It's always been my theory that the original plan was to release the "Access Hollywood" the weekend before the election. This would ensure maximum coverage in the media, while leaving the Trump campaign with no time to respond before election day. Hillary was feeling the heat over her email server, coupled with the Wikileaks revelations, so they were forced to release the tape a few weeks earlier than planned in an effort to deflect attention away from Hillary.
Your theory makes perfect sense. They released early and probably Trump owes Assange...and probably Seth Rich.