French, Idaho and Golden...oh my.

Today is March 8th. The keeper trade deadline is Sunday, March 18th. Yet, it was a busy Thursday evening in the JBL and both French and Golden went Brian Burke and Mike Gillis and made their big splashes way before the deadline day.

French moved one of the top centre keepers in DeAndre Jordan. In return, French landed Chris Bosh and Devin Harris. From Idaho's perspective, this is clearly a move for 2012/13. Jordan is one of the top Centre keepers ($11 bucks in 2012/13). Jordan is shooting 65% and averaging 8ppg, 9reb, and has 91 blocks so far. Idaho seems locked into a top 8 spot but will have to work hard to hold onto that spot so he can keep 3 players for next season. Idaho gave up a lot of scoring in this deal. Idaho is building around Harden, Jordan, and now another new keeper that he acquired just hours later.

French gets Bosh (19 and 8) and another PG to shore up his ATO. This was a good move for French as he's currently 11th in scoring and could move up significantly with this move. I like this trade for both teams as Tuna has realized his Idaho squad isn't going to win the title so he may as well get some good keepers. French is hoping for a top 4 finish and acquired the scoring PF he so desperately wanted all along. And for keepers, French still has Bynum, Lawson, Teague, Aldridge, etc to consider for next season.

Shortly after this deal went down Idaho and Golden finally agreed to a deal that could have been done many trade offers earlier. All day Golden and Idaho went back and forth about Ilyasova and others. The whole push behind this deal was Golden. I wanted Ersan Ilyasova so I could have the opportunity to protect these 4 players for next season:

• Ersan Ilyasova $1 - 6'10, 235, Turkey, 24 years old
• Nikola Pekovic $7 - 6'11, 290, Montenegro, 26 years old
• Marcin Gortat $15 - 6'11, 240, Poland, 28 years old
• Bismack Biyombo $1 - 6'9, 230, Zaire, 19 years old (maybe)

Many (10+) different offers went back and forth during the day. I could almost tell that this Anderson for Ilyasova was where we would land ultimately - but we both wanted as much as we could from the deal.

Anderson and Ilyasova both have associated risks and similarities. Both are having breakout seasons. Both have unknowns surrounding whether they can keep it up. Will Anderson still put up 16 and 7 if Dwight leaves town? Would he still lead the NBA in 3 pointers made if D12 wasn't down low? Will Ersan keep getting extended minutes from Scott Skiles? What happens when Bogut comes back? Will Ersan even be a starter next year in Milwaukee if Bogut is healthy?

This is a bit of a risk for Golden giving up Anderson because he is the main reason that Golden is 4th in 3PT%. Can Golden stay in front of the other 4 teams that are just 1.0% behind him in that category? Why did I make this trade? Well, a couple of reasons. Number 1 - who wouldn't want 4 foreign keepers for cheap that are actually pretty impressive ballers right now? And number 2 - Ilyasova has been very hot over the last month of the NBA season. And number 3 - it's fun to trade to players and see how they do on your team. Here I am. battling the star studded Wack team for top spot and I'm still making roster moves. It's fun.

Check out Ryan Anderson's numbers over the last month.

16ppg, 8reb, 1.0stl, 44FG%, 41% from downtown. And for you tendex lovers - over his last 10 games his tendex is 19.1 and on the season it's 18.7. And, as mentioned, Anderson leads the NBA in 3-pointers made! I sure hope I don't miss his 3PT% as much as I think I will.

Check out Ersan Ilyasova's numbers over the last month.

17ppg, 11reb, 0.9blk, 52FG%, 43% from downtown. His tendex for last 10? 23.9. And on the season? 15.5. Both Ersan and Ryan are great potential keepers for next season.

Idaho now has James Harden, Ryan Anderson and DeAndre Jordan for a combined $31 dollars. His challenge will be to stay in 8th or higher and be able to keep all 3 guys.

Golden will potentially have his 4 foreigners for a combined $44 bucks if he can finish top 4. Sounds like the basis of a great theme team in Golden for 2012/13.

French, currently in 7th and just 120 points out of 4th, hopes he can move up in the standings and get into the money while also still being locked and loaded with cheap studs for next season. How about a combo of Bynum, Lawson and Teague for starters for just$51 bucks? I like that core group a lot.

So, the trades are underway...Idaho jumped early and has acquired Jordan and Anderson. There are lots of other good potential keepers out there for next season. Who will make the next move? Will we see the big flurry of deals in the next 10 days? Only time will tell....