Week 14 is Busy...

Week 14 started with bang. I had offered a 2 for 1 deal to Bangkok (MKG & Nate for Sessions) around noon on Monday. I needed to make a 2 for 1 deal as all reports seemed to indicate that Pekovic was going to be ready this week and I was going to have to drop someone anyways and I wanted to get Pek in my lineup. So, I was trying to upgrade. Nate's value is sky high right now as he's playing fantastic. We all know that is going to last only another couple of weeks as Mr. Rose is getting ready to return. I had also turned sour on MKG after watching him play a couple of times. I love the effort, the hustle, the steals, and the blocks. But the kid's jump shot makes Shawn Marion's jumper look like the Mona Lisa. MKG cannot shoot. So, there I was wanting to use those two players to grab Sessions (15-4-3 on the season).
Once the lineups locked for the week I went in to withdraw the offer as I hate making a trade early in the week in case something happens. Well, I tried to click withdraw and saw that the Kok had already accepted it. Damn it. An ensuing phone call occurred to discuss if we wanted to make it retro for the beginning of the week (since no one had played yet) but decided to let it run it's course. As it turned out Nate had a big game for me in his swansong week with the Showers.

So, now I had Ramon Sessions on board. Everyone knows I'm not a Sessions fan but it's hard to argue with his numbers these days. He's been averaging almost 15ppg and his numbers are very similar to another breakout PG this season but Ramone doesn't get any love.

Player A - 14.6 PPG, 43/35 %, 206/81 ATO, 4 RPG, 41 steals
Player B - 14.7 PPG, 41/30 %, 176/71 ATO, 3 RPG, 34 steals

Player A is George Hill and I would consider him a possible keeper at his $5 dollar salary. Of course, Ramon Sessions is Player B and doesn't get any love because he's Ramon Sessions. I get it. I'm not a big fan. I was acquiring Sessions as insurance but really had no plans on playing him in Week 15 if he remained on my roster.

My thinking all along here was to try and turn Sessions into something better. Something more specific. I was looking for steals or some 3PT%. I actually made 3 offers on Monday night and considered making a 4th later in the week.

So, why Lowry? Because I figured Yuma would be growing tired of waiting for Lowry to produce. I know I was getting tired of waiting for Ersan to produce and was close to trading him a couple of times. I got a lot of scrub offers for Ersan. Again, I get it. Ersan wasn't performing so other teams were offering crap. So, in this case, I threw an offer out there for Lowry which Yuma accepted. I actually had eyes on another Yuma player but Yuma decided to part with Lowry instead.

Obviously I'm hoping that Lowry (or Calderon) gets traded somewhere and Lowry can stop faking injuries and get some playing time. He has loads of potential but has yet to show it in Toronto this season. Let's face it - the Raptors look like a better team with Calderon and Ed Davis than they do with Lowry and Bargnani. So, will the Raptors move Calderon or Lowry? It seems like the Celtics could be in the market for a PG now. They could be after either of the Raptors PG's or even a guy like Sessions.

Check out these PG numbers...
12.7 PPG, 48% FG, 48% 3PT, 142/59 ATO, and 17 steals in 23 games.

Those are some damn fine numbers. Oh wait, those are Ramon Sessions numbers last year when he joined the Lakers. The dude can play but no one puts up good numbers in Charlotte.

Another interesting stat - Golden has now made 7 trades this year with 7 different teams. On top of that - only 3 JBL teams have not made a trade since the season started. Can you name them? If you said Maui, Chilliwack and the Arctic you were bang on.

And late Tuesday night another deal went down in the JBL. Brussels and Idaho hooked up on a big man swap. Ryan Anderson and his 3PT stroke head to Brussels and Omer Asik becomes a Pimp. Brussels is 12th in 3PT% and 12th in scoring so I can see why he would target Anderson (most made 3's in the NBA this season and is shooting 39.5% from downtown).

The other thing to consider is Anderson's $7 dollar salary. Could this be another keeper for the Brussels already full keeper stable?? He already has arguably two of the top 10 best keepers in the JBL already (Vucevic $1 and Lillard $12). He has young guys at cheap salaries who could be ready for breakouts (Sullinger $5, Biyombo $6, Brooks $4, Waiters $7, Isaiah Thomas $6) and he also has some blossoming future stars that could be worth keeping (Batum $30 and Cousins $39). This Brussles team has to have the most potential for next season. This Brussels team is also right at the salary cap floor now with a roster at $200 dollars. The interesting thing to watch over the 2nd half of the season is that right now, Jan 29th at 10:48pm, the Muscles team is in 11th spot and would only be able to keep 1 player for next season. Who would it be? Lillard? Vucevic? Brussels has got to light a fire under his boys to climb the ladder. 8th place would get him 3 keepers and that's just 115 points away. The chase is on.

Idaho acquired Asik to shore up his rebounding and blocks. He's averaging 10ppg and 11reb and has blocked 52 shots this season. He's also shooting 53% on the season. Asik is #5 in the NBA in rebounds per game this season. Idaho is just behind Brussels and Bangkok so bringing in Asik could allow him to challenge them for a couple of rebounding spots.  And while Brussels is at the salary floor $200 - the Pimps are at the maximum ($300 on the nose). So, not only does Idaho not have any FA dollars left - they don't have the ability to take on any additional salary! I'm thinking Tuna might need to bring in a capologist pretty soon.

Oh hey - did anyone see the breakout game from Andre Drummond tonight? 18 and 18 in 28 minutes!! Oh my. Benny just creamed his jeans. At just $3 bucks you can bet he's in the top 10 keeper list too. And of course, the Wack's best keeper (in my opinion) Paul George would also have to make the top 10. Looking at the Wack's keeper potential I would have to say he's loaded for next season as well. Not loaded like Brussels - but certainly well stocked. He's got Drummond, George, and Mayo all at very good prices.

The other thing I noticed tonight was the rise of the Yo Mamas. They gained 65 points tonight along and now sit at 900 points on the season. The scary thing is that they have room to move in a couple of categories too. I like this Juan de Fuca team - they are proving to everyone else in the JBL that they are back as title contenders. They had a strong 3rd place finish last season but some of the JBL owners thought it was a bit fluky. Well, they are back in the hunt and are right there in the mix for the 2012/13 title.

The other thing I learned this week is about a rivalry that doesn't get much play in the JBL chat board. It's a rivalry that isn't discussed much but quietly exists. Like a silent fart that everyone can taste. You don't hear about it but you sure can sense it's presence. Everyone knows about the epic Bangkok vs. Seoul rivalry. It's well documented. And everyone knows about the Bangkok vs. Juan de Fuca annual side bets. But maybe one of the deepest and darkest rivalries is the one I learned about between Bangkok and Chilliwack. It goes a long way back to the days of Mario Elie and Malik Sealy. It goes beyond t-shirts with empty trophy cases. It's goes beyond the sarcastic witty banter that we sometimes see in the chat room. I really think the Kok wants to take down the Wack one day. That task, if accomplished, would bring the Kok great joy. The Kok really wants to best the Wack and stick it to him. I think it would be a crowning jewel in the Kok's cap. And when that day comes...I sense there will be great celebration in Kokland. There will be parties in the streets. There will be joy. There will be asian porn. There will be gloating and taunting. There will be late night phone calls where the Wack would answer and then the Kok would hang up. There would be new t-shirts made for everyone in the JBL showing the Kok's one championship trophy in the case. Oh yes, there will be celebration. But hey, that's not happening this year so I should move on.

Did you see Dwight Howard had 24 points tonight with 5 steals and 4 blocks. Those are some stocks right there.

Don't forget, the JBL keeper trade deadline is just a few weeks away. It's All-Star weekend and the Sunday, February 17th at midnight PST is the deadline. You want to potentially protect a guy for next season - he's got to be on your roster by midnight on the 17th. The NBA trade deadline is the following Thursday, Feb 21st so we could see a flurry of action in the JBL and the NBA this season.