The day Omer Asik is going to be traded seems to be getting closer and closer with him sitting courtside in civilian clothes. According to the latest set of rumors, the Boston Celtics have the inside track to landing the big man.

According to the sources of Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, the deal will include Boston sending Houston Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and a first-round pick. How does this work out for both teams?

The Rockets have been waiting for a power forward who can guard quite well for some time. Bass might not be an All-Defensive kind of player, but he’s a lot better on defense than Terrence Jones, Greg Smith or any other stretch 4 option the Rockets are thinking of using. Courtney Lee, averaging 7.4 points per game this season, provides defensive abilities and possibly a way for the Rockets to cut a little bit more into Jeremy Lin’s minutes as they think about what to do with him next. A first round pick? No need to explain why that’s good.

What do Boston get out of this? They take a year off the books, as Lee is signed until 2016, making around $5.5 million a year. Asik makes $8.3 million according to the cap hit, but he’s a player that’s good to keep around, and isn’t stopping the Celtics’ plan of rebuilding and improving.

It also marks a possible shift in their approach and lineup, as Kelly Olynyk will move to the power forward position, while mostly defensive center Vitor Faverani becomes a full-time backup for Asik at the five position.

There are other teams interested in Asik, and until not too long ago it seemed like the Philadelphia 76ers were closer than anyone to getting a deal done with Houston for the player, but it seems that the best fit and that first round pick the Rockets were trying to get can only come from Boston, unless something changes in the next couple of days.

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