The 13th Team...

Well, it's official. Bob Hucul has joined the JBL. Bob is well known to Philly Woo, Pat, Rick, and Ben so he'll fit right in with the "older" JBL members (yes, I count myself in this group as well). While Bob decides on his team name and develops a JBL strategy I wanted to mention the problem that Bob has caused to other owners. Now, don't get me wrong - it's a good problem.

You see, adding a 13th team to the JBL changes everything about how we should value these NBA players in terms of Fantasy. We haven't had 13 teams in the JBL (except for the year we had the 'ghost' team) before....
So, with 13 teams and 15 players per team - we are drafting 195 NBA players. That's a lot of guys!! So, we are going deeper and deeper into the NBA rosters, which means that the prime time players become more and more valuable. Teams like Brussels, Bangkok, and Chilliwack must love the expansion as they have top keepers already.
Brussels has the #1 Fantasy player in Durant.
Bangkok has Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook.
And Chilliwack has all the shot-blockers galore in corn country.

My Golden squad has virtually 3 locks for protection - Josh Smith, Derrick Rose, and Darren Collison. So, will the 4th spot go to Luol Deng or Aaron Brooks?? Let's have a look...

Keeper price - Brooks is $16 and Deng is $17 - so no big difference here...

The case for Aaron Brooks...

• keeping Brooks would give my squad 3 of the 30 NBA starting PG's. With 13 JBL teams and 30 NBA teams - most JBL teams would be lucky to get 2 starting PG's. Again, keeping Brooks would give me 3 solid starters.
• Brooks is one of the leading 3-point shooters in the NBA
• Brooks is coming off a magical Most Improved Player season where he averaged close to 20ppg and now he gets to lob passes to Yao (Brooks' assists should improve).

The case against Brooks...

• With Yao returning, Brooks is unlikely to score 19.6 PPG again
• Because Brooks shoots so many 3's he could go through many 0/8 from downtown nights
• Brooks really only excels in scoring and 3PT% and does not have the best FG%, ATO, or steals

The case for Luol Deng...

• Deng is a multiple category stat stuffer
• Chicago is an improving Eastern power and Deng could be open a lot more with the addition of Boozer to the team
• Deng could get 80 steals and 80 blocks in Tom Thibodeau's new defensive system (blocks are at a premium with the addition of another JBL team)
• Based on tendex rankings, Deng is a top 25 forward

The case against Luol Deng...

• Deng is injury prone
• Deng goes from being 2nd fiddle to 3rd fiddle with the addition of Carlos Boozer

So...who should it be?? Brooks or Deng? I will break it down over the coming weeks....