the experience I have in the NBA helps me a lot here,” Asik said.