Welcome Back Al!

With the playoffs looming next week, old trade partners Squirtle Squad and Funk Coalition hooked up for another exchange, likely our last of the 2013 season. Al Jefferson finds himself shipped back to Funk after a four month stint with the Squirtles -- the team that originally drafted him way back when. This is the second time Al Jefferson has been brought to Funk, and switched between Brian and Jon. ("I'm keeping two homes man," said Jefferson.) He was initially acquired back in 2010 for Joe Johnson, and was then shipped out this past offseason for Blake Griffin and Jeremy Lin. This time, Jefferson was packaged with Derrick Williams and a 2013 RD3 pick in return for Brook Lopez and Nikola Vucevic.

Having dropped out of dark horse championship contention on the heels of the Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker injuries, GM Jon has been active in shoring up his roster for next year. With a plethora of center eligibles after the Russell Westbrook trade, Funk has been actively hitting the phones, trying to land an around answer. Turns out, the solution was Big Al, who will be welcomed back with open arms, even if he's dipped just a little this season, with 17.5 PTS, 9.2 REB, 1.2 BLK.

Getting a young Derrick Williams for the stretch run could be useful too, as Marcin Gortat and Andre Drummond are also injured. Williams has been averaging 17.5 PTS and 8.6 REB over the past month, as he's gotten plenty of playing time in the wake of everyone in Minnesota being injured. Jon is fighting for his post-season life this week, after being almost assured of getting there just a few weeks ago. Since Rondo went down in WK12, the Funk haven't won a game, going 0-4-2 over that stretch. Ouch.

As for the Squirtles, losing Al Jefferson will hurt, but turning one center into two ain't bad. Especially when one of them is up and comer Vucevic, who was drafted in the third round of this year's draft and has blown up to the tune of 12.2 PTS, 11.4 REB, and 1.0 BLK in his first year as a starter. Along with that, Brook Lopez has found his old form, averaging 18.8 REB, 7.1 REB, and an eye popping 2.2 BLK -- he's had a very short stint with Funk too.

With those two pairing with Serge Ibaka and Greg Monroe (and a temporarily rejuvenated Emeka Okafor in store), Brian now has a front line that can hold its own against anybody. With Deron Williams, Ty Lawson, and Bradley Beal playing inspired ball, along with free agent find Tobias Harris, there's still a chance for Squirtle Squad to overtake Buffy for the Transformers division crown. Even if they head into the playoffs as a wild card, they are hot hot hot. They were on a seven game winning streak until WK18's loss, but they remain a very strong contender for the championship.

Any more moves this season? Remember, the roster lock is coming!