“Does Asik have an on-court role on this team for this season? Any part of next? (None of this is to say he should not be traded.)”

42: Yes, I think so. Davis has missed some time (not significant time), but Cousins is now out. Shouldn’t that open the door for him? Asik has seen little action so far this season where the team has relied on Dante Cunningham as a big due to Asik’s limitations and Hill’s and Ajinça’s unavailability. So when Hill comes back, why would Asik see any time?

Well, he played a few minutes earlier in the season, then got just a few minutes Sunday against the Clippers. This likely indicates that the team would rather play with Davis inside, something he has now reportedly agreed to do, which would leave Asik out in the cold, with his earlier minutes just serving as “proof of life” to other teams. Still, the whole reason Asik is on the team is Davis wants a guy to deal with the brutes of the NBA so he does not have to.

I don’t think that’s changed, and I think people underrate Asik. He doesn’t have to be great or even good to be underrated, by the way.

Dru: Yes… no… sort of. Asik isn’t going to play regular minutes every game, but he will play in emergency situations. Now that Boogie is out, if AD goes down, gets in foul trouble, or ejected then he is the first big off of the bench. Basically if you see Omer on the court it means AD could be having a very rough night.

Grayson: Yeah I think he does, but not in the way that the Pelicans coaching staff were hoping. Gentry has said this before that it’s very tough to get Asik any minutes just from the nature of the league these days. It’s all spacing and up-and-down the court. I think he can plays some minutes, but in short bursts and not with AD on the court. That way at the very least you can hide him on the opposing big.

Kumar: No, I think his utility will last until the deadline. After that date has passed, I believe that the Pelicans will have acquired the necessary front court help that will push Asik once again out of the rotation. However, if Davis were to get injured, then Asik would have an increased role. At that point, your season is likely coming to an end anyway.