Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey has earned a reputation for being one of the most aggressive, think-big executives in the NBA. Fleury Jersey . And its impossible to think any bigger than LeBron James. The Rockets took the first big step toward making a run at James by agreeing to trade Omer Asik and cash considerations to the New Orleans Pelicans for a protected future first-round draft pick, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday night. The person requested anonymity because the deal cannot be completed until July due to rules in the collective bargaining agreement and salary cap issues. James informed the Miami Heat earlier this week that he is opting out of his contract and will become a free agent when the new league year begins on July 1. Carmelo Anthony did the same with the New York Knicks, meaning two of the most dynamic players in the league are available in the same summer. Morey, whose Rockets were eliminated by the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs this season, wants to bring a third star to Houston to team with James Harden and Dwight Howard. To do that, Morey has to free up cap room by trading Asik, a disgruntled big man who requested a trade last season after Howard took his starting spot, and point guard Jeremy Lin to give him about $19 million to throw at James. Many across the league expect James to remain in Miami, where Pat Riley is trying to retool a roster that won two championships and made four straight NBA Finals but was beaten decisively in five games by the San Antonio Spurs to end this season. But Morey can offer James a younger roster with two supporting cast members who are much closer to their primes than Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. If they swing and miss on James, Morey is expected to turn his attention to Anthony, perhaps the games best pure scorer. He could also look at trading for Minnesota All-Star Kevin Love, who can opt out of his contract next summer and has told the Timberwolves that he will not sign a long-term contract with the team. If anyone wondered about Moreys willingness to go big again this summer after winning the Dwight Howard sweepstakes last year and trading for Harden in 2012, he answered that emphatically on less than 24 hours before the NBA draft was scheduled to be held on Thursday night. The Rockets also avoid having to pay Asik a $15 million balloon payment in the final year of his contract, but it will count just over $8.3 million against the Pelicans cap next season. But the Rockets arent the only potential winners in this deal. Getting Asik is a significant move for the Pelicans, who got one of the leagues best interior defenders to pair with rising star Anthony Davis. Asik only averaged just over 20 minutes per game in 48 games last season. But his unhappiness with his situation behind Howard and a few nagging injuries certainly played large roles in his relative lack of production. He averaged 5.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and shot 53 per cent from the field last season. But in a starting role the previous season, Asik averaged 10.1 points, 11.7 boards and 1.1 blocks in all 82 games. Asik will have a much more prominent role in New Orleans next season, and his presence should allow the super-athletic, ultra-instinctual Davis even more freedom to roam on the defensive end and create havoc for opposing pick-and-roll tandems. New Orleans has missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, and GM Dell Demps didnt hesitate to give up a first-round pick to acquire a big building block that will make life easier for Davis and help the Pelicans try to make a jump in the powerful Western Conference. Paul Martin Jersey . "I have had no discussions with Chad Johnson or his representation," Popp said Friday in an email. However, he appeared to confirm a report on Twitter from TSN this week that Johnson was on Montreals negotiation list. Pascal Dupuis Jersey .Y. -- Marcos Ambrose should be on pins and needles but says hes not. STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford took a look at the Cowboys assist total against Robert Morris on Monday night and smiled the smile of an old point guard. No. 6 Oklahoma State recorded 27 assists on 32 baskets in a 92-66 romp over the Colonials that served as a prep game for the Cowboys Big 12 Conference opener on Saturday at Kansas State. It was Oklahoma States highest assist total since recording 27 against Nebraska on Feb. 19, 2000. Coming off a nine-day layoff, Phil Forte scored 20 points and Markel Brown added 18 for Oklahoma State (12-1). The Cowboys will enter 2014 with their highest ranking in The Associated Press poll since February 2005, when they were at No. 6. "Its a lot of fun when you see a team passing the ball like that," Ford said. "I told our team I enjoyed watching that. Its one of the most unselfish games Ive seen a team play, especially when you see guys who passed up wide-open layups, wide-open dunks, to pass it off to their teammate. You dont see that much in college basketball anymore." The Cowboys never trailed against Robert Morris (5-9), which posted a memorable win over Kentucky in the first round of last seasons NIT. But the Colonials of the Northeast Conference havent fared as well against major-conference foes this season, falling first at Kentucky before losing to Oklahoma State. A trip to Alabama is up next. Karvel Anderson scored 16 points for Robert Morris, which is 2-8 on the road this season. The Colonials, who entered the game shooting 40.8 per cent from 3-point range, finished 6 of 25 (24 per cent) from behind the arc. "One of the things were going through is we have some new bodies who dont understand what it takes," Robert Morris coach Andrew Toole said. "Theyre kind of living in the name that some other guys helped build and they dont understand what it takes to go out on the floor and play at that level. Were trying to teach them . how to make the right decisions in any kind of environment and its difficult. Sometimes its uglier than it is pretty." Oklahoma State shot 57.1 per cent, helped in good part by 11 dunks, six of those by Brown, who went 7 of 14 from the field. Most of those slams, Ford said, were made possible by unselfish play. "We drew a few plays up in the timeouts to get a couple of lobs, different things like that," he said. Mario Lemieux White Jersey. . "But on the break, I thought our guys . made pretty good decisions most of the time. We changed ends very quickly and thats something weve been working on, getting out a little bit quicker than we have been. That can be, possibly, a strength of ours." Robert Morris missed its first four shots and Oklahoma State sprinted to a 9-0 lead, with Marcus Smart scoring or assisting on the Cowboys first three baskets. The Cowboys built a 15-point advantage before Robert Morris rallied within 35-27 on a basket by Anderson with 3:48 left in the first half. Oklahoma State went on an 11-2 run to rebuild its lead to 46-31 by halftime, despite playing much of the half without Smart (due to foul trouble) and starting centre Michael Cobbins, who hobbled off the floor 3 1/2 minutes into the game and never returned. Ford said Cobbins would be examined by doctors on Tuesday but the coach feared it might be an Achilles tendon injury. "It doesnt look good," Ford said. After Anderson opened the second half with a basket, the Cowboys had three dunks in a 13-3 run, punctuated by a windmill slam by Brown to cap a length-of-the-court fast break during which the basketball touched the ground only once. That built the Cowboys lead to 59-36 with 14:53 left. Smart scored a season-low seven points. He went more than 28 minutes without scoring but he ended that drought with a memorable basket, catching an alley-oop pass from Stevie Clark and throwing down a two-handed reverse dunk. That started a 13-2 run by the Cowboys that put them up 79-52 with 6:57 left and ended all doubt. "Its nice to see everyone doesnt really care who scores, who does what," Forte said. "As long we keep that going, things will be really good for us." Brian Williams scored 12 points for Oklahoma State, while Kamari Murphy had 10 points and eight rebounds and Clark finished with nine points and nine assists, matching the third-highest total ever by an Oklahoma State freshman. Anthony Myers-Pate added 10 points for Robert Morris. Oklahoma State moved to 7-2 all-time against current Northeast Conference teams, although all but three of those games were played in the 1940s. Before Monday, the Cowboys last game against a Northeast Conference foe was in January 1989, when they beat Central Connecticut State. wholesale nfl jerseyswholesale jerseys ' ' '
