Trader Sunday

Wow, what a busy day...
JBL Sunday's typically don't look like they did today. So, what happened? Well, lets go through the day...

• For starters, my pickup of Austin Daye turned out to be a shitty move as Detroit thinks he can't play against bigger forwards. Well, they may have a point when you're 6'10 and 200 pounds. Anyways, Daye was released....again.
• Then Brussels and Juan de Fuca hooked up on a massive 8 player deal. Brussels gets Gerald Wallace, Zach Randolph, Troy Murphy, and Jonny Flynn while Juan gets Durant, Bargnani, Big Baby, and Toney Douglas. Who wins this deal??? Hard to say really at this point. Durant is the best player so that has to count for something. The key to the deal for Brussels is the return to health and prominence of Troy Murphy. At the moment, Troy is wasting away in New Jersey. Rumors are that he is healthy but Coach Avery is just fine starting Humphries and using Favors as his backup. If Murphy gets moved or gets back into action I might give the edge to Brussels in this deal. However, for now, Brussels has lost a lot of scoring and doesn't actually have a guy who is averaging 20ppg right now. Juan de Fuca did this deal to get Kevin Durant. He's actually a buy low candidate right now. He hasn't been his usual self so far this season and is bound to have some monster games moving forward. Bargnani is now the face of the Raptors and is having a very good year. Davis and Douglas are good depth guys. Have a look at the Juan roster as he is now with 4 healthy bench guys and will have to drop one...
• Then Maui and French Lick got into the trade action. Maui acquired Granger and Anthony Morrow for Wilson Chandler and Jeff Green. Maui was lacking a true stud scorer and is hoping that Granger can be that guy. Morrow is NJ's 3rd leading scorer right now and can flat out shoot lights out from downtown. Maui was in need of a shake up and really just needs to get healthy. French is getting Wilson Chandler and his 16, 5, and 31 blks on the year. His %'s can be scary but he plays in the fast paced NY offense. Maui gave up a lot of blocks in this deal but does have Sammy D waiting in the wings. French also got the injured Jeff Green. He's missed about a week with some sort of ankle injury. When healthy, Greener is the #3 man now in Oklahoma and is a jack of all trades. This could be a good deal for both teams. As Maui told me via text - this trade can't make his team any worse.
• Maui and Golden then got into the action with a minor deal involving Sonny Weems and Channing Frye. Maui wanted to move one of his Centers and get some more scoring. Weems has been on fire for the Raptors the past 10 days so he fit the bill. Golden wanted to get some more size and someone who shoot (and hit) some 3's. Channing Frye hopefully fits the mold. Frye's brief stint in Golden last season was a horrible venture for both parties so I'm hoping that history doesn't repeat itself.
• I'm also expecting some activity on the waiver wire tonight. Why? Because Udonis Haslem is out in Miami for about 8-10 weeks. Someone has to play those 30 minutes. Will it be Ilgauskas? James Jones? Eddie House? So, I'm expecting some Heat players to be signed tonight. There could also be another couple of FA signings tonight....just a hunch.
• Going back to my previous post - Golden will feature at least 5 new starters in week 5 and that number could be 6 depending on Free Agency tonight. I'm working hard at improving but it's going to take some time.

More Change in Golden

Another week down in the 20th season of the JBL and Golden is still mired in the basement. But hey, I'm just barely over 400 pts now. That's encouraging. And there were some positive signs as the week winds down. The Golden squad is right up there in scoring this week and has closed the gap between themselves and the top scoring teams in the league. The bad news is that the ATO, STL, and 3PT% is still atrocious.

So, with that news, week 5 will see Golden drastically change their 12 man starting lineup for the upcoming week. 5 new starters will come in. Guys who are out?? Thornton (trade), Warrick (trade), Nazr (bench), Sessions (released), and Batum (only 2 man games).

One of those new starters will be Cleveland's doghouse man - JJ Hickson. I acquired him from Seoul today for Al Thornton and Hakim Warrick. Why did I make this trade? Well, for starters, Thornton and Warrick are frustrating fantasy players. One night they're great, the next night they suck. And believe me, I've seen Hickson's numbers lately, it's not that he's much more consistent at all. I made this trade because Hickson, I think, still has the greatest upside. With that comes the unknown of course, but I thought I should chance it. Mo Williams is coming back from injury and maybe that will help JJ's numbers. At some point, you know Cleveland will have to clear the way for JJ and move Jamison to a contender. So, I'm hoping JJ can find his form again in the coming weeks.

Speaking of Mo - he will get back into the starting lineup. Hopefully he can stay healthy and have a few more games like he did Saturday night (21pts, 6ast, 3stl). He will hopefully improve the dreaded ATO of this squad.

Also expected to return next week is Darren Collison. He missed the entire week with an ankle injury and it appears he's good to go for Monday against the Heat. I need his ATO and some steals. I really need him to start showing the game he had last season when he took over for the injured Chris Paul. He hasn't been bad this season, but I was hoping for more.

Another newcomer to the starting lineup will be Golden favorite Luke Ridnour. I brought him in with the hope that he can get some ATO, steals, and 3PT% this week. I released Sessions as it didn't make sense to have Mo and his backup. Plus, Sessions hasn't shot the ball well and doesn't get any steals. Why not shake it up?? Ridnour will likely be in town until Jonny Flynn returns and I hope Luke remembers those great years he had in Golden when he was still a Sonic.

And the 5th new starter this week has already done some time in Golden this season - Austin Daye. I've brought him back based on his upside. Again, hopefully Detroit realizes they need to play their young guys and Daye can get some minutes. His numbers are similar to Warrick and Thornton's but again I'm hoping he has more upside down the road. He plays 4 games this week so I'm hoping for something from the kid.

Guys, I know you probably aren't all that jacked to read about Golden's roster shuffle - but it's all I've got. I'm not blessed with a star studded team that requires little maintenance from week to week. I've never been this low in the JBL standings ever - except for years when there were only 6 teams (pretty sure I could have been 6th) - so I am working at improving my squad and thought I would at least document my thought process through it all.

I don't think I need to blow Bangkok's praises on here - he does that himself on the live scoreboard every night. So, if you have a topic for me - let me know and I'll do my best to chat about it.

Today I also posted a poll to see what the JBL thinks about the Draft location for 2011. Whistler is getting some votes. We discussed this in Vegas while we were there. Timbo has a place up there so accommodation would be cheap for sure. We would need some sort of Internet hub connection that we could all connect too but I'm sure we have some computer wizards to figure all that out. Whistler would be great for the locals. Drive up Saturday morning, get ready for the draft, do the draft, head out for a meal in the Village, crash, and head home Sunday. Nice little adventure for sure.

Did anyone see the Clippers vs. Knicks game tonight. I watched part of the 2nd half. Blake Griffin was amazing. Granted, Amare has never been known for his defense, but Blake was awesome. How much longer before they sack Del Negro?? He never should have got the job. Horrible.

Seeing the last couple of Suns games made me realize they will never trade Steve Nash. They simply aren't very good when he isn't playing.

Raptors and Hornets made a 5 player deal today. Jack/Andersen/Banks to NO for Bayless/Peja. I guess Jarrett Jack is the "best" player in the deal. However, his Fantasy value likely drops now being the 1st guard off the bench in NO as opposed to being the starter in TO. Jose Calderon's value goes through the roof! It sounds like TO will play Peja so his arrival cuts into Weems, Kleiza, and DeRozan's minutes. Kind of a nothing deal in terms of fantasy in my opinion.

Nice to see the Canucks showed up for the big Saturday night showdown with the Blackhawks. Ugly.

Well, that's it for me tonight. Tomorrow Jayne and Ryan are heading to Seattle to see the Harry Potter exhibit, stay overnight, and watch the Harry Potter movie on Monday. I'm hanging out all day Sunday hopefully watching football and not shoveling the driveway!

A Man Emerging

I think I am witnessing something special...

No, I'm not talking about Bangkok's special start to the JBL's season. No, I'm not talking about Idaho being a contender. No, I'm not talking about Seoul's quest to a become back-to-back-to-back champion. I'm talking about Serge Ibaka becoming a Fantasy stud.

Now, sure, I may be jumping the gun a bit here. But let me tell you, when you're in 13th place and your team sucks - you have to get excited about something.

Tonight, albeit in the absence of Jeff Green, Mr. Ibaka posted 22pts, 11rebs, and 4 blocks. For the season, prior to tonight, he was averaging 11ppg, 8reb, and over 2 blocks per game. Let's remember that he is just 21 years old and in his 2nd season in the NBA.

I actually blogged about his coming out party last April when the Thunder scared the Lakers in the 1st round of the Playoffs. One game, Ibaka rejected 7 shots and looked very impressive against the Laker big men.

Can Ibaka keep it up all season? Who knows. But at just $4 dollars he could be a prize keeper for next season. And if Golden continues to stay near the bottom of the pool, Ibaka actually becomes more valuable than the other players who actually put up bigger numbers. Is Ibaka better than LaMarcus Aldridge? No, but he's better value. Is he better than Luol Deng? No, but he's better value.

So, as I have mentioned, pretty much the entire Golden squad could be had via trade except for those 4 players who appear to be undervalued looking at next season.

Roddy Beaubois $1

Nicolas Batum $1

Serge Ibaka $4

Carlos Boozer $30

If the 2011 draft was to be held tomorrow, all of these players (with the exception of Beaubois and Boozer because they hasn't played) would likely go for more than their current salary. So, at this point, there is absolutely no reason for me to trade them. None.

Do I want to improve in the standings? Absolutely, but I need to find a way to do that while keeping the 4 players mentioned above. Those 4 guys have to be a part of the rebuilding project for this season. Because of the brilliant staggered keeper system in place in the JBL I need to climb as high as possible in the standings in order to maximize the number of players I can protect. I admit that things don't look that rosy in Golden these days but I have to do all I can to climb the standings if only for the benefit of keepers for next season.

Again, genius keeper system to keep me motivated to improve - regardless of how bleak the current situation seems. There are currently 7 teams below 600 points so those teams have to be my target for now. A 7th place finish would get me 3 keepers - which isn't too shabby at all. Baby steps first. Let's see what this Golden team can do when everyone is healthy and then decide what drastic moves need to be made.

I've become a big Ibaka fan over 2010 - starting with the playoffs and into the first 10 games of the 2010/11 season. And could you imagine if the Thunder were still in Seattle? Oh man, that would be sooooo cool to watch this young team with Kevin Durant. Curse you Clay Bennett, curse you!

Frustration Mounting....

Remember the days when you were a teenager and you were dating a girl that you really liked? You'd been out on a couple of dates and you could sense she was into you too. There was lots of kissin' and touchin' and messin' around. Finally, there was the night that you thought you'd be advancing a little further than the many nights before. The anticipation drives you nuts. Your heart is pounding and the very thought of you taking your pants off makes your little man hard. She talked about how bad she wanted you and you couldn't wait to show her how manly you really were. And then, when the moment finally arrived, she put the brakes on and it never happened.

Remember that drive home? Your balls were aching because they were blue. They were filled with excitement and with little guys who should be in a submarine or in the Navy. Do you remember your frustration level? Do you remember how bad you wanted to know what you did wrong or what you could have done differently? Do you remember wondering if you'd ever reach the promised land? Do you remember going home and being able to relieve the tension yourself with a bottle of Jergens and a blue towel?

Well, my friends, my Golden Showers' balls are blue!! Watching this team night in and night out is growing painful. The inconsistent performances. The injuries. The indecision on my part to sign FA's or pull the trigger on a trade. I want to correct the whole mess I've created in one big ejaculation - but I can't. I'm frustrated and I don't know when my guys will be able to blow their load again!

Today I updated my "on the block" page. I have offered up 12 of my current 16 man roster. Who is part of the future of Golden? Well, for now, it's Batum, Boozer, Ibaka, and Beaubois. These 4 guys could have some keeper value for the 2010/11 season based on their current salaries. Sure, things could change over the coming months, but for now, these 4 are my keeper targets. Of course, as it stands now (9:17pm PST) on Saturday night, I would only be able to protect one player for next season based on my current 12th place position (remember 13th place keeps zero).

So, what's the Golden plan? For now, get some healthy guys. I lost Mo Williams this week to another groin injury. Maybe his blue balls exploded internally and he's flooded inside. Then try to climb up the standings once Boozer and Beaubois return. Can they make an impact?? I'm putting a lot of faith into Beaubois based on Dirty Dirk's comments on the kids value to the Mavs. Hope he does a lot better than my other 'faith' picks (Daye and Blair). Ahead of me in the standings there are 4 other teams in the 500 point range. And currently, 7th place Belgrade is hovering at 639 points. That seems like a long way away at this point, but I have to shoot for something because my balls are blue, they are aching, and they need to explode soon!!

Golden and French Deal....

Well, Golden and French have made a deal...

The negotiations opened with a Ben Gordon for Anderson Varejao offer early in the day. I rejected this as I have never been a Ben Gordon fan. He's a quality baller, but he isn't a Golden baller. Just like Boris Diaw rubbed me the wrong way last season and will NEVER be back.

Anyways, French is concerned about his rebounding numbers. He offered up Ben Gordon because of his 3PT% abilities. And since Golden is last in 3PT%, this offer made a great deal of sense. (See Idaho - this is how you evaluate the other teams' needs and the offer something of value to them).

French's team through their first 83 man games is averaging a paltry 4.37 rebounds. That's not enough and Hildy knows it. He was out for rebounds and Varejao is averaging over 10 a game right now. So, Varejao made sense from his perspective. Also, at just $7 bucks, Varejao could have some value beyond this season.

Also, French has Corey Maggette and Anthony Morrow on his bench right now. So, losing Batum isn't that big of a deal...

Late Wednesday evening, after much deliberation, I offered Varejao for Nicolas Batum. We all know it's rare to trade big for small (like I did) but I do have an ace up my sleeve. That ace is Carlos Boozer. Look, I hated giving up Varejao's boards but I can replace those boards in a couple of weeks with Boozer (assuming he's healthy).

So, why Batum? There are a couple of reasons. I know it's week 3 and there is plenty of time left in the season - but - it's never too early to think about potential keepers for next season. Especially when your team is struggling. Batum is $1 dollar and has become an integral part of the Blazers team. Plus, with the news that Brandon Roy could be rested a bit more to save the wear and tear on his injured knee I am hoping that Batum picks up some of the offensive slack.

Also, more than half of my future starting lineup was in the Central division. I would have 3 Bulls, 2 Pacers, and 2 Cavs. That was too much. Adding another player from my favorite team makes those 7:30pm Blazer games more interesting.

So, this appears to be a win-win for both Fantasy teams. French has improved his rebounding while Golden adds another weapon for this season and maybe more. I think it's pretty rare that both Fantasy teams feel satisfied with the deal...

In the big picture, once the principles are moved and the bench guys are activated, the trade for French means he will have Varejao and Morrow/Maggette in his lineup. And for Golden, once Boozer is healthy, this will be Boozer & Batum.

What Needs to be Addressed???

With Crikkers' recent poll on the JBL site about the lack of quality Free Agents available in the these days- it got me thinking. What is the biggest concern for the JBL moving forward? I really think there are only 2 big issues right now...

1) The lack of free agents (due to us adding a 13th team)

2) the length of time that teams can protect players and what their salaries should be

So, let's look at the first one - the lack of quality FA's. First off, is it really a problem or concern? Do we want to have a whole bunch of quality FA's out there where you can just sign anyone at anytime? Oh man, Lamar Odom just got hurt, that's OK, I'll sign LaMarcus Aldridge. I don't think we're dealing with anything that drastic, but I'm wondering if there are more than a few owners who really are concerned about this FA issue. With 13 teams it does put more pressure on draft night. You must do your homework and prepare because if you fuck up the draft - you can't simply fix it through Free Agency. Is that a bad thing? We do have almost 7 months to prepare for the annual draft!! 7 months to prepare!! I guess one potential idea would be to reduce the current roster size. Right now, JBL teams could carry as many as 16 players if you count the IR spot. What if that maximum was 15?? Would adding 13 players (one from each team) back into the FA pool really make a difference? Most of the guys that would be back in the pool would be injured guys hanging around (Bynum, Flynn, Birdman, etc). I really don't want to change the active 12 man rosters because we've always had 12 active players. Always. I don't think that's an option. So, we would have to shorten the benches. But I don't know, I'm not sure the lack of quality FA players is as big an issue or concern to the masses...What say you???

The second issue is the Keeper situation. We discussed it during the summer and there was some excellent ideas floated. There are 3 things being discussed around this issue...

A) How many years can a player be protected?

B) What is the salary bump each year?

C) What do we do with the players already in year 3 (currently the final year)?

Currently, a player can be protected 2 years (initial draft year plus 2 keeper years). So, we see some players in contract year '3' on our rosters. Some want to extend this to a 4th or 5th year. Right now, we only have 7 players that are in keeper year 3. That's 7 players out of 195 on JBL rosters. Small potatoes. The original argument of why we only did 3 years was that so other JBL teams could have a chance to draft a player. Well, it certainly doesn't seem like this is an issue anymore as we have some great keeper rules in place that limit amount of players that can be protected each year based on where you finish in the standings. Personally, I would be OK seeing the service length extended to a 4th or 5th season (whatever the masses decide).

The current salary bump is $5 bucks a season. Again, only 7 players reached their 3rd keeper year. Who are they?

David Lee $26

Nene $12

Derrick Rose $29

Andrea Bargnani $15

Marc Gasol $13

Kevin Durant $43

Russell Westbrook $15

So, if owners were allowed to protect guys for a 4th season - how many of those guys would be worth keeping for another $5 bucks. I believe all of them.

What if the bump in year 4 was $10 bucks? You know what - I say all of them get protected again.

Again, we're talking about 7 players who fall into the category where they would be eligible for a 4th season. It's not much.

For simplicity, if we go down this road I would say just make it $5 dollar bumps because it really is such a small group of players that are affected.

I know our summer JBL podcast discussed the idea of a Restricted Free Agency system where the player in tear 3 would go back into the draft for auction and then the team who owned that player the year before could "Match" the winning bid and retain the players rights. Interesting concept but I don't think it will work with our online draft system that we are using now. And I think I can speak for the JBL masses in saying the online auction we use is amazing. Simple and fast. So, the RFA idea isn't going to work.

OK, so let's say we adopt a 5 year contract with $5 dollar bump ups each year. What do we do with the guys already in year 3 and who would have been going BACK into the draft if we didn't change the rule. Should we throw them back into the draft? Or should we simply implement and let the chips fall where they may??

Here's my 2 cents. We let them ride. Those 7 players would still have great value for all the other JBL teams by means of trade because they could get 2 more years out of them too. We could argue and say that Kevin Durant should go back into the pool so we could all draft him. Or we could say that he's eligible for 2 more years of protection and if we want to make Tim an offer for him - we make him an offer.

This 'Keeper' proposal should go the polls on the JBL site. There should be 3 polls.

1) What's the maximum contract years for a player? Currently we have 3 years. I say the poll should be 3, 4, or 5. Maybe some guys like the current 3 years - but I think we should give it a go at 4 or 5 years. If that's the case, then the 2nd poll would be...

2) What should the salary bump be for years 4 and 5?? $5 bucks? $10 bucks? It's got to be simple and easy to calculate. Again, I think the easiest is $5 bucks a year all the way through. Remember, currently there are only 7 players that even made year 3!! Also remember, that in any given year only 33 players can be protected (based on our weighted keepers by order of standings)...I think there are only 2 choices for the poll in this case - $5 or $10 bump ups.

And finally, we would have to decide the fate of the 7 players currently in year 3 of their contracts.

3) What happens to the 7 players in year 3 of their contracts?? They either go back into the draft or they are eligible for protection. I would clarify this and say if the decision is made that those players in Year 3 go back into the draft, that's fine. I would say that anyone currently in year 2 would be eligible for the full 4/5 years (just easier for tracking purposes)...

Anyways, I think those should be the next few polls to try and get the Keeper issue sorted out.

Week 2 - Bangkok Domination

Well, week 2 is almost in the books and the Bangkok Fighters team is proving that his team is for real. Let`s looks at the top 4 JBL teams right now and what else is going on around the JBL...



Bangkok is getting top notch Fantasy production from Josh Smith, Brandon Roy, and Rudy Gay. The latter is actually putting up numbers worthy of being a top 10 Fantasy player. And Bangkok is doing all this without the services of Stephen Curry - who is due back this week. Bangkok is dominating the JBL right and doesn't appear to have many weaknesses. However, as we all know, there are 24 weeks in this long JBL season and lots can happen. The only concern that Bangkok would seem to have is can his role players keep it up all year? Elton Brand is 18 and 8 with 2.5 steals and almost 2 blocks a game. Will he do that all year? Is Dorell Wright going to average 18 and 5 all season? Will Taj Gibson be 15 and 6 once Boozer comes back in Chicago? All that being said, you can't fault Rick for having guys having career years. He gets the pleasure of watching his team succeed and just hope that they all keep it up and no one gets hurt.

The very big Arctic squad is currently in 2nd place and leads the JBL in rebounding and ATO. The Vegas draft room criticized Arctic for spending big dollars on Rondo and Blake Griffin. Well, I guess we can shut up now as both are putting up gaudy Fantasy numbers early on. I feel like I have to mention the rebounding prowess of this team. He currently has 4 players averaging over 10 rebounds per game. Insane man. What is surprising though is that despite all the size Arctic is 11th in blocks right now. I guess they have a bunch of Kevin Willis arms on the squad. Arctic made the crafty FA signing of Eric Bledsoe (the other PG last year in Kentucky not named Wall) and he appears ready to push Baron de Boeuf for minutes in LA. That could be a good signing in the long term. Raymond Felton has also been good in NY in D'Antoni's system.

Our 3rd place team from Yuma is quite strong in 5 of the 7 JBL categories. Currently,Yuma is struggling in FG% and blocks. At the moment, Yuma is relying on Al Jefferson and Ben Wallace as his shot-blockers and those 2 might not be enough to compete at a high level in that category. That being said, there is a real shortage of shot blockers available in the JBL. They don't grow on trees you know. Yuma is a deep team and has plenty of talent. The pleasant surprise has to be Mike Conley who is averaging almost 16 and 8 and over 3 steals right now. Very impressive numbers for a $9 dollar player. Another interesting stat about the Yuma squad is the age of this team. Without checking their actual birth dates - how many guys on Yuma are over 30 years old? I think it could be 8 or more. So, does should that be a positive in that Yuma knows these guys have been around long enough to know what he's going to get or should it be a concern that this is an aging team and could be due for an injury before long? Only time will tell...

Our 4th place team is the 2-time defending champion Seoul Brothers. Philly Woo has once again pieced together a team that can challenge for the title. He's excelling in PTS, STLS, and REBS right now and holds a slim lead over Idaho for the last money spot at this early point in the season. We know that Woo is working the phones and trying to make some improvements. Seoul, like many other teams, is looking for blocks. The JBL rumor mill tells me that Woo is looking at moving Blatche for some blocks. The Seoul team is strong and is poised to hang around all year in the JBL race.

What else is going on the in JBL????

• Again, the rumor mill has Brussels shopping Danny Granger
• Idaho is shopping his 2 underachieving Suns - Turkoglu and Warrick (and of course he is looking for All-Stars in return)
• Word out of Chilliwack is that the Jazz monster PF Paul Millsap could be had for the right price
• All is quiet in the JBL's newest JBL franchise Manhattan Beach. No FA signings yet. No trade offers have come my way. Has anyone else heard from Mr. Hucul?
• Juan de Fuca has been quiet as well. This perennial contender has got off to a rough start this season. Are they considering some moves to shake things up?
• Golden has climbed out of the 100 point range and now finds himself in 11th with 400+ points.

That's all for now boys...Lots of time left in this JBL season. Stay patient. Stay calm. Long road ahead.