The JBL Offseason

Well, the first ever JBL offseason trading began with a....whimper. No deals. Apparently some offers, but nothing has been completed yet. I made some offers to Bangkok and Juan but both deals were rejected. Both offers included D-Wade from my end. I guess there is some argument to whether or not he would be a bargain at $69 bucks.

Remember the old days of the JBL when David Robinson went for $130 bucks, Hakeem Olajuwon went for $100, Jordan was $90+, Garnett was $90+, and even Karl Malone and his 25 and 10 went for $90 dollars one season. Apparently, those days are gone. The trend in the last couple of seasons has seen the top end guys (Lebron, Paul, Howard, Wade) all top out around $70 dollars. From there, all other players’ value comes up a bit and there is this huge middle tier of players. I think why the top end guys are seeing a reduction in value is because teams don’t want to have that one player cost them the season. It’s true, if you have D-Wade, at $69 dollars and he blows a knee and goes down for the year – your JBL title hopes are gone. Look at what happened to Benny last season when he lost Al Jefferson. Now, the biggest difference was that Al was on his last year of a 3 year contract that had him in the $20 buck range. Big difference. Benny was able to still contend because he had a well balanced roster. However, if your top guy is $75 bucks, that leaves you $185 for 14 other players.

The other factor is the belief that the guy you are protecting for $69 dollars could be had for that amount again. What if I let Wade go back into the auction and I get him for $65? Then I would have looked like an idiot for keeping him at $69 – I saved $4 dollars. But what if I really want Wade and have to spend $85 to get him? Now that move cost me $16 dollars.
So...is D-Wade a bargain at $69 dollars? I think he is...but I’m still afraid to announce officially I am keeping him.

What about Elton Brand for $28 bucks? A few years ago this would be a no-brainer. EB has always been a highly sought after power forward who can give you 20 and 10 with 2 blocks and great FG%. But now, after back to back injury plagued seasons, I’m worried about his health and how he fits in to the 76ers offense. Last season, when he was healthy, he didn’t look comfortable and didn’t play well at all. The 76ers ran more and were a better team with Eb on the sidelines. However, a couple of things have changed for the 76ers coming into 09/10. First of all, they have a new coach in Eddie Jordan. You remember him? The guy who was fired and blamed for the lack of success that the Wizards were having after losing Arenas, Haywood, and others to injury. This is the same guy who also had great success turning the Wizards into a very good basketball team. The 2nd thing is that the 76ers no longer have Andre Miller. He was the engine that drove that team. Now, they are turning things over to Louis Williams and rookie Jrue Holiday. How will this affect their offense? Can they play a fast pace with those guys running the show? And finally, there is lots of talk from Coach Jordan that they will probably play Brand a lot at Centre and use Williams, Green, Iggy, Young, and Brand. So, how does this affect EB’s value? Well, he would gain Center eligibility – always a handy thing to have. He would also be the primary rebounder in those sets as Dalembert would be on the bench. So, there’s a lot of positive factors heading into the 09/10 season for Brand. However, the biggest one is will he be healthy. Can he get back to his old 20 and 10 days? That’s the $28 dollar question. I guess I’ll have to see how he plays in the pre-season.

Finally, our new boy, Marko Papic is really turning heads in his first week in the JBL. He has already written 2 articles (which is more than some teams have written in a lifetime). He’s very passionate about the NBA and I think he will be an excellent fit in the JBL. Those guys who are active in Free Agency and are up-to-date on happenings around the NBA always do well in the JBL. So, I think he will be a contended in his first year. Can he pull a Woo and win it all? Who knows, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.