Curse You Aaron Brooks

Aaron Brooks will be the death of me this season. I've had him so long now that my mind is clouded with his potential. I've held onto him waiting for him to find his shot. But sadly, he has yet to find it. I was holding out hope that he would be traded to a new team at the deadline where he could start and get some playing time. But sadly, no, he was traded to Phoenix to back up one of the greatest PG's ever. Yet, for some reason, I hold onto him. And yet, for some reason, I start him still in my sad lineup known as the Showers. Why? Because, I am tied to him now. I have invested more than half a season in him and I know how the JBL Gods work. As soon as I drop him - he takes off, starts scoring 15ppg off the PHX bench and I look like an idiot. In the meantime, I continue to play him and he continues to suck - and still I look like the idiot. I can't win.

Even tonight, as my roster sits at 17 players and I struggle to decide which scrub to drop....I keep coming back to Brooks. Statistically it's not even close. Brooks' stats are horrible. He has no business being on a Fantasy team, let alone in the starting lineup. So why am I finding it so hard to drop him? Even since I started typing this blog - hinting at the thought of releasing Brooks - he just made 3 shots in a row!! You see, NBA players do know what's going on in the JBL!

So, I have the week to try and figure out what to do with this scrub-filled roster of mine. I need Guards in a bad way. Mine are horrible.

Also today, I was offered a trade from Seoul - Blatche and Tyson Chandler for Elton Brand. With a thin roster like mine I practically accepted this deal in a minute (once I'd seen it). I am struggling big time at the center position (again) with Biedrins and Hawes not cutting it. So, adding Chandler is a nice piece. And getting Blatche in also helps my depth. Losing Brand hurts as I was strongly considering him as a keeper for next season. However, if Golden has anything right now - its potential keepers for next season - so moving Brand is OK as I need to improve my roster if I want to get a top 8 position in the final standings. Right now, top 8 is looking pretty sketchy as I have fallen into the 500's.

So, with this recent trade my top 2 keepers are still the same - Rudy Gay and Kevin Love. Here are the other candidates for the Golden squad (provided I get a top 8 spot). I like the potential of all 4 of these guys to partner them with my Gay Love.

- Dorell Wright for $15

- Luis Scola for $23

- Eric Gordon for $28

- Kendrick Perkins for $7 (a new possibility with his trade to OKC)

Dorell would be Gay-light.

Scola is just the solid 19 and 8 that I have discussed many times before.

Gordon is a top 10 scorer and gets to play with Blake.

Perkins could be the 10/10 and 2 blocks guy that OKC has been longing for.

So, we'll see what happens. For now, I need some guys to get healthy (EG, Gay, and now Scola are injured). If I can get the last 4 weeks of the season with these guys in my lineup, I think I'll be able to secure a top 8 finish.

My forwards and Centers (if everyone was healthy) would be Love, Gay, Scola, Blatche, Wright, Perkins, Chandler....and throw in EG and Deron in the back court and that should be a good enough squad for top 8. The problem currently is my roster includes Brooks, Rudy, Green, James Johnson, Biedrins and others....UGLY.

Anyways, I see Aaron Brooks put up 8pts and 4assists in limited minutes tonight. And look at that - he shot 2/3 from downtown. Unreal. I guess I'll have to hold onto him for another day or two.

JBL Battles and 2012 Idea....

God I hate my team. I'm stuck in 7th. I'm going nowhere. It's barely worth even logging onto the JBL site to see what my nightly stats are. The only reasons to check are to see that I'm still in the top 8 and I will be able to protect 3 players and the other reason is to see how the battles between other teams are going. Because I am very interested in this title run between Bangkok, Seoul and Idaho.

I can say that I've already put some time into the 2011 JBL Draft and trying to figure out the best combination of 3 players that I could protect. It appears that the 3rd member of Gay Love changes nightly as Brand goes off (20 and 17) and Wright fizzles. Then another night, someone else plays well and I start to consider them. So, at least I have something to do. I guess I should be preparing for the upcoming MLB Draft....well, no, not really. I am the Pearl Necklaces of the baseball pool. I draft a squad, sign a couple of FA's during the year, make a couple of bad trades and then come June's NBA draft I'm preparing for the JBL again. So...my warning to all those JBL'ers that are in the baseball pool - make sure if you want a guy that he doesn't end up in Kirby's Puckett because he could be there a long time.

There are some other interesting battles in the standings that I am interested in as well...

• The battle for 4th between French, Arctic and Chilliwack. Benny's got a long way to go but his roster is looking impressive these days.
• The battle for 8th is actually quite interesting too. Now, normally you never think an 8th place race would be that way - but in the JBL - 8th place is the difference between 2 keepers and 3 keepers. And currently we have 4 teams in the hunt. Yuma, Juan, MBB, and Brussels all have a shot at the top 8. And, if you include my Golden squad, essentially we have 5 teams battling for 2 very important spots. Why are they important spots? Well, lets look at the potential keepers on these teams

Golden - Gay, Love, Scola, Brand, Gordon, Perkins, Beaubois

Yuma - Conley, Nash, Pierce

MBB - Fields, Batum, Stoudamire

Juan - Afflalo, Cousins, K-Mart, Hibbert

Brussels - Holiday, Lawson, Lowry, Young, Gallinari, Z-Bo, Udoh

So, as you can see, all teams have something at stake - that extra keeper could be very helpful to a lot of teams in the chase.

• I'm also watching the Maui squad quite closely as the Ribs are on the barbeque, I mean rise. mmmm, Ribs. Maui has put together a big team and has potential to move up in rebounds, steals, blocks, and 3PT%. Can he get in the hunt for 8th? Maybe. Just maybe.
• And yes, I'm watching Belgrade to see if he can close the gap on Maui. There are 6 weeks left and he's been better with the addition of Boozer and Monroe (I think Monroe as outplayed Love by himself this week!!). All that being said, I don't think the Zombies are going to make it.

Listening to the Mike & Mike on ESPN this week talk about NBA contraction gave me a potential idea for future JBL seasons. They were talking about what the NBA would do if say New Orleans was contracted. Who would get Chris Paul? Who would get David West? And so on....

This discussion got me thinking about a potential wrinkle to the JBL...hear me out.

What if the last place team's players became available for protection on July 1st?

Let's use this year as a potential example.

So, Belgrade finishes in last place (hypothetically) - which means he can protect no one off his roster. However, what if other JBL teams were allowed to pick up players off his roster??

Belgrade did his best to grab some keepers and try to move up but fails...so, on July 1st, his roster is essentially "contracted" and other JBL teams are allowed to acquire his players (if they so choose). I was thinking in reverse order of standings...

So, in this example, let's say Maui finished 12th. That would give him the 1st pick (if he wanted) to grab a player for protection. Let's play this out...

12. Maui - selects Greg Monroe $2

11. Brussels - maybe Tim likes his set of keepers and he decides to "PASS"

10. Juan de Fuca - selects Carlos Boozer $30

9. MBB - Bobby loves Lakers and selects Andrew Bynum $15

and so on....

My suggestion would be 1 round of picks only.

Of course, just because MBB acquires Bynum in this 'dispersal draft' doesn't mean he HAS to protect him - just that he has the option. We would still reduce rosters on July 1st (max 10), Sept 1st (max 6) and Oct 1st (maximum allowed per team) and teams would still have to comply with roster limits after the draft (ie. MBB's roster is at 10 players on July 1st, then we do the dispersal draft and he selects Bynum; he would have to release another player to stay at 10 guys)

So, part of the penalty of finishing last is the 13th place team doesn't get any keepers but also that the rest of the JBL could 'poach' good keepers from that team.

So while Belgrade is loading up on potential keepers he would also have to wary that if he doesn't get out of the basement that other teams could pick up these keepers.

What do you guys think of the idea?

It's just adding another off season wrinkle that would keep us JBL'ing in July (a time when usually no one is looking at the JBL stats - except Golden and Seoul)

What are the negatives? Would this prevent teams in 13th or 12th from making deals?

I'm just throwing the idea out there...I need you guys to tell me what you think.

And I'm not proposing we start this after this season...it would be after next season.

Cheers,

John

NBA Trade Deadline and More...

Wow, what a busy day in the NBA!

Lots of trades and moves...some good for the JBL Fantasy owners and some I'm sure won't go over well in the JBL circles...

Let's quickly jump around the NBA and JBL...

Kirk Hinrich to Atlanta. I've always liked Kirk and his game. I got to see him up close in Chicago in 2009 and I like the way he plays. He's an upgrade for sure on an aging Mike Bibby. Atlanta had to do something to try and solidify their PG spot. Belgrade gets the benefits of this deal and boy oh boy is he going to need all the help he can get. The Zombies are now 120 points behind the surging Maui squad.

The Celtics shocked the NBA world by trading Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. Why did they do this? Well, I'm guessing it's because they didn't think they'd have the money to pay Perk this summer. And Jeff Green is a solid player (and now likely 6th man for the C's). OKC gets the big man in the middle they have coveted for so long now. Ibaka becomes the starter along with KD and Perk. Nazr Mohammed is also in OKC now so the Thunder have KD, Ibaka, Perkins, Nazr, Collison, and Aldrich to match up with the Lakers bigs. I like the deal for Perkins (as long as his knee is healthy). Remember last year when the Thunder thought they acquired Tyson Chandler only to see him fail his physical. I'm assuming Perks knee is OK and he should be ready to go next week. He seems like the perfect fit for OKC. As for Jeff Green, he goes from starter and 40 mpg to a backup in Boston but likely still to get 25-30 minutes.

Baron Davis is off to Cleveland and Mo Williams is off to throw lob passes to Blake Griffin. If I didn't hate Baron so much this trade would make total sense. Baron didn't like being 2nd fiddle to anyone let alone 3rd fiddle to EG and Blake in LA. Now, he could be the #1 option in Cleveland if he wanted to - but I have a strong feeling his knee is suddenly going to become very sore. And for Mo - he never looked comfortable earlier this season trying to be the #1 guy - and he ends up going to the perfect situation in LAC. Another guy who is currently injured but I'm thinking he drinks some magic water and is now back sooner than expected. Mo's stock rising and if Baron plays - his point totals could go up but you watch those %'s drop faster than a hooker on the King George.

Aaron Brooks is off to PHX for Goran Dragic. This was an absolute must trade for the Rockets. Brooks is the reigning MIP from last season; Golden's nemesis; and he had to go. Houston got a solid backup in Dragic and a lottery protected 1st rounder. All Houston needed was a backup for Lowry - which they got. Lowry's stock goes way up as he won't have to worry about losing his starting gig. Brooks now becomes the 1st guard off the bench in PHX. He's small, quick, doesn't play any defense and loves to jack 3's (and miss them). That is perfect for PHX. I guess his stock goes up, but really, it couldn't be much lower than it currently is.

Gerald Wallace is off to PDX. Portland gives up Cunningham, Pryzbilla, and two 1st rounders I think. G-Wall will be loved by the Portland faithful that love hustle, energy and defense. Unfortunately, I don't think Crash is going to be the 15 and 8 guy anymore - although it's possible. Will the Blazers start him and slide Batum to the bench? Or will they bring Wallace off the bench? Or, will the start Wallace at PF and slide Aldridge to Center?? I like that idea and if that's the case then Wallace's value remains high and LA12's value skyrockets as he will become Center eligible. I'm a big Blazer fan so I hope this works out for them. They needed another 'star' now that B-Roy is done as a player. Another big fantasy winner in this deal was Juan's recent FA - Gerald Henderson. Apparently they are going to run him 30-35 minutes per night. Nice timing on that signing Juan de Fuca.

Shane Battier heads to Houston for Hasheem Thabeet. Am I rushing out to add Thabeet? Ummm, no. I don't get this deal at all for Houston. I guess they are hoping that Hakeem can teach Thabeet a thing or two down the road so he can become serviceable. The big winner in this deal is probably Chase Budinger. He is the likely starter now and could be a big time 3-point threat for the Rockets. Battier in Memphis will be probably start over Allen or Young and should put up similar numbers. This trade could have a big impact for Seoul and his quest for the 3-peat.

Another deal that almost happened was Mayo to Indy for McRoberts and a 1st rounder. This would have had big impact on 3 players...Mayo would have been the starter in Indy and probably their 2nd best scorer instantly. McRoberts would have gone from starter to bench fodder in Memphis and Golden signee Tyler Hansborough would have been the starter. Darn it. I'm sure Brussels would have liked to seen Mayo in Indy too.

Another rumor is that Troy Murphy is going to sign in Boston to man the middle now that they traded all their healthy big men away. This would be another huge coup for Brussels as his hoarding of potentially talented fantasy players is starting to pan out. Murphy, while not a shot blocker, could be a double-double guy and hit some 3's. We'll see where Murph ends up.

In other JBL news, all this talk and anticipation of who will be Golden's 3rd keeper next season made me realize that the Golden squad really isn't that secure in the top 8 based on the recent standings. I'm only up 80 points on the 9th place squad tonight and I realize that my 12 man unit is not that impressive these days. So, for now, I'm going to focus on Gay Love and if I can make it a 3-some - all the better. God, this stuff doesn't get old.

As I type this I see that the Bangkok lead is just 10 points over Seoul. There are a couple of areas that should be of concern to the Kok. His 3-point shooting is falling and Maui is coming on hard in this category. And also, Seoul is just 0.2% behind French for 1st place in 3PT shooting. Also, Idaho's scoring continues to be strong and the lead is just 150ish points right now. This will come down to the wire and Idaho appears to be in the mix. Maybe I should have given the youngster a little more credit - the Pimps are not dead yet.

The fight for 4th appears to be French vs. Arctic but don't count out those Offs just yet. They are only 100 points back.

So - there we have it. Another NBA trade deadline has come and gone. Lots of moves and lots of potential FA's are now relevant again after these trades. I expect to see some action this weekend as some of the following are sure to be snatched up: Toney Douglas, Chase Budinger, Anthony Parker, Gary Neal, Brandon Rush, Eric Bledsoe and others.

Have a good weekend guys. Enjoy the -10 weather.

Idaho Snubbed???

Really Idaho? You felt snubbed by the latest poll where I included you in the "field" as opposed to being listed like Bangkok and Seoul? Who, other than yourself, would be voting for you? In a way, you even admitted defeat when you stated that you were 85 points behind Seoul. Remember - Seoul's not even in 1st place!!! The question was who is going to WIN the title - not be 85 points behind the 2nd place team.

Anyways, I do love the Idaho squad, but I don't think it has a chance to win the title (with the current roster). I think Idaho's maximum point total is in the 1050 range and that appears to be a number that will fall short.

I have to say I am deeply disappointed that Idaho didn't make a single move on the final keeper deadline day. This was your best chance to improve and you didn't make a move. Ugh.

So, why don't I think Idaho has a chance at winning? You know I am going to break it down right? And sorry Idaho, some of these stats are not going to be pretty for you.

3PT% - You are at 36.1% and just 0.4% behind Bangkok. That's the good news. The bad news is that you are only 0.1% ahead of MBB and just 0.3% ahead of Arctic and Maui. The other bad news is that over the last 21 days your Idaho squad has the worst 3PT% in the JBL. That stat doesn't bode well for you to move up in the category and in fact should cause concern as to whether you can maintain your current position.

ATO - You are at 1.795 and appear to be stuck there. Yuma is ahead of you at 1.913, didn't make any moves at the deadline, so I don't see Yuma dropping. Can you catch him?? Unlikely.

BLK - It doesn't appear you are moving anywhere here. Yes, you are close to French Lick but your team is averaging just 0.43 blocks and over the last 21 days your team was the 2nd worst blocking team in the JBL. So, it doesn't look like you'll be gaining any points here.

FG% - 47.2% is where you currently sit - that's 2.5% behind Seoul. No way you are catching him. In other bad news, you are just 0.2% in front of the 'Kok and if he catches you there - that would be a monstrous 26 point swing.

PTS - The Idaho squad is just 240 points behind the 'Kok and it could be possible that you catch him. Now, that being said, Bangkok just added Aldridge to the mix to bolster his scoring. It's possible and if everything went right - Idaho could gain +20 points here.

STL - The Idaho squad is very close to French Lick and the numbers indicate that Idaho could pass French in this category. That would be a big (+13 points) for the Udapimps. Seoul is the next team ahead of him but based on the numbers it appears that Seoul will likely maintain his spot in the category.

REBS - As it sits now, Idaho could catch Brussels in rebounding. However, Timbo's team is poised to improve in this category if players like Troy Murphy, Austin Daye, and Ant Rand ever see the floor. That's the short term gain of potentially +15 points for Idaho. However, long term forecasting seems to indicate that this could be an area of concern for the Idaho squad. Idaho is averaging under 5 rebounds per game now and the teams chasing Idaho have improved in this area. The Wack is just 64 rebounds behind and is adding Joakim Noah to his active roster. French is only 75 rebounds behind Idaho and is adding Amir Johnson and Chris Kaman. And Maui is only 90 rebounds behind and is loaded with bigs. This could be a category that Idaho actually loses points in unless the rebound need is addressed.

So, could I have included you in the poll for who is going to win the JBL title? Of course I could have. But I didn't and it generated a response from you. Bravo for me for getting someone to write an article on the website. And your response gave me an easy JBL Chronicles topic - so thank you to you.

This year's version of the Idaho squad is maybe the best we've ever seen - but in my estimation, without further changes, it just doesn't have the horses to win the title. It does have enough steam to finish in the money (and in my opinion finish 3rd place) and that means that Golden will be paying Idaho's $100 entry fee next season. Well done Idaho, well done. Now, let's hope than none of your superstars goes down with an injury.

Gay Love is so Wright...

OK, I had to say it. Come on though. I have Rudy Gay and Kevin Love as potential keepers for next season. Of course I am going to go with the obvious Gay Love reference. You would too. You know it. Add in 'Mini-Gay' clone Dorell Wright and you have a pretty darn good trifecta of keepers.

Check out Gay and Wright's season numbers...

Gay - 20ppg, 6reb, 47% FG, 39.6% 3PT, 1.133 ATO, 91 STL, 58 BLK, 19.9 Tendex

Wright - 16ppg, 6reb, 43% FG, 40.1% 3PT, 1.752 ATO, 77 STL, 42 BLK, 18.3 Tendex

Very similar staff stuffing numbers and both figure to be back in Golden for the 11/12 season.

And of course, Kevin Love and his 20 & 15 potential will be back.

Two wild cards in Golden's potential keeper stable will be Luis Scola and Elton Brand. Both do some very good things for very good prices. I won't be able to keep them all so a couple of them will be headed back to Auction.

So, why and how did Golden acquire Rudy Gay? Well, for starters, here are my yearly JBL goals. Win the title. If I can't win, finish in the money. If I can't do either of those I want to finish as high in the standings as possible so I can keep as many players as possible for next season. Whether that's 5th or 8th doesn't matter to me - because I will be able to keep 3 guys for next season. So, when Bangkok came after Aldridge and was offering a package that included Elton Brand and Rudy Gay I had to make it happen. As I have previously mentioned, both Brand and Gay are good keeper options. And when it was only going to cost me LaMarcus and Josh McRoberts - I had to make the move.

I'm not sure what Bangkok really gets out of this deal to secure his 1st ever JBL title but let's break this down some more...

Check out the comparison of Brand and Aldridge...

Aldridge - 22ppg, 9reb, 49.7% FG, 65 STL, 70 BLK

Brand - 15ppg, 9reb, 52.2% FG, 64 STL, 63 BLK

So - what does Bangkok gain?? He gains 7ppg for starters....that would be a really big deal if Bangkok wasn't already in the lead in scoring. However, the Idaho squad can really score and adding another top level talent certainly gives Bangkok a much better chance of holding Idaho off in that category.

And Aldridge could actually be considered a bargain at $40 bucks for next season as a keeper as well - but Rudy Gay for $29 bucks appears to be the much better bargain.

So, for once, I can say that I have modeled my JBL strategy around what Bangkok did this past season. He went to Vegas with 4 stud keepers, drafted well, and has led the JBL standings ever since. Golden hopes that with a Gay Love Wright trio of keepers that next season I can do the same. And, who knows, maybe Scola or Brand could actually sneak into the mix when it's all said and done.

The JBL is all about winning the title. Finishing 1st place. Capturing the crown. It's the only thing that everyone remembers from year to year. We list the JBL Winner on the front page of the website every year. All the other spots are gone and forgotten - except in the minds of those individual teams.

The goal now for the Showers squad is to stay healthy and compete for the 4th and final spot. I'm a long way back and I honestly don't expect to get there. However, if I come up short, and finish somewhere from 5th to 8th - I'll have 3 outstanding keepers for next season. No one will remember the 10/11 Golden Showers season except for me - but hopefully everyone in the JBL will remember the Showers and the 2011/12 season they are poised to produce....

And with just over 2 hours left before the keeper trade deadline...it appears all has gone silent...

5pm = Boring

Holy Cow man. The JBL owners are seriously disappointing so far. It's almost 5pm and not a single deal. Shame on everyone. Here's a summary of my activity today...

1. Received an offer from Bangkok involving Rudy Gay. Approached a couple of other teams to see if they had any interest in Gay's services for next season. No luck. So I passed on Gay.

2. I made an offer to Yuma involving Eric Gordon. Yuma rejected.

3. Idaho wanted Eric Gordon and Luis Scola but wasn't offering nearly enough.

And that's it...

I don't know what else is going on as I have been out all day. But the email Inbox is empty. My phone is quiet. And so far one of the most (typically) exciting JBL days has turned out to be a complete dud. Are there any offers out there? Will anyone make a move? Doesn't everyone remember/realize why Bangkok has had such a good run this year?? He protected 4 studs for next season. Maybe people have forgotten. Maybe they don't care. Maybe they want to build through the draft....I'm not sure. But so far I'd have to say I'm disappointed in the collective effort.

And to think I was hoping someone would whip out a monster....offer and come after Kevin Love. Shouldn't any JBL team not in the hunt for a money spot be offering me something to see if they can pry him from me???

7 hours to go and all is quiet. Too quiet.

Don't You Love It?

Well, it's Saturday evening and I just finished watching the All-Star weekend festivities. I have to admit, the dunk contest was quite entertaining. I was quite impressed with Serge's Free Throw line dunk. Has anyone taken off from that far away? They showed Dr. J's and Serge was definitely outside him? Where did MJ take off from? Barry? I think Serge may have broken those distances!!

Blake Griffin was outstanding. Man that kid can jump. I do have one complaint though. When the hell did Kenny Smith become the NBA's mouthpiece? Really? We're in Hollywood. We're in front of Griffin's home crowd and all I keep hearing is the annoying voice of Kenny Smith. Sure, I get that Kenny is pretty well know for his broadcasting process. But come on, do we need him hyping up the crowd and chirping with Barkley?? Geez, Kenny you were a "good" player back in the day - but I think you think you were much better than you really were. Anyways...moving on.

I know there are many (OK, a couple) JBL Chronicles readers that aren't that happy with me right now since my recent trade with Belgrade. You remember the deal - I traded Carlos Boozer, Greg Monroe and Reggie Williams for Kevin Love. All I am going to say is that I am very excited to have Dr. Love on the squad for next season. Will the trio I sent over to Belgrade help him get out of the basement?? I'm not sure. Maui is shooting the 3 well, blocking, and rebounding right now and he could be tough to catch. So, we'll see if Boozer or Monroe are able to be protected....

And what will Bangkok do with Rudy Gay? Rudy could be out for at least 4 weeks which means he could return to play around 12 games. Now, there are rumors that Gay could be out for the season. If that's the case - it could be difficult for Bangkok to get good value for him. Does Bangkok need to trade him? My belief is yes. Seoul is, how shall I say it, right on his ass. Rudy Gay is a 6 category player and a 20 PPG scorer and I don't think replacing him with either Marvin Williams or Richard Jefferson is enough. Now, there must be a JBL team out there who sees Gay's value for next season as a keeper and would be willing to part with someone? Yuma? Manhattan? Maui? Juan de Fuca? What about Golden or Chilliwack?? Well, I am considering making an offer - but I think Bangkok still wants quite the price.

What will a team like Arctic do? He has a number of good potential keepers and has slipped in the standings a bit. Is he going to use those keepers to get some more talent and make a run for the money? Or will he fold the tent and try to grab some more talented keepers?

And what will Brussels do? The Muscles squad is a team filled with players who need NBA help to be fantasy relevant. Troy Murphy - will he be traded out of NJ? OJ Mayo - can he get off the bench? Anthony Randolph - the most over-hyped big of all time?? Austin Daye - waiting for the Pistons to move Prince. Ekpe Udoh - will GS find him time? Rip Hamilton - will he be traded to a contender and will it matter? Ty Lawson - will Billups be moved with Carmelo?? Half of Tim's team is based on potential - but I think it's going to be too little too late for the Brussels squad this season. I was chatting (texting) with Timbo tonight and he's started preparing for the upcoming baseball draft already. It appears his JBL mojo is gone. This has to be a difficult season for the Muscles after coming into the year with a #2 ranking and having Tyreke and Durant as keepers. And now, 17 weeks in he's driving a 9th place squad just 14 points out of 11th. Major disappointment I think. Now, that being said, it sounds like Brussels plans to make some alterations between now and Sunday night. We'll see what he does...but I'm guessing we'll see deals with Idaho and/or French Lick. I wonder if we'll see Brussels make a run at Stephen Curry or Wilson Chandler?

And what will Yuma do? Chubby has been very quiet this season and doesn't appear to have too much attractive talents for next season. Yuma, like last season, is sitting in 8th and doesn't seem to be headed in either direction. So, will Yuma use guys like Kobe, Nash or Odom to grab some cheap talent for next season?? We'll see. I can say that I made an offer to Yuma this morning involving Eric Gordon - but no response as of yet.

I hope that as Sunday rolls along that there is plenty of text, talk and action as I think it could make for an exciting day. Last year, I was in Orlando and wasn't able to make any last day trades. This year, I hope to be active and have a few things in mind I'd like to accomplish. Now, that being said, I don't think that Kevin Love or Dorell Wright are going anywhere. My other 3 potential keepers are Scola, Aldridge and Gordon. I can't say that they are untouchable and I may leverage one of them if I can improve my team (I can't keep them all anyways). And, to go really deep, guys like Roddy Beaubois and Kendrick Perkins could be considered keepers under the right circumstances. Beaubois, after missing 50+ games, has already gained the starting SG spot in Dallas and looks to be a favorite amongst Dirk, Kidd, and coach Carlisle. He could be worth a look at $6 bucks for next season.

Anyways, that's all for now....I'll try to update the Chronicles tomorrow during the day with any rumors or possible deals that are going on. I know some guys doesn't like me airing their dirty laundry - but come on, it makes everything more fun doesn't it??

The Great Debate...

I know, it's only February and there is still 1/3 of the season left to play, but, I want to throw a scenario at you guys and see what you think. What if Bangkok maintains his lead and goes on to win his 1st ever JBL title? I said what if...

But seriously, what if Bangkok wins? Here is a team that led from pretty much day one. So where does this Kok team rank in the all-time greats of the JBL? I know, I don't want to inflate Rick's ego too much but I think this team would have to at least in the the discussion. Now, I don't have the luxury of having all the paper stats from the 1990's. Nor do we have the early 2000's when we did use CBS but under a different account.

So, I'm going to have a look from 2004 until now and let you guys decide. And again, I'm going on the assumption here that Bangkok hangs on and wins his 1st JBL title. So, if that happens, I believe the 2010/11 Bangkok squad would be one of the best 5 JBL teams in the last 7 years. Here are the contenders and the facts that support their 'greatness'.

2010/11 Bangkok Fighters. Again, he has to win the title 1st to make the top 5. But, like I mentioned, this team might lead the JBL standings all year long. His worst statistical category could be 6th (ATO) and he could set an all-time record for most points accumulated in the modern JBL scoring system. Here is the breakdown of the major categories (as they stand tonight - Feb 15/11)

PTS - 1st

REB - 3rd

FG% - 3rd

3PT% - 4th

ATO - 6th

STL - 1st

BLK - 2nd

Other factors to consider - what will Bangkok's winning margin be? Currently, his lead is 60 points over 2nd place, 141 over 3rd and 261 points over the 4th and final money spot. Also, if you added up his cumulative score for the 7 categories - they add up to 20.

So, who are the other teams in the running for greatest JBL team ever?

How about the 2008 Seoul Brothers. This squad won the season with 1009 points. This was 154 points clear of 2nd place. If I remember correctly, this Seoul team was already planning the parade route in February he was so far ahead. The 3rd place team was 175 points behind and 4th was 180pts behind. His worst category was 6th and he was 1st in 2 categories. Here's the breakdown of the Seoul squad in the standings.

PTS - 6th

REB - 1st

FG% - 3rd

3PT% - 2nd

ATO - 3rd

STL - 1st

BLK - 3rd

Cumulative total = 19.

Another team in the running would be the 2006 Golden Showers squad. This team won by 97 points. Their winning total was 998. The interesting part is that 3rd place was 247 points behind and 4th was 282 points behind. His worst category was 6th and he was 1st in Rebounds. Juan de Fuca finished 2nd that year but everyone else after that was left in the dust. Breakdown by category:

PTS - 2nd

REB - 1st

FG% - 6th

3PT% - 4th

ATO - 2nd

STL - 5th

BLK - 2nd

Cumulative total = 22.

Another strong contender is the 2005 Seoul Brothers team. This team won with 980 points and their closest competition finished 126 points back. 3rd place was 138 points behind and 4th was 140 back. His worst category was 5th in scoring and he was 1st in 2 categories. The breakdown was as follows:

PTS - 5th

REB - 3rd

FG% - 1st

3PT% - 4th

ATO - 1st

STL - 2nd

BLK - 2nd

Cumulative total = 18

And our final 'best team ever' contender was the 2004 Chilliwack Offs. This team won with 1082 points and won by 129 points over the 2nd place squad. 3rd place was 189 back and 4th place was 209 back. His worst category was 7th and he was 1st place in 2 categories. Here's the breakdown:

PTS - 4th

REB - 2nd

FG% - 7th

3PT% - 1st

ATO - 1st

STL - 3rd

BLK - 4th

Cumulative total = 22

So, which of those would be considered the greatest JBL team of all time??? I could argue a number of different ways. I think if Bangkok hangs onto the 10/11 JBL title that his squad should definitely be in the discussion. Would it be the greatest ever? Maybe. Depends on your criteria.

Should the greatest team ever be defined as the one with the most points in a season?

Should it be by the largest winning margin?

Should it be defined by the lowest cumulative total of all 7 categories?

Should it be defined as the biggest disparity between the winning point total and the final money spot point total?

Should it be defined by the 'lowest worst category'?

Should it be the team with the most 1st and 2nd place categories?

Depending on how you slice it - all 5 of the teams I've listed above could lay claim to the 'greatest' JBL team ever. I think it would be interesting to put to a JBL poll but I don't believe our JBL ownership group would vote on an unbiased nature. But I do think it makes for great chat board discussion. I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts on this topic...especially after the season if Bangkok wins this thing. No matter what you think, Bangkok's 2010/11 season would have to be classified as magical (if he wins) and it will undoubtedly be called a 'choke' if he fails to win it.

Of course, I've looked at it a couple of different ways and I believe the greatest JBL team ever is...

Top 10 Keepers

OK fellas, I've done it. I've put together my top 10 list of potential keepers for next season. I've factored in what these guys could be protected for compared to what I think they would go for at auction. Sure, the teams they play for could change, but I'm trying to guess what I think their value would be if their teams' situations stayed relatively the same.

I initially narrowed the field down to 30 potential keepers. From there, it was very difficult to try and come up with 10 great keepers for the 11/12 season. But I've come up with a list of 10. So, without further ado, here we go...(and in no particular order and I will list their keeper price)

Kevin Love $22 - 21ppg and 15reb and he can shoot 3's (43% from downtown)! Oh my. He's the rebounding king. He has 100 more rebounds than Dwight Howard. He can sure help out a team in rebounds that is guard heavy. A true one man wrecking force. I figure he's gotta be at least a $50 dollar player.

Stephen Curry $20 - a 5 category kid on a team that loves to play run and gun. Yum-yum. Lots of steals and good %'s. He's a stud in the making. What more can be said? He's in French Lick to start the year next season for sure. Safe to say at Auction he would be close to a $50 dollar player.

Joakim Noah $27 - Maybe a surprise to some of you? Noah was having a monster year before he got hurt but his numbers are outstanding. 14ppg and 12reb with steals, blocks, good FG% and a positive ATO. The only reason he's not a 7-cat fantasy player is because he doesn't shoot 3's. It will be interesting to see how he pairs with Boozer but I think if Brook Lopez goes for $45 at Auction then Noah has to be worth at least that much. A stud fantasy center in the making.

Luis Scola $23 - I've already ranted about the under-rated Scola as I have compared him a couple of times to the $40 dollar David West. However, I have found even a better comparison for this purpose. Check out Scola's numbers again - this time against the $47 dollar Chris Bosh...

Scola - 19ppg, 8reb, 50.5% FG, 1.286 ATO, 40 STL, 35 BLK

Bosh - 18ppg, 8reb, 49.4% FG, 1.071 ATO, 38 STL, 35 BLK

Wow - crazy similar. Yes, maybe Bosh is over-priced but it's all about how much someone is willing to pay for a guy. I think Scola is the better bargain - and he has better hair.

Rudy Gay $29 - It's difficult to find a comparison for Gay because he's having a monster season. 20ppg, 6reb, with good %'s and 88 steals and 58 blocks. He's at least a $40 dollar guy (if not more) and he's making a believer out of me that he's a top fantasy player.

Elton Brand $19 - I can't believe he made the cut but his numbers speak for themselves. 15ppg and 9reb while getting over a steal and block per game. Again, not many will fall into the 80-80 club for steals and blocks. Brand is on a rebuilding Philly team but seems to fit in nicely and is a nice guy to have for under $20 bucks.

Dorell Wright $15 - It's hard to up-sell a guy after a 4/16 and 1/8 performance but his overall body of work has been very good this season. His FG% is his only weakness and he's become a 6-cat fantasy player. He could end up in the 120-60 club (STL/BLK) - not too many in there.

Tyson Chandler $8 - he's not flashy by any means but he is having a great season. Check out his numbers against another Western Conference center.

Chandler - 10.5 ppg, 9.5reb, 66% FG, 24 STL, 59 BLK

Other Big - 11.1 ppg, 10.1 reb, 59% FG, 17 STL, 87 BLK

Very similar numbers indeed. Chandler is a $3 dollar center and the other guy went for $32 bucks. Who is he? Emeka Okafor. So, maybe the market dictated at the time that Okafor was a little overpriced. But, wouldn't it be nice to have some solid production from the Center spot for just $8 dollars? Yes please.

Kevin Martin $22 - another questionable top 10'er maybe?? Yes, K-Mart is as injury prone as they come - but he's been healthy this year and he's been really, really good. He's actually scored more points than Wade, Carmelo, and Howard. He shoots the 3-ball extremely well and he's actually almost a steal per game player this season. If you look at the JBL standings this season you will notice that all the top teams are the ones who are near the top in the scoring category. And since K-Mart is one of the best in that category and he only costs you $22 bucks - he should be worth the risk. If you want to win the JBL title, apparently your team needs to be able to score.

Tyreke Evans $23 - He was my last guy into the top 10. First of all, he would go for more in the Auction because of his upside. His numbers are good when you break it down by the 18-5-5 that he averages with over 100 steals. However, his shooting %'s are horrible this season. But, the talent is there and I could easily see JBL teams paying big bucks to have him. So, based on the current stats and the potential - he makes the top 10.

Guys who just missed the cut - Wilson Chandler, Michael Beasley and Eric Gordon.

Guys who could have very good 11/12 seasons based on their potential and if their teams make some roster adjustments - DeAndre Jordan, Greg Monroe, Ekpe Udoh, Serge Ibaka, Roddy Beaubois, Wesley Johnson, Ty Lawson, Derrick Favors, Evan Turner, and Ersan Ilyasova.

I apologize if I missed anyone...it's been a busy day and I tried my best boys. We are just 7 days away from the keeper deadline and teams will certainly be deciding this week if they are going to be sellers or buyers. Will Bangkok make anymore moves - or does he like what he has? Will Seoul leverage Chandler into someone who can help him right now? And will Idaho make some more moves to increase his title hopes?

This week I'll try to have a look at some of the best players on those 'have-not' teams that could be in line to be moved. I discussed Maui's big assets earlier but what about Belgrade, Yuma, Juan, and Manhattan? Will they be selling and trying to acquire some assets?

Will Maui move Bogut and his blocks?

Will Juan move Durant and those points?

Will Yuma move Nash and that ATO?

We'll find out this week.

Big Move Arctic...

Now, we all know how poorly I am predicting anything this season, but I am going to go out on a limb here and say "I like" the Arctic trade he just made. He moved Rondo & Barea for Tyreke and DeRozan. Not only does Arctic gain 2 potential keepers he also helps his team this season (I think anyways). Arctic doesn't need ATO - he's 1st by a mile. Arctic gains in scoring big time as this is essentially a 2 for 1 deal as Barea is hot and cold and could be irrelevant if Beaubois comes back to life.

It's pretty clear that Belgrade is trying to get out of the basement so he can keep Kevin Love. That's his primary goal. Nothing else. Does this trade help him enough? I guess we'll find out.

Man, Dorell Wright is having a bad week.

And oh my, LaMarcus Aldridge is having a great week.

I'm back in the mode of 'indifference' with this Showers team right now. It's not good enough to get a money spot and it's not really bad enough to fall too far down the standings.

I still think it's a 2 horse race between Seoul and Bangkok. I'm encouraged by Benny's optimism for Idaho - but I just don't see where he's going to get enough points. Is it possible? Of course, but he's going to need some help from Bangkok. How about an injury or two there Ricky?

And it looks like Philly Woo will pass me in blocks at any moment. That's another 13 points for him. Can he catch Brussels and Maui too?

I am liking this Maui team (to an extent). It's not like he's going to get a money spot or anything like that but this team finally has some decent pieces as we reach the 3rd quarter pole. Earlier in the season there wasn't a lot to like on the Ribs squad...now, I think there are plenty of attractive pieces. Granger, Bogut, Jamison and even Udrih are solid starters. I'm liking the development of Ed Davis in TO - a big double-double today (too bad he's $10 bucks otherwise he'd be keeper material). Other solid guys are Ryan Anderson, Frye, and Kirilenko. Unfortunately, Trev didn't load up on any stars and just doesn't have the scoring to complete. He does have the rebounds and blocks though and he could play spoiler in those categories.

I'm wondering who the absolute best keeper is? It has to be between Love and Curry right? But after those two - who else would be considered top 10? I wish someone would come out with a top 10 keeper list heading into the final week before the 'keeper trade deadline'. Oh wait, I could do that....

I'll have a look and come up with a top 10 list of keepers of next season...

Stay tuned...

For Pete's sake!

I can't believe the year I am having...

Every decision and move I make turns out to be the wrong one...

It's happened all year. For Pete's sake. And who is this Pete fellow who always gets mentioned?

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/30/messages/1785.html

Let's recap some of the genius moves I've made shall I?

Recently I traded Sam Young to Idaho for Brandon Roy. It was worth the risk in my view but of course Sam Young has become this 15ppg scorer now. Geesh. And to top it off, Idaho originally wanted Anthony Parker for Roy - you know, the Parker who I just dropped because he scored 8 points in 4 games this week.

I had JJ Hickson this season. Of course, I dropped him. He's now in Bangkok averaging 22 and 14 in his last 5 games.

I had DeJuan Blair this season. I drafted him for Pete's sake. But no, I couldn't be patient with him, I dropped him and now he starts for the 1st place Bangkok squad.

I had Ramon Sessions - he's averaging 16ppg and 9ast in his last 10 games while I get set to start Foye, Reggie Williams, and Willie Green at my guard spots next week.

I drafted Greg Monroe. Then I dropped him. Then I had to give up Chuck Hayes to get him back. I know, you think it's only Chuck Hayes. Well, let me tell you this, Chuck Hayes has a 20 tendex in his last 10 games my friends!! That's a better tendex than Brook Lopez, Nene, Andrew Bynum, Roy Hibbert, and Bargnani! I can go on...oh vey.

I essentially traded Darren Collison for Francisco Garcia. ugh.

I have now played 53 players this season!! I am the Paul Pershick of the JBL. Manhattan, by comparison, has utilized 18 players this season and is just 100 points behind me.

This has been a rough year in Golden. I have made some very poor decisions, I can admit it. I guess the good thing for the other JBL owners is that if I'm proposing a deal to you - it's probably going to work out for you. Because my track record this year certainly hasn't shown much success for the Showers.

And with just 8 days until the Feb 20th keeper trade deadline I think I will do my top 5 keepers alert for the Golden squad. And currently, it looks like I'll only be able to keep 3 of them.

#5 - Greg Monroe $2 - He's been inconsistent as of late but still has great potential. He's averaged 11ppg and 9reb in his last 10 games. His tendex is 17. He's going to have to step it up in the 2nd half of the season if he wants to make the 11/12 Showers squad before the draft.

#4 - Eric Gordon $23 - still injured but EG has become an important part of the exciting Clippers squad. He's a top 10 NBA scorer and his tendex is 21. He helps your team in potentially 5 categories and all of this for under $30 bucks. Yummy.

#3 - LaMarcus Aldridge $35 - yes, he's more pricey, but for just $40 bucks he has become a delicious fantasy player. 22ppg and 9reb with the potential to get 90 steals and 100 blocks for the season. Not many guys can do the 90-90.

#2 - Luis Scola $18 - He's not flashy. He's not well known. He's not sexy. He has greasy hair. And he puts up 19 and 8. As I mentioned previously, if David West always goes for $40 bucks - so should Scola. So, for $23 bones, he'll be back - unless someone is selling the farm for him.

#1 - Dorell Wright $10 - the Bangkok waiver wire gem will very likely be back in Golden. He cost me Deng and Collison so I have to have something to show for that deal. He's become a 6 category fantasy player this year and despite a recent shooting skid he's likely to be a 16ppg, 5+reb, 100+ steals, 60+ blocks, shoot 40% from downtown and have an ATO over 1.650. That my friends is great value for $15 bucks. It would take a miracle for me to even consider moving him.

So....that's it for today...we're 8 days away from keeper trade deadline. Let's see how many deals get done.

Superbowl Sunday....

First of all, congrats to the Packers on their impressive Superbowl victory. I watched the game with my Dad and we ate our faces off (well, I did, and my 84 year old Dad did his best to keep up). My heart was rooting for the Packers but my gut told me the Steelers would win. Today, my heart won.

Was it just me or were the Superbowl commercials sub-standard this year? Although, the Doritos one was quite funny.

www.superbowl-commercials.org/3009.html

Now, onto the more important stuff...the busy Sunday in the JBL.

Things got rolling with a shocking trade between Idaho and Arctic. Idaho obtained Lebron and gave up Kevin Martin and Brandon Jennings. Some are already hyping this deal as the worst trade ever in the history of the JBL. I have heard from at least 3 JBL owners supporting this theory.

I don't think any analysis is needed from the Idaho perspective. We get it. You got Lebron.

From the Arctic side, I'm not sure why he did it. Jennings is a good ATO man - but the Arctic is already on pace to set the all-time JBL record for the best ATO ever. Jennings can't shoot at all - so that's not it. Kevin Martin is a good keeper, can score, and can shoot the 3 well - but is that enough to make this deal?? I'd love to hear why Arctic pulled this deal. Is it purely for the keeper potential of Martin? So, as Chilliwack correctly pointed out...Arctic essentially traded Blake Griffin and Jose Calderon for Jennings and Martin. Hmmmmmm.

With Idaho acquiring Lebron it put his team's salary over $340!! Something had to be done. Idaho offered me Brandon Roy for Anthony Parker. I countered with a couple other players in attempt to secure an additional asset like Boris Diaw. No go. So I countered with Sam Young for Brandon Roy which Idaho accepted about an hour later. Idaho had to make a deal for a cheap player - but Sam Young? Really? I just signed him for $1 dollar the other night. Was that the best player he could get for Brandon Roy? And hey, I get it, Roy is not going to be a superstar in the NBA anymore. And maybe Roy doesn't even play again this season...but really, was that all he could get for a guy who could be back this season?? I had to take the chance on Roy if all it was going to cost me was Sam Young. We'll see if Roy can return. Word out of Portland is that he could return as soon as after the all-star break. I'd be very happy if he could play 20-25 minutes off the Blazers bench. Having Roy as a 4th or 5th guard could be a potential luxury.

With Idaho still over the cap I did try to wrangle David Lee or DJ Augustin out of him. But Tuna wasn't selling for what I was offering. Ultimately he had to drop Mario Chalmers and Marvin Williams. So, the Idaho team has its 12 starters and his bench is the injured Goran Dragic. So, he has no depth. And the icing on the cake is that Idaho has just $1 buck left for a Free Agent if necessary. So, needless to say, Idaho is screwed if one of his 4 All-Stars goes down with an injury. However, with some health and some luck, this Idaho team could be a title contender. He's done everything he could do in attempt to improve his team this season - and adding Lebron now for the stretch drive could be magical.

French Lick and I also had lengthy chats today about possibly deals as he needed to add salary to get up to the $200 salary cap minimum. We had some interesting chats about some guys. I really do like chatting trades with Chris. He gets it. He's crafty. He doesn't get offended over an offer. And he approaches the offers with some common sense and understanding. Now, all that being said, I think we were close on a deal at times - but we just couldn't get it done. From his side, we discussed Fields, Sessions, Gibson, and Hill. The Golden players discussed were Biedrins, Brooks, and Delfino. I know, I know, certainly not superstars by any means but French needed to add salary but he didn't want to give up more than he had to.

We were close on Fields late this evening. He offered Fields/Garcia and Fields/Douglas for Biedrins and Brooks. This was really a 2 for 1 deal as Garcia is injured and Douglas is FA fodder. And I know that Fields is a good potential keeper and is having a great season - but I just didn't want to give up 2 guys for him. Afterall, as good a year as he's having, he's still averaging just 10ppg. Yes, he is a stat stuffer and rebounds VERY well for a SG, but I have come this far with Aaron Brooks now and I really hope he gets traded at the deadline to somewhere where he can start again and hopefully find his jumpshot. And I didn't really want to move Biedrins because of his shot-blocking abilities.

So, when it was all said and done, French made a smart FA signing in grabbing Mehmet Okur for $1 buck. Okur was drafted at Auction for $12 so he keeps that salary and pushes French over the $200 floor. However, French is another team with just $1 FA dollar left for the rest of the season. Will this come back to bite him? Hard to say...

The Showers just completed a very poor week 15 but I am blaming most of it on the number of man games my main players played. I had 5 guys play only 2 games (Ellis, Wright, Biedrins, Boozer, Thomas). Seoul won another week and is right on Bangkok's tail now. The last 8 weeks should really be exciting to watch.

Plus, we are just 2 weeks away from the keeper trade deadline. Remember, the keeper deadline is February 20th. And as an added bonus, we'll be having a mini-summit with Belgrade on the 18th when he's in town. I'm looking forward to meeting Marko and hanging out with the JBL boys for an evening.

I wonder if all the big deals will happen before the Feb 19/20 weekend? I wonder how many Sunday deals (Feb 20th) will go down? Will JBL teams use the next 2 weeks to gauge where there team is at and then make a move??

Will French use Stephen Curry as leverage for a big name player? Say, Kevin Durant? Or will the temptation of having the best group of keepers coming back in 11/12 be too much to pass up?
Will Golden give up Greg Monroe for the right price?
Will Seoul move Tyson Chandler so he can get the red hot Chuck Hayes into his lineup?
Will someone be able to pry Andrew Bogut out of Maui?
Will Bangkok stay with his current roster? Can he win with the current group? For sure?
I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks and the last couple of hours on Sunday, Feb 20th.

And I'm looking forward to seeing how the Golden squad can do this coming week. I have a lot of man-games and I am going with a big team so it will be interesting to see if Golden can compete with the big boys and get back into the top 5 race. We'll see...

Have a good week JBL'ers.

JE

Here Comes Seoul...

Now I know I went on record early last week that Bangkok was the favorite - but it's been hard to ignore the kind of numbers that Seoul has been putting up this week. And now, Seoul is just 57 points behind the almighty Kok. WE definitely have a race. Now, we'll have to see what sort of impact the big trades that Bangkok made this week will have on his squad in week 16. It appears that the Fighters will have 3 new starters next week (Paul, Dudley, and Blair). How will they impact his roster?? Can he move up the 39 points that are staring him in the face?? (26 points in ATO and another 13 in FG%).

Seoul will catch Arctic in rebounding undoubtedly and that's another +15 for the Brothers. Also, it's very possible that Seoul can catch the French Lick squad in 3PT% - for another +13. If those 2 things happen then Seoul is at 1098 and nipping on Bangkok's heels.

So, the 2 big races are BLKS and PTS. Seoul just gained 26 points last night by passing French and Idaho. The question is can Seoul close the gap and pass the next 4 teams in front of him in blocks? Brussels, Golden, Maui and Bangkok are 24 to 48 blocks ahead - can Seoul catch them in the next 8 weeks? And what about PTS? Seoul is just 200 points behind Bangkok now. This week alone the Brothers have outscored the Kok by 150 points. So, can Seoul catch him? Because that's a 40 point swing in the standings.

I know there's a lot of time left and a lot can happen but I'm starting to think this could be a 2 team race now. I'm looking at this Idaho team and as good as it is - he's almost maxed out in terms of points as his roster sits now. Yes, he move a bit in scoring, rebounds, and blocks on a night to night basis - but in the long run I don't think he has the studs to stay in the race with the 2 Asians.

And Tuna, did you really think that an offer of Brandon Jennings for LaMarcus Aldridge was going to get it done? Or by then adding Turkoglu to the offer would sweeten the pot enough? Idaho is going to have to make a big move if he wants to keep up with Seoul and the Kok.

Arctic has fallen to 907 points this morning and the bad news continues as Michael Beasley went down last night. What's next for the Circle Jerks? Does he have any moves left to get back in the race?

French Lick, in my books, has the best keeper core out there. Curry, Gallinari, Chandler, Fields, Kaman, and Varejao could all be good value keepers for next season. With the French squad down to 837 points is he gearing up to use some of these potential keepers to get back in the hunt for 4th?? Remember, a top 4 spot gets you 4 keepers while 5th to 8th only gets you 3 guys. So, because French has 6 potential keepers - he should likely be pawning a couple off to try to get back in the race for 4th. Can he do it? And remember, French is known for late season charges to get his team up to 5th.

Just when I thought the Zombies team was dead...they rise from the ashes and move up to 12th last night. Looks like we have a race after all. Both Maui and Belgrade have shown signs of life in recent weeks. Too little for a run to mediocrity but maybe enough to avoid the 'Toilet Bowl" award.

And my Golden squad continues to be average. Although the Showers are going to very big for the closing stretch with the likes of Aldridge, Boozer, Scola, Monroe, Biedrins, and Perkins. With those big horses Golden could make a move in rebounding. Big picture though, I still think the Showers team is at best a 5th place team. So, for the first time in 5 years the Showers are in unfamiliar territory - they won't be finishing either 1st or 2nd. The end of dynasty? Or the beginning of a new one? Golden is prepared to keep Dorell Wright, Luis Scola, and now possibly the emerging Greg Monroe as keepers for next season. Of course, a top 10 scorer like Eric Gordon could also be protected for scoring. The chat board has been filled with love for Monroe from his previous team - the Seoul Brothers. I think there is a bit of seller's remorse from little Philly and I can't say I blame him. Monroe appears to have solidified his place in the Pistons starting lineup. Monroe is already a fan favorite in Golden and it would be very unlikely that he gets moved at the deadline.

That's all for today boys...have a good weekend. Enjoy the Superbowl!

Asian Sensations

What a great week this has been in the JBL. On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to be taken for lunch by Seoul and Bangkok to one of the finest restaurants in Vancouver. Since it was Phil and Rick - we went for Chinese. It was delicious. And thank you boys for picking up the tab. Much appreciated.

What was great about the lunch was that I really didn't even have to say a word to really enjoy myself. The Phil and Rick banter that the rest of the JBL experiences on the chat board was amplified by having those 2 in the same room. It was awesome. I always enjoy my Rick and Phil time. And what I learned is that this JBL title means EVERYTHING to Rick. He really wants to win this to stick to Phil for years of turmoil. To stick to Benny for constantly reminding him of the empty trophy case. And to stick to the rest of us JBL'ers who didn't believe he could really do it.

We talked JBL trades; whose team is better; whose team can win it all; and of course - whose team is better - over and over. Rick really needed to know what I thought of his Bangkok squad. And since I have been known to be a neutral party in the longtime feud between Seoul and Bangkok I went with.....Bangkok. This was of course after I assumed that both teams would be staying with their current rosters. I think Rick was relieved to hear me say it was Bangkok. Of course, less than 24 hrs later, Bangkok pulls off a massive 6 player deal where he moved out Curry, Lewis and Kaman for Chris Paul, Okafor and Blair. Now what? Who has the better team now? Oh man...

So, with today's trade - does that mean French Lick is throwing in the towel?? He gave up a LOT of rebounds in the deal but he did get Curry. Looking at this deal, it makes me believe that French is loading up for next season. His team should still be good enough to compete for a money spot (but he needs Kaman to return to prominence this season, and soon).

And is Idaho still the picture? I think he is because he's been there for several weeks now. Knocking on the door. Can he gain ground?

Let's have a quick look at realistic point totals for the top 3 squads in the coming weeks.

Bangkok - he could move up 13 pts in 3PT%; up maybe as much as 39pts in ATO; and up 13pts in FG% - that's a +65 which would move him up to 1166. Of course, Bangkok could drop as many as 65 points in ATO, BLK's, and FG%. So, that's a low point in the 1035 range.

Idaho - I believe Idaho's ceiling is 1099 as he can possibly gain 20pts in PTS; maybe 26 pts in STL's; and maybe 30pts in REBS. Of course, Idaho could lose as many as 74 points (3PT%, BLK's, PTS, and REBS) - which puts his floor total around 950 points.

Seoul - Seoul can gain points in a few categories as well. He could gain 13pts in 3PT% as he's closing the gap on French. He could gain 26pts in BLKS. He could catch Idaho in scoring and that would be another 20pts. And I believe that Seoul will catch Arctic in rebounds and that would be another big 15pts. That's a potential 74 points which puts his immediate ceiling at 1098. Seoul isn't in too much immediate danger of losing any points - other than in ATO (13pts) which leaves his floor at 1011.

Now of course, this quick little analysis is just short term gains and losses within the next 2-3 weeks. Longer term is a bit more difficult to predict. Bangkok really increased his REBS in his latest deal. Can that propel him upwards in that category as well? Only time will tell. I look forward to the Bangkok vs. Idaho vs. Seoul stretch drive.

So, who is the favorite to win it all?? It's going to be close and it's going to take some luck. And whichever team wins it all is going to need some help from the rest of us in certain categories. Unless French or Arctic have some other moves up their sleeves - I think they will be battling it out for the 4th and final money spot. I honestly believe, as of right now anyways, that this is a 3 horse race for the JBL title.

And fellas, if you ever lucky enough to get invited for lunch with Rick and Phil, take them up on it. It really is a lot of fun.