It's likely your trade deadline looms in most leagues and making a trade can be a great way to improve your team for a playoff push. But there's lots of different tactics you can imploy to get the deal done. Some I endorse, some I don't.

Here are a couple Do's and Don't's to avoid being THAT guy - you know the one - the guy nobody wants to deal with in a league:

DO be cordial in all your dealings with fellow owners, even if they send you something ridiculous.

DON'T offer Matt Cassel for Peyton Manning straight up, or anything else absurd. Owners don't want to deal with jerks who can't offer a fair deal.

DO be open to dealing any of the players on your team.

DON'T ever say that a player on your team is untradeable. You never know what kind of deal someone might give you for your top guy or favorite player. And that takes me to the next point . . .

DO be willing to trade your favorite player or someone from your hometown team.

DON'T do an unbalanced trade just because someone offers you your favorite player or someone from your hometown team (although that's a great ploy of savvy owners and a strategy I encourage).

DO realize that trading is a give and take. If you have 4 solid running backs and can only start 2, then it's smart to put one of those RBs on the trading block to improve an area of weakness.

DON'T offer someone 5 bench players for one stud starter. Most rosters have a minimum/maximum and doing something like that means that owner would still have to dump 4 players off their team. This is not a tactic to get a fair deal done.

DO respond to all trade offers. Nothing is more annoying than being offered a trade and an owner just let's it sit there or takes so long to get back that it expires. I've had coaches say, oh, I liked that deal, just was thinking about it for a while. At least respond and say, like it, don't like or offer a counter.

DON'T offer a trade to a coach, and then pull it back off an hour later. That's just pulling the rug out from under someone or a lack of patience.

DO work the circuit. If you've got two good trading pieces, put it out their on your message board, or via email, that these players are available and what you're looking for and see what offers roll in.

DON'T step on other owner's deals. If you know another owner is pursuing Peyton Manning (who you also covet) don't bad mouth that owner or his trading pieces. Just offer what you've got and don't worry about what other owners are working.

DO your research on all players involved in a deal, including their remaining schedule (especially their playoff schedule). Also, make sure that the players involved aren't injured or about to be benched.

DON'T offer a player who's injured to a naive coach. Sure it helps your team, but do you want to win that way, just by taking advantage? Also, this will make other coaches doubt you with every offer in the future.

DO follow these steps and you might pull off that blockbuster deal that pushes into the playoffs.

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