Free Willy!

No, wait, that's my Saturday night bedroom line...

Free Ersanity! Yes, that's the one. Scott Skiles, the most frustrating fantasy coach around, has been fired. I don't care who they bring in - he won't be as frustrating as Skiles. I would think finally the Bucks will establish a rotation where guys will get consistent minutes. Ersan and his big contract will/should be in the mix  for some consistent PT. Fingers crossed.

The other thing I've been asked to comment on is the recent Brussels and French trade that saw Brussels acquire Martell Webster (22pts tonight) for Avery Bradley and Zaza Pachulia. On the surface I saw the trade email in my inbox and thought - wow, 2 guys for Webster, that's a lot. Then, the next 2 emails I saw were drops for French - immediately dropping Bradley and Pachulia. So, he gave Webster to Brussels for no one?

My initial thought was the Celtics connection with French and that's why Bradley was in the deal. French loves his Celtics and Bradley could be a fantasy factor down the line. Then, once French realized he was 2 players over the maximum roster limit - he released Bradley and Zaza. That's my rationale for the whole trade.  Nothing sinister going on here folks.

Of course, the timing of it all looks horrible. Essentially, French just gave Webster to Brussels. For nothing. That's the part that looks bad on the surface. I think the fact that Brussels only has $1 Free Agent dollar also played a factor in this deal as Timmy no longer has any flexibility to bring in other guys except through trade.

The final item I've been asked to comment on is my thoughts on the whole Derrick Rose situation. Yes, Rose is a keeper for next season. He'll be $8 bucks. This is how it's been done in the past and we'll honour the rule this season of course. Now, should we consider changing the rule for next season - yes - I think we should consider it and discuss it. Personally, I've never had a problem with it because that injured player is taking up a roster spot on their team. That being said, I'm always willing to listen to potential rules changes to make the JBL better. Will French (or another team) have an advantage by getting Rose for $8 bucks next season? Absolutely. Does it guarantee him the title? No, not at all. Let me throw out some things to consider if we decided to change the rule.

Currently, the rules are very simple.
A) Any player drafted at Auction is eligible for protection (provided he meets all other criteria during the season). Some of the other provisions  include the player must be on your roster by the NBA All-Star break. The player must not be in the 'Final' year of his contract, etc.
B) Any player signed as a Free Agent during the course of the NBA season must play at least 20 regular season NBA games. A good example - let's say I sign Greg Oden as a Free Agent this week. He isn't even on a team right now but does appear in our Free Agent list. I can sign him. However, he must play in 20 regular season NBA games for him to be eligible as a keeper for next season.

So, the easiest thought on this whole situation would probably be to just apply the 20 game rule to all players. However, I'm not sure that's fair in all cases. What if I draft very wisely on Auction night and land a bargain of a player who turns out to be a star in the making? Let's say in the 19th game of the NBA season he blows his knee and is gone for the year and doesn't play another game. He didn't play in 20 games so I don't get to keep him?? Why shouldn't I be able to keep him? I drafted him. I will keep him on my roster for the rest of the season so I should be able to keep him. That's my argument against the minimum 20 game rule.

Let me add another wrinkle to this situation that I think is worth exploring. What if we reduced the maximum number of players on a JBL roster by one spot by eliminating the INJURED RESERVE spot?? Would teams really want to hold onto guys when they only have 3 bench spots? Right now, teams can keep guys like Rose, Wilson Chandler, Andrew Bogut, Andrew Bynum, Danny Granger, etc on their IR spot and it doesn't really hurt them. It would make things a little more interesting removing the IR spot. It also would add additional players to our Free Agent pool as teams would have to decide on whether they wanted to keep healthy or injured guys on their bench or wait for an injured guy to return.

Would Chilliwack really be holding onto Danny Granger?
Would Bangkok have made the trade for Bynum when he already had John Wall injured?
I think reducing the roster size from 16 to 15 would be very interesting...
It also eliminates the need for me to go through the rosters at the start of each week to make sure no one has a non-injured guy in the IR spot.

Both items are worth discussing over the course of the JBL season and into the summer months. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on the 'keeper rule' for players like Derrick Rose. Of course, it will be known as the 'Derrick Rose Rule'. I also want to hear your thoughts on going to a 15 man roster with no Injured Reserve spot. Personally, I think the 15 man roster is a no-brainer. I like it already.

And don't worry French - you'll still be able to protect Derrick Rose - provided of course you stay out of the 13 hole. That is all. Go about your business.