Report: Rockets have deals in place to ship off Lin and Asik to carve out cap room

The Houston Rockets lured guard Jeremy Lin and center Omer Asik by offering them "poison pill" contracts. Three seasons later, it seems as if the Rockets are the ones suffering from ill-effects.

It's no secret that the Rockets are looking to carve out cap room in the hopes of adding a third superstar to join guard James Harden and center Dwight Howard. 

However, the large contracts of Asik and Lin pose as impediments to their plans as both players count for $8.4 million against the cap next season. To complicate matters, both players are actually owed $14.9 million in salary next season.

But, despite their hefty price tags, Sam Amick of USA Today is reporting that the Rockets have deals in place to shed their salaries via teams with excess cap space. 

There is a caveat, however. If the Rockets feel that they cannot land one of their intended targets (Heat forward LeBron James, or Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, have you heard of these guys?), they would like to retain Lin and Asik.

That's not really a surprise given that both players are young and productive. As Houston's back-up point guard, Lin posted respectable averages of 12.5 points, 4.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. Asik, on the other hand, remained a stalwart defensive anchor in the limited minutes he saw behind Howard.