Week 1 - Random Thoughts....

Well, here it is mid-week 1 and we've seen a lot of action so far...

• OKC is 4-0 and Dallas is 0-3
• 2 of the JBL teams I pegged for failure are the #2 and #3 in the current standings - goes to show you maybe I've lost my touch at predicting fantasy fortunes
• A record 16 Free Agents went on the 1st night FA's were available.
• $341 Free Agent dollars were burned up on opening FA night - incredible!
• I liked a few of those FA signings - Jonas Jerebko, James Johnson, and Marvin Williams
• Others are flyer's that I think were overbid....what was the next highest bid on Jon Leuer? I mean, really, $26 bucks? And hey, let me make this clear, I like the guy...he has talent and I think Skiles loves him - but I think he could have been had for less. And Patrick Patterson for $21? He hadn't played a game yet in Houston and is behind Scola and Dalembert...I think he could have been had for $1 dollar. But what do I know?
• One of the most interesting stat lines I've noticed is that neither Dwayne Wade or Lebron James have attempted a single 3 pointer. If they stop shooting 3's - their value actually goes WAY up. Lebron is a fantasy beast if he isn't shooting all those 3's. Lebron is the reason Manhattan Beach is in 1st place.
• Speaking of MBB - how about those role players he's got going right now? Spencer Hawes a fantasy monster? James Harden wants the 6th man award now. Andre Miller still producing in Denver! Gotta love the way the collective MBB team is performing so far. He's added Biedrins and Cole with huge FA bids so you know Bobby is excited about his start to the season.
• The other awesome start is for Juan de Fuca and Montreal. Juan does have a JBL title under the belt but that feels like a decade ago. Oh wait...Juan is led by Durant and Dirk. KD is off to a massive start and has MVP written all over him. Juan is getting 12 guys to contribute across the board and that always helps. Montreal is led by the ageless wonder Manu Ginobili and roto-stud Andre Iguodala. Both are off to wicked starts.
• Maui is off to a slow start - thanks to wonderfully horrible performance from Lamar Odom and others. At least Trevor can get the surprising Gerald Henderson into his lineup for week 2.
• The Jared Dudley 'watch' is officially underway. Bangkok is very high on Dudley this year and has apparently predicted 16-5-5 for the season. So far, Jared is a Dud.
• Kevin Love almost had a new address a couple nights into the season....Golden was very close on pulling the trigger but decided it was WAY too early to make that sort of move. I'm well aware that I drafted extremely poorly this year and my chances of being the team to knock Seoul out of the winners' circle are slim...but that doesn't mean I have to sell the farm already and think about next season. That being said, JBL teams should always be thinking about the current year and the future. If you have a chance to win the JBL title - you go for it. If you aren't going to win - or finish in the money - then shouldn't your roster moves be geared for next season. That's the beauty of the JBL. Seasons blur together. Now, I'm not saying that it's time for teams to look at next season already but it's always a good idea to have a strategy towards the following season. For me and my Golden squad - I have some very attractive top end players (Wade GayLove - that's what I call 'him'). If, by the trade deadline (which we need to figure out), my Golden team doesn't have a shot at the title - I will need to try and turn these talents into guys I can use for next season. The challenge and fun behind doing that is making sure I finish high enough to keep multiple players. I tried this last season and sold all my top end talent for great keepers - but could only protect one guy based on my horrible finish. Whether you're fighting for the money spots or just climbing the standings - the JBL offers many incentives to stay focused on your team all year round. God I love this league.
• Wade has come up in some trade discussions but again, it's too early.
• Has anyone seen Paul George in Indy play? Man, looks like he good be a blue chipper.
• In case anyone wants to see some free NBA games - check out www.nba.com and sign up for League Pass - it's free to join until January 9th. Very cool.
• Is Utah or New Jersey the worst team in the league? I wonder who would win a best of 7?
• Just checked the NBA schedule and the All-Star game is Sunday, Feb 26th. So, in years past, this has been our keeper trade deadline. We can stick with that or we can mirror the NBA's trade deadline - which is March 15th (making our trade deadline the Sunday, March 18th). This should be put to a vote to determine which date we use.
• How about this for a potential road trip....on Thursday, March 1st, fly to Phoenix. That night watch the Suns play the T-Wolves. Then, Friday night watch the Suns play the Clippers. Saturday would have to be a round of golf somewhere. And then Sunday watch the Suns play the Kings. Fly home Monday, March 5th. Whoa. That sounds nice.
• So, we're at the midway point of week 1 and it's pretty tight. Could we finally be seeing some parity in the JBL standings? We'll see...

Christmas Thoughts...

What a great Christmas. Not just because Ryan is 8 and it's awesome to see his face as he opens gifts - but the 5 game NBA schedule...5 game opening day schedule...produced some really good games and story lines.

Boston vs. New York. The Knicks showed off their prize addition Tyson Chandler. He played 36 minutes and had just 3 rebounds but those 6 blocks sure are nice. Carmelo and Amare showed what they can do and Toney Douglas stated that he wasn't just going to hand the keys over to Baron when he's healthy. Iman Shumpert certainly wasn't shy about jacking up shots either. He took 13 shots in 22 minutes before spraining his MCL. That performance may have saved him from the JBL waiver wire.

The Celtics looked pretty good considering they were without Paul Pierce. Rondo had a 'F U' game after all the trade talk. He looked amazing. Allen and Garnett did exactly what Seoul would have expected from them. They just keep performing. I guess the real surprise was the play of Brandon Bass. He went for 20 and 11 in his Celts/Showers debut and I hope he continues to be the main big man off the bench this season in Beantown.

Miami vs. Dallas. We all saw this one coming didn't we??? Dallas would raise the championship banner and then the Heat would throttle them. Yup. Too easy to predict that one. Lebron and Wade were dominant. Bosh was terrible and will always be the #3 option on this team. The Heat got nice contributions from Haslem and Norris Cole. The rookie could be worth a look as the long term starter at PG in Miami.

Dallas looked old. Dirk, Terry and Marion all had decent games but Kidd, Carter and Haywood looked old and slow against the younger and quicker Heat players. Delonte West got some good minutes in the game and could be worth keeping an eye on. Is this the final season for Vince Carter? He's a $1 dollar player in the JBL now! Remember what he could do in his prime? Love him or hate him - he's almost done as a Fantasy contributor.

Chicago vs. LA Lakers. Awesome game back and forth despite sub-par shooting from both teams. Rose showed why he was MVP last season. So quick. Boozer, Deng and Noah all put in nice efforts. Deng is very under-rated in my books because of his defense. Love the Denger. Not much from Rip or the Bulls' bench in this game but they will be better in days to come.

The Lakers played very well against the Bulls despite missing Bynum for this game. Kobe looked magical at times but it's clear he's going to have to do more this season. Can he handle the workload? I love that McRoberts is endearing himself to Laker fans. He's being called McRambis because of how hard he plays. He'll stick in the JBL this season because of that work effort and he's a good 4th or 5th forward. Steve Blake looked decent and might be worth a look at some point this season. Troy Murphy didn't look lost out there but how many minutes will he get once Bynum comes back and will be eating up 30-35 minutes? Ebanks and World Peace split time and while their contributions are key for the Lakers - they don't appear to be JBL worthy right now.

Magic vs. Thunder. Poor Dwight. He's surrounded by marginal talent and the better teams will continue to double team him and force the ball elsewhere. J-Rich was horrible. Turkoglu was average. Jameer and Ryan Anderson had very good games. The bench in Orlando didn't look great. Big Baby and JJ Reddick struggled against the tough D of OKC.

The Thunder showed why they could be NBA Title favorites. Their defense was incredible and Durant dropped 30. He made it look easy too. Could he average 30 for the year? Maybe. Westbrook struggled with his shot and TO's but he's a nice Robin on this team. Harden had a very good game off the bench and really is instant offense. He reminds me a lot of Vinne Johnson. Super shot-blocker Serge Ibaka had a very quiet game while the new Jenny Craig version of Kendrick Perkins was solid against D12 but didn't have many stats to support his efforts.

Clippers vs. Warriors. The Clips appear to be 6-deep for fantasy. All the starters had good games and played over 30 minutes. Jordan had 8 blocks! Surprisingly, Blake didn't double down (22 & 7). I'm sure Benny didn't mind. Should Chauncey really be leading the team in shot attempts? And it looks like Mo Williams is ticked off on playing time already. Is it just me or does anyone else think Vinny Del Negro isn't the right guy to be leading/coaching this team?

The Warriors, despite the coaching change, look similar to last year. Fast tempo and jack a lot of shots. David Lee had a great game but others (Ellis, Curry, Wright) struggled with their shots. Biedrins looked really good despite his limited minutes. He will surely command big bucks off the waiver wire this Wednesday. Brandon Rush played way more than I expected on Sunday night. Is he part of the rotation? And is that what the Warriors envisioned when they signed Kwame Brown for 7 million bucks for one year? 6 minutes? Why did they bother?

Anyways, that's my take on the Christmas Day games. I was thoroughly entertained in the moments I was able to watch the games. I watched at least a quarter of every game I think and most of the Bulls/Lakers game. Isn't it awesome to be back watching the NBA and following the boxscores? Love it. Just love it.

Enjoy the full slate of games tonight. Cheers

'Crushing Defeet'

Notice the spelling of 'defeet'. Yes, it's Anthony-style but it's also a reference to a stress fracture to Brook Lopez's foot that has crushed any chances of the Golden Showers competing for the JBL title this season. As you can see from Lopez's face - it looks like he's either getting pleasured or he's in a lot of pain.

So, what's next for the Golden Showers? Well, it looks like I will be scrambling for healthy players again this season and trying to stay out of the basement. With today's news I would have to downgrade my teams fortunes from Cougar to Vegas Chick. I have already come to the realization that it will not be a pretty season in Golden. So, the plan is to try and compete. Play spoiler in categories and of course, try to finish high enough in the standings to keep a couple of players for next season and acquire some rookie draft picks along the way.

My team may not be good - but it will be a busy and fun season in Golden. Can you imagine the offers I'm going to get from contending teams that want Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade or Rudy Gay for their title push? That's what's so exciting about the JBL. The seasons run right into each other with the keeper rules and now the draft picks. Let's face it, if every JBL team just started from scratch every year and there were no keepers or anything like that - why would I care where my team finished or how it did? I would be like Pearl and not pay attention all year because I know that everyone would start back next season with no players. However, with our brilliant system - I need to try and do well so I can protect some players.

Long live the JBL!

The Bunnies...

And so we've reached the cream of the crop to start the JBL season. It's the 4 best teams in my view after draft night...

Again, in no particular order...

Arctic Circle Jerks - some may look at this Bunny and ask what all fuss is about? His highest paid player is Bogut? What I like about this team is the balance. Sure, he overpaid for Bogut - but add him to the list of very impressive big men this team runs out there. In addition to the Aussie add in Lee, West, Bargnani, Monroe, and Ibaka and then add in a little DeRozan and Tyreke and this team is very good looking on paper. My one concern is 3PT% at this point that can always be solved with a sharp shooter or two. This team has some good potential based on their balanced roster and the number of guys who will contribute. It's like a big party of bunnies.

Bangkok Fighters - Despite others in the JBL fraternity frowning on this version of the Fighters, I do like this squad. It's again a very balanced team led by LaMarcus Aldridge and Rajon Rondo. The big question about this team is blocks and the rumor mills are filled with potential players who could help him here. This team is like that smokin' hot playboy bunny with smallish boobs. Of course you'd take her - but again - if the mounds of rebound were a little bit bigger- life would be awesome.

Seoul Brothers - ho hum, another stellar draft from Seoul. Woo is looking to become the first ever JBL owner to win 4 titles in a row. Well, he's off to a good start with this balanced squad. Quick..tell me a weakness? Scoring maybe? He's got some old guys (KG, Allen, Brand) who need to stay healthy. Did you know that 11 of Seoul's current starters are over the age of 26 and 7 of those guys are 29 or older? As usual, Woo has built a well balanced squad that can compete in every category. This team will be very good barring injury. It's like the Playboy bunny who's photo shoot is so good that the 112 page Playboy magazine ultimately becomes 84 pages because of all the pages stuck together.

And our final squad is the Chilliwack Offs. Fitting name isn't it for the Playboy bunny and sticky page references? I like this Offs team a lot. Blake, Horford, and Rose are all Fantasy studs. Will anyone be able to catch this team in blocks, rebounds or FG%? This team also appears to be very good in the PTS department too. Sure, on the surface, the Offs Guards are not household names - but if they blossom like most experts predict - this team will be just fine. Guys like Paul George, Evan Turner, and Landry Fields should all play major roles on their NBA teams this season. What this team needs to avoid is the injury bug. He does have some injury risks with a guy like Timmy D but the same injury risks can be placed on any and all other JBL teams. As I'm typing this I learned that Marcin Gortat (the subject of recent trade rumors in the Wack) just broke his right thumb in the PHX vs. DEN exhibition game tonight. That could be worrisome in Chilliwack since he just traded away Noah this morning. Nevertheless, the Offs are in position to challenge for another JBL title. In other words - he's got the face, the ass and the boobies to turn me on.

There you have it gents - my 2 cents on how the JBL teams stack up after the draft. Best of luck to everyone this coming season. Looking forward to chatting with everyone throughout the year.

Cheers,

John

The Cougars...

So, we move into the middle tier of the JBL. I think there are 6 teams that fall into this category.

Again, in no particular order...

Manhattan Beach Ballers - Anytime a team has Lebron, Amare, and Westbrook - they are going to at least be OK. Right? I'll admit, the talent on this team after those 3 guys is average but if they just play OK this team could be in the thick of things. MBB is like those late 30's, early 40's chicks who are really out for one last hurrah. He's got Richard Jefferson - who used to be stunning and now just looks stunned. He's got Tayshaun Prince who was once a great player on a championship team - now he just walks around the supermarket looking for the price check boys. And what about Jason Kidd? He's like Bo Derek - he almost gets better with age. But at some point you can imagine how old and wrinkly things are in certain places. Will MBB have enough %'s with this crew? Will his youngsters have breakout seasons? Only time will tell. And let's see if MBB uses any of his FA money this time around.

Golden Showers - I'm calling my team 6 of one and half dozen of the other. I feel like I have 6 talents and 6 unknowns. Really, it's like following behind someone with an attractive ass in South Beach. Tight jeans. Long blond hair. A nice little hitch in the walk. But is it a girl or a guy? From behind - you just can't tell sometimes. The question marks are guys like Haywood, Hill, Teague, Jack, Kemba and Gooden. They could be good or they could be FA's in a couple of weeks. The top talent of Gay Love, Wade, and Lopez should keep me in the conversation for awhile. But until I can see who the blonde with the long hair is - I won't know what I have in Golden.

Yuma Thurmans - fitting that Yuma is here when Uma herself probably fits this category. Some find Uma very attractive. Others, not so much. Yuma is built around 4 studs and 3 of them are getting on in years. Gasol, Kobe, Pierce and the youngster Al Jefferson should lead the way for Yuma this season. He has the budding star Jimmer on board and he has the very under-rated Mike Conley and Kris Humphries back as well. Pat is counting on his aging veterans (Grant Hill, Metta Peace, and Bibby) for solid years. We just don't know what we're getting with those guys though. Like many of the BC school teachers who flock to Thailand to look at dancing girls - we just don't know if it's a girl or boy until we've gone too far.

French Lick Celtics - The top end talent is young (Curry, Holiday, Jordan, and Blatche) while his depth is experienced. This is like an early 30's chick who got married at 18. She's still in her prime and just blossoming into full cougar status. Unfortunately, the guy she married at 18 was 34 and he was rough on her mileage if you know what I mean. That's where French's guys like Rip, S-Jax, Jamison, Terry and Butler come in. He'll need them to be good and stay healthy to add depth to this squad. Steve Nash, G-Wallace and Chris Kaman need healthy years as well for French to try for back-to-back money place finishes.

Idaho Udapimps - Once again, Idaho has loaded up on scoring. It's like a late 30's girl who never had sex until her mid 30's. Once she figures out how much fun 'doing it' is - she wants to 'score' all the time. She doesn't care where or how or when - just do it. That's Idaho. Just score. Just shoot. Just score. Idaho has 5 players that could average 20ppg. However, there are no PG's on this roster so I'm not sure how the ATO will work. Also, besides D12 - will anyone shoot over 50%. A couple categories there that could use some work. Kinda like a nymphomaniac with no boobies. Sure, she puts out - but it could be better with bigger ta-ta's.

Brussels Muscles - The big 4 of this team appear to be Gordon, Wall, Zach and Boozer. Not too shabby at all. The Muscles have breakout candidates in Lawson and Gallinari and also hopes for a revival from Troy Murphy, Haslem and Varejao. For those players it's like a cougar who hasn't had sex in years. Will she remember how to do it? What works best? What if I do it wrong? Will Murphy ever regain his 15 and 10 form? Will Haslem stay healthy and fit with those other Miami bitches? Will Varejao's injury flair up? Brussels appears to need some assistance in the blocks category but we all know Timmy isn't afraid to hit Robson and buy his Cougars some new shoes if needed.

Well, there you have it JBL-lovers - those are your JBL Cougars to start the 2011/12 season.

That means that your Bunnies to start the year include the Wack, Seoul, Bangkok and the Arctic. Stay tuned for their review.

The Vegas Chicks...

As mentioned on the JBL site - I have come up with 3 tiers in the JBL Power Rankings. First up - 3 teams that failed to impress me as title contenders as currently constructed. Notice how I phrased that last sentence? All three of these teams have very good components but I think they will need some minor (and some major) tweaks to get into title contention.

So, without further rambling, and in no particular order, the Vegas Chicks are....

Maui Ribs - I thought Trev did a decent job of getting some top end talent and this team is build around the back court duo of Chris Paul and Monta Ellis (I think he should be OK in steals with those two guys). Other solid options include Odom, Scola, and Hibbert. Like a lot of these Vegas girls though - we have some talent that we just don't know what we'll get from them? Rashard Lewis? Al Harrington? John Salmons? How will they play this season? They could be good role guys or they could really struggle. Only time will tell. Also, at quick glance, I'm wondering if there is enough FG% helpers on this team build around 2 scoring guards. Beasley and Dalembert could be key contributors to this team as well this season.

Montreal Poutang - This team is like the fat girl in Vegas who only has fat chick friends. What's the fun in hanging out with that group of girls? Marko wisely brought in Deron Williams as his #1 stud but it appears his 2nd best player is Andre Iguodala or Marc Gasol? Both very good players in their own rights but I'm not sure either is talented enough to hold the distinction of being a #2 option on a JBL team. What Montreal does have is plenty of young talent that could have breakout seasons. Guys like Blair, Irving, Batum, and Nick Young. The new franchise in Montreal will need these guys - and the aging veterans - Dunleavy, Ginobili and Turkoglu - to have very good seasons for them. Who is going to block in Poutang town? Appears Perkins and Gasol are the only 2 guys at the moment. The one thing we do know about Marko is that he's not afraid to make some moves in trying to improve his squad.

Juan de Fuca Yo Mamas - This team has 2 hotties (Durant and Dirk) and then a whole bunch of question marks. Maybe a better way to put it is that the other chicks in Juan are wearing full on sweatsuits - so I really don't know what I'm getting with them. What kind of year will Rubio have? He could peel off that tracksuit to reveal a stunning bikini model or it could be Rosanne Barr. And how about Glen Davis, Jameer Nelson, and Corey Maggette? What will they look like this season? It's like trying to tell if a girl is hot from 400 metres away? It's very tough to do. I have a lot of questions about this Juan de Fuca team. My first one would be - who is the 3rd best fantasy player on this team? Cousins? Afflalo? Chandler? I'm not really sure. I know Juan is taking a lot of heat from Bangkok and other teams over this draft and their performance over the last couple of years. Remember, this was the last JBL team to win a title who's first name was not Ben, John, or Phil. Was 2000 a fluke? Will Juan rise up in the face of ugly Vegas chicks? Only time will tell...

JBL fans...that's your Vegas Chicks tier...up next...the Cougars...

The Rookie Review...

Before I dive into the 13 rookie picks...it looks like one of our JBL owners (Timmy) is bailing early on a Christmas dinner on Sunday night in order to get back for the start of the JBL draft. This is the kind of dedication I love. However, it looks like he won't get home until 6:30. So, I'm hoping we can push the start time back by 30 minutes. You'll all remember how many times we've had to wait for Woo to arrive at Crikker's place - so I think we can push it back a bit. I know Juan and Montreal won't be thrilled with the now 9:30pm start time but if we can keep the draft moving it shouldn't be more than 3 hours. Hope this works for you guys...

So now, on with my quick take on the 13 rookies picked in the first ever JBL Rookie draft...

1. Montreal - Kyrie Irving - he should have plenty of minutes in Cleveland with Baron set free. He only has to beat out Sessions and Gibson and it only makes sense the rebuilding Cavs play him. He has a chance to put up some nice rookie numbers.

2. MBB - Derrick Williams - everyone is raving about this kid. He's the 'most NBA ready' player in the draft. He has a chance to play 25-30 minutes a night depending on match-ups. I can see a lot of Beasley-Williams-Love out there at times. He should have a very good rookie season. I like this pick a lot.

3. Golden - Kemba Walker - he's the player I was hoping to get at #3 when I moved up. Charlotte is relying on Corey Maggette to be their scoring leader?? That's why I went and got this kid. Someone else has to score in Charlotte. I'm hoping it's him.

4. Bangkok - Tristan Thompson - another good draft from Bangkok. The tall CDN can rebound and block shots and should play a lot for the rebuilding Cavs. I can't see Antawn Jamison remaining in Cleveland all season so this could get the PF reigns sooner than expected. Plus, he helps in the always difficult blocks category.

5 - Yuma - Jimmer Fredette - Yuma gets Jimmer time! He's in a crowded back court situation in Sacramento but you know there are going to play him while they try to keep the crowds up and get approval for a new stadium. The question is - does he turn out like Steph Curry or Trajan Langdon. He's worth the risk...

6 - Arctic - Kenneth Faried - I think this could be the best rookie pick of the bunch (yes, I realize I forgot to include him in my latest poll). Faried could be the next Dennis Rodman. He could also play some serious minutes for a Denver team that lost Kenyon Martin to China and is apparently talking about playing Kosta Koufas and Timothey Mozgov??? Come on, you know Nene will be back playing Centre and this rebound-machine will be starting at PF in no time. And yes, I had a deal with Chilliwack if Faried fell to #7.

7 - Chilliwack - Jan Vesely. Did you know that Blake Griffin is the American version of Jan Vesely. Did you know Vesely stuck his tongue down his girlfriend's throat when he got picked at the NBA draft? Did you know he's been compared to Andrei Kirilenko? Do you know how much playing time he'll get in Washington?? Yeah, me neither on the last one. But if he's an athletic freak and plays best on the run - it seems teaming him with John Wall, Javale McGee and the other track stars in Washington is a good idea. This kid has potential.

8 - Juan de Fuca - Brandon Knight - I'm liking this pick more and more as we build up to the season. Stuckey has not signed yet and the only other PG on the roster is Will Bynum. Knight could be playing huge minutes right away for the Pistons. Another rookie pick I really like.

9 - Brussels - Klay Thompson. A young guy who can shoot that gets drafted to a team that loves to score. Hmmm. Seems like a good fit. And when your new coach (Mark Jackson), who has to prove he can coach in the NBA, comes out and says he will be rookie of the year - you know Coach is going to be playing him lots of minutes. Another good rookie pick here at #9.

10 - Idaho - Markieff Morris. A bit of a surprise pick here in my view by Idaho. However, Morris goes to a PHX team that needs size, likes to run, and could use an injection of youth. Can Morris push Frye for playing time? It seems Idaho thinks so. There aren't many big men in PHX so Morris could get some run. And if he doesn't - he's only a $2 dollar risk.

11 - French Lick - Enes Kanter. One of many big men in the crowded Utah front court situation. This kid looks like he's about 28 years old and has been in the league for years. He could be a factor in Utah if there are any injuries. Also, with the condensed schedule and games close together he has a chance to eat up minutes as Utah doesn't want to over-extend guys like Okur. A project in the works but he has a chance to be very good and he could force Utah to move one of their many big men part way through the season.

12 - Seoul Brothers - Kawhi Leonard. Have you seen the size of this dude's hands?? Can you imagine how small your wiener would look if he grabbed you? This is an interesting pick because just like the NBA draft (where he was projected as a top 7 pick but fell to 15) he fell farther than I thought he would in the JBL draft. The Spurs are in desperate need of youth and Richard Jefferson clearly hasn't done his job as the SF in Spurville. That's why I think Leonard could get some minutes here. I think for $1 dollar this is definitely a player you'd want to keep an eye on...

13 - Maui Ribs - ??????. OK, so Maui hasn't made his pick yet. I had thought for sure it would be Bismack Biyombo but he recently learned he won't be able to get out of his Euro contract for another year. I think Biyombo would have played a LOT of minutes in Charlotte due to their lack of big men. There are several options here for Trev at #13. He could look at a kid like Iman Shumpert in NY. Or Marshon Brooks in NJ. Or he could take a real sleeper like Norris Cole in Miami. It's a $1 dollar pick and with Maui building from scratch (did you notice he dropped AK47) there is really no risk whatsoever with this pick.

So - there you have it. The JBL Rookie Lottery and Draft is complete (well 99% complete)...

The next idea/concept around this Lottery and Draft recently came from Brussels owner Timmy P. He is hoping the JBL implements a 5 year rookie protection window. I know you read about it on the JBL poll but I think it requires a little more explanation. I actually like the idea and don't think it really changes much to the JBL because of the limited number of players that would be affected by this '5 year rookie rule'.

Tim's idea is this:

• any rookie (taken in the lottery or at Auction) would be eligible for 5 years of protection (with $5 dollar increments) as long as they were on the JBL team prior to the start of the NBA season and remained on that same JBL team for the entire 5 year span.
• If, during the course of the JBL season, that rookie is traded - he would no longer be eligible for 5 years of protection (normal protection rules would apply)
• If, during the course of the JBL season, that rookie is dropped and then signed to a JBL team (even the same one who drafted him) - he would NOT be eligible for 5 years.
• In very simple terms - if you have a rookie on your team before the start of his NBA rookie season - you can keep him for 5 years. If he moves to another team or the waiver wire at any point in those 5 years - he is out of the 5 year window.

This rule would only affect 13-15 rookie players. And of those, how many will actually stay on the same JBL team all year?

If a JBL team wants to keep a rookie on his squad hoping he will breakout in year 2 or year 3 and use up a roster spot on him - I think that's fine. It means more FA's available for the rest of us.

We could easily keep track of this on the team pages in the JBL site. You'll notice right now that all rookies are tagged with 'R1'- this would indicate the player is eligible for the 5 years of protection. If the rookie is traded once the NBA season begins - the status would change to '1' - just like all the other players.

I think this rule also creates more excitement around the actual JBL lottery as well. Can you imagine getting the #1 pick and he's only going to cost you $15 bucks. You could keep him for 5 years with salaries of 15-20-25-30-35? How excited would you be if you got that pick? And for those other teams that didn't get the #1 pick - you could still trade for the #1 pick before the NBA season started and be eligible to keep that rookie 5 years.

Like right now for example, if this rule was in place, the NBA season doesn't start until Dec 25th - so under this rule - I could trade Kemba Walker to Ben for Jan Vesely and both rookies would still be eligible for 5 years of protection - because they were on their JBL teams before the start of their NBA rookie season. Get it??

So, what do you think? Is it worth a try? I think this is the perfect season to try this because this rookie crop isn't regarded as outstanding. We put it to a vote and see if it passes. Then we have all year to try to it and see how many players are actually affected by it and how many rookies would be eligible for 5 years protection. I would guess less than 10 by season's end. Then, during the season we will be working on the JBL Lottery process for next season and we can figure out all the necessary tweaks needed. Your thoughts?

Sunday Follies...

I knew Arctic was going to take Kenneth Faried! Curse you Arctic. Many of you probably saw Benny's post about Arctic taking Faried and that it wrecked a potential blockbuster. That's right, it did. The Wack and Golden had been working on multiple packages involving Kevin Love and Blake Griffin and these all hinged on Faried being there for the Wack at #7 to be part of the deal. Kemba Walker, the #3 pick, would have been going to the Wack in the deal too. Oh well...thanks Arctic...you saved the JBL a monstrous deal :(

Chilliwack took Vesely at #7. Not a shocker here although I thought Benny might go with a Guard here since he already has 3 big men on his team.

Juan tried to pick up Ricky Rubio at #8. They must have missed the memo on that one. And besides, do you really think the other 7 JBL teams picking ahead of you wouldn't have picked him already?? Juan drafted Brandon Knight who I actually think has a chance to play a lot minutes right away in Detroit. After all, he's only behind Rodney Stuckey and Ben Gordon. I like this pick for Juan.

Who will Brussels take at #9?? I like a few guys here. This is where the potential of the player and the situation he lands in will dictate whether he's a player or a bust for this fantasy season. For example, Brussels could take Enes Kanter. He was the #3 NBA pick after all. Currently, Kanter sits behind Jefferson, Millsap, and Okur on the big man depth chart in Utah. It the Jazz make a trade then Kanter vaults up the ranks. Risk and reward.

David West chose the Pacers huh? They could actually be a decent squad in the East this season. West, Granger, Hibbert. Collison, Hill, and George...this Pacers team has potential.

Odom to Dallas? Wow. Didn't see that one coming. I guess LA had to move him after the failed Chris Paul trade. Dallas needed more size since they lost Chandler to NY. A front line with Marion, Dirk, and Odom will be tough for other teams to match up against for sure. And how will Brendan Haywood play this season?

Marc Gasol and DeAndre Jordan are very rich men...and I imagine that they will be staying put with the same teams. Memphis and LAC must be matching these deals. However, I think Chris Kaman will be on the move at some point.

We are one week away from the 21st JBL Draft....and I'm getting excited.

Holy Cow Batman

Geez, I go to Hawaii and all hell breaks loose! I come in from tanning my bottom and I see that Chris Paul is a Laker??? Then I go and have a couple Lava Flow's and come back and David Stern has blocked the trade? What is going on? Craziness. I better cover all this in bullet form...

• I guess because the NBA 'owns' the Hornets that Stern has final say in whether the team makes a trade or not? If the other 29 owners actually own the Hornets - shouldn't there be a vote? To me this really signals that the Hornets have to be sold or contracted. This can't happen.
• Can I say that if you had to trade Chris Paul because he's leaving anyway - isn't getting Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Lamar Odom, Goran Drajic and future picks a pretty good deal??? I think NO actually makes out pretty good there. They could have made a move for Rondo and Jeff Green? I'd rather have the Rockets/Lakers package thank you very much.
• Brandon Roy is retiring due to knee issues? Sad. Loved that guy. Last year in the JBL he went for $40 bucks and now he's out of the league. Sad.
• Tyson Chandler a Knick? A front line of Carmelo, Amare, and Chandler. Yeah, that's pretty good.
• Bangkok chose Tristan Thompson? Surprising in my books - but Rick is the rookie-master so I expect Tristan to have a good season.
• Yuma takes Jimmer. Yup, that's what I thought.
• Who will Arctic take? I'm thinking it's either Vesely or Brandon Knight.
• Caron Butler to the Clippers? If he can stay healthy that's an impressive starting 5 in Clipperville.
• Mike Dunleavy to the Bucks? No thanks.
• Charlie Bell shows up for his DUI hearing drunk-- and he blows .09?? Funny but sad.
• Chauncey Billups heads home to Denver because the Knicks told him he's going to be amnestied? He's pouting? He makes 14 million? And he's pouting? Some other NBA contender can then 'bid' for his services and he gets to play PG in the NBA? Sorry, I don't feel sad for him.
• Where does Nene land? And what's with the rumour that Nene and Josh Howard are a package deal? When did Josh Howard become part of a package deal? When was his last good year? 5 years ago?
• Will Dwight Howard become a Net? Tampering charges about his meeting with Prokorhov? What kind of numbers does Dwight put up with Deron passing to him? Idaho must be drooling.

Well, we're waiting on Arctic's pick today - he's at #6. I wonder who it will be.

Tuesday - Dec 5th

Well, I heard from Bobby Hucul today. He's been swamped at work and hadn't had time to check in about his #2 pick. Regardless, it's been sorted and MBB selected Derrick Williams with his #2 pick. By all accounts, Williams is projected as the leading contender for rookie of the year. He's apparently the most NBA ready player in the draft and should be the one of the key forwards used by Rick Adelmann in Minnesota.

Then we moved to my newly acquired pick at #3. With this pick I bucked the NBA trend (where Utah picked Enes Kanter at #3) and I selected Kemba Walker. You remember him - the diminutive PG that led UCONN to the National Championship last season. He's a scoring machine and despite his size (6'0 or under) he should be counted on to score for a Charlotte team that outside of Corey Maggette and Boris Diaw doesn't have much offensive talent.

Is he worth the $10 buck salary that comes with the #3 rookie pick? Maybe, yes. He certainly has fantasy appeal in my view. Now, that being said, could he be had in a potential trade? Yes. I'll need to see what Charlotte's rotation is going to look like but all signs point to Kemba being the 3rd guard in the rotation with Augustin and Henderson.

Bangkok is up next tomorrow with the #4 pick and we all know Rick has a knack for picking the best rookies every year. He's been the guy to take Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook for cheap in years gone by. So, who is this year's gem? Rick knows. Is it Jimmer Fredette? Is it Klay Thompson? Brandon Knight? Jan Vesely? Someone else? We'll find out tomorrow.

Oh, and for all you JBL Chronicle fanatics, I'll be taking my blogging skills on the road for the next 10 days as the family is off to Hawaii a little sunshine. Don't worry, I'll be connected and be updating the JBL site when necessary and of course I'll probably find some time to hit up the Chronicles with all things NBA Fantasy as it will get really fun on Friday when player movement begins. Where will Nene land? David West? Jamal Crawford? Will CP3 and D12 get moved? Man, it's going to be awesome.

Aloha boys!

Monday - Dec 4th

Well, the first hiccup of the rookie draft appears to be manifesting itself today. Today we were supposed to learn who MBB was taking with the #2 pick. Unfortunately, I have not heard from Bobby today. I have emailed him 3 times reminding him about his pick. No response. I was hoping to keep the momentum rolling with his pick today....oh well. What can we do?

The one thing we need to do is develop a future plan for just such an event.

What if the JBL team fails to make their pick? Do they forfeit the pick? I don't think that's the best option. I think the JBL team that fails to make a pick by midnight should get the highest remaining pick from the NBA draft order. In today's case, if this rule was in place, MBB would get Derrick Williams because he is the highest remaining rookie. We'll need to vote on this for the 2012 rookie draft.

The other big news of the day was Seoul releasing Chuck Hayes and Kevin Garnett. Hayes is a free agent and it's unknown where he might land. He's a great role player but Woo is thinking he'll be available at Auction. And then there's KG. A year older. And $23 bucks. Woo is thinking that's his max salary so he's throwing him back. KG is a great 3rd or 4th forward now but playing a compressed schedule could be hard on the old man. Seoul is hoping to get him for cheaper at Auction. We'll see how that works out as French Lick must be excited to see another Celtic back in the pool.

And where are the drops from Juan de Fuca? Several other JBL owners are wondering how long it will be before they release Kenyon Martin. They do know he's in China right now? I guess they will wait and see if he can get out of his contract before dropping him. Remember, JBL teams can still drop players right up to December 17th (24 hours before the Auction).

So - fingers cross boys. Hopefully on Tuesday, Dec 6th, we'll get Bob's #2 pick and then I can launch into my #3 pick. I'm still torn as to what to do with my pick. I have not settled on my guy just yet as I'm waiting to see what Bob does at #2. Also, another JBL team contacted me about moving up. If I fall in a love with a guy and I think can get him a couple spots lower - I may think about moving down. We'll see...but I need MBB to make their move first. Come on Bobby - make your pick!!

ROOKIES - DAY ONE

Well, today saw a couple of firsts in the JBL. We saw a team land in Montreal that are known as the Poutang. Which is quite an interesting name in itself because it has 'poo' and 'tang'. It's also a play on words for the Quebec famous poutine and of course Poutang is the urban slang word for vagina. Man, that's good stuff. No matter what you think about the quality of this name - it's better than the Belgrade Zombies.

We saw this team from Montreal make the 1st ever JBL Rookie pick....Kyrie Irving. No surprise here. He's the best player in the class (so everyone says). He'll get plenty of opportunity to start. A safe pick but also the right pick (in my opinion).

We also saw the first ever swap of rookie picks when Golden and Seoul swapped spots.

Golden floated the idea to the owners about moving the 12th pick.

Seoul queried the JBL offices about whether he could simply abandon or forfeit his rookie pick as he didn't want to spend the $10 bucks on a player. That got the discussion going on swapping his 3rd pick ($10 dollar salary) for my 12th pick (a $1 dollar salary). Done deal. The swap was done.

It will be interesting to see if Woo makes his pick at 12 and actually keeps the player on his roster. For just $1 dollar - isn't that worth the risk? I guess it depends on who he gets.

So, Golden moves up into the 3-hole and awaits tomorrow's word on who MBB selects. Will he go with Derrick Williams - the #2 NBA pick? It will be interesting if MBB goes a different route because as much as I like Williams, if he was there, I would have to think about the pick because I already have Kevin Love on board. Do I really want my rookie pick competing for minutes against my stud forward?

There are a number of guys I actually like in the #3 hole. I can say this...I won't be following suit and picking Enes Kanter if MBB grabs Williams. Utah's front court is jammed with size - they already have Jefferson, Millsap, Okur and could bring back AK47. Where does Kanter fit? And is he ready for the NBA? Remember, he missed all of last season at Kentucky because he was ruled ineligible because he played in Turkey prior to joining the U of K. So, if Williams goes to MBB - who do I take?

I could go with Tristan Thompson. He was the #4 pick by Cleveland. He's Canadian and could see minutes at PF in Cleveland right away. The #5 pick - Jonas whatshisnutswhoTOtook isn't supposed to play in the NBA this season who he's out of the equation. The #6 pick, Jan Vesely, has a hot girlfriend and could play a lot in Washington this season. Other good options include Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker and Jimmer!!

The other option could be to slide down a couple spots in hopes of learning more about each rookies chancing of playing time with their NBA teams. If I knew Brandon Knight was going to be the starter in Detroit - I would bump him up my rankings. So, if someone really wanted to move up into the 3-hole - I would probably listen. However, I wouldn't want to drop too far down the ladder.

We'll see what MBB does tomorrow with his #2 pick. Whoever he picks really sets the tone for what I may try to do. If he takes Williams - I will likely use my pick. If he takes someone other than Williams - I will likely try to trade the pick. We'll see what happens.

Spitballin'

Well, here it is, December 3rd, 9:40pm and I find myself thinking about the JBL Rookie Lottery...

Tomorrow, we embark on a whole new chapter of the JBL Hoops League. Now, for the first time ever, JBL teams will get to select NBA rookies without having to get into a bidding war for them. I think it will add a very interesting angle once we get the lottery/rookie draft up to 100%. Once we have the ability to trade for a future pick - I think that will make late season strategies very cool.

So - with the 1st pick who will Marko select? And will he announce his new team name at the same time? I would imagine his new team will be based somewhere in Quebec? But what's funny about French cities? And he has to be selecting Kyrie Irving doesn't he? Is there even a close 2nd choice this year? I don't think so.

I wonder if any other JBL teams will make drops between now and the December 18th Auction. You have to think that Juan will release Kenyon Martin since it appears he's stuck in China. Perhaps Seoul doesn't like where Chuck Hayes lands. And Maui is awaiting word on where Dalembert and AK47 land so he can decide if they are worth the money. Trev has to be hoping Dalembert is a Knick or Heat while AK47 would probably be nice in New Jersey, Clipperville, or even back in Utah.

The rookie lottery the other night was quite fun. I wish the video taping had worked. I mean, I have the video, it's just too big to post for some reason. Maybe because I filmed it in HD? I'm not sure. Anyways, it was 8 minutes of fast paced action. Disappointing for Trev and I since our balls dropped out first. Oh well.

I can say that I know who I am targeting with my 12th pick. Hope he's still there when it gets around to me.

Benny has done a lot of work on the JBL Constitution. I think it's actually 5-6 pages with all the finer details finally being documented for all to see. We'll obviously have a lot of work to do around how the 2012 rookie lottery and draft will/should work. Will it be a reverse draw again? Should it weighted depending on where you finish? So many questions still to answer.

Will any big trades happen before the NBA season begins? Will D12 stay in Orlando? Will CP3 still be in NOLA. Will Rondo still be green? I love the speculation and I love that we are going to cram Free Agency, training camps, and exhibition games into the next 20 days. Awesome stuff.

Will Philly Woo be able to become the 1st JBL team ever to win 4 titles in a row? You know he's going to be spending a lot of time (which he'll have lots of) preparing for this Auction and trying to sprint to the finish. I think he's excited about having 2 Celtics, aged veterans who know how to win already on his team. Now, that being said, will Boston struggle with the back-to-back-to-back games during the season? Will Doc Rivers rest his aging stars in these games? Anything is possible?

Is it better to draft the guys who were playing in all these exhibition games all summer for your team? Or is it better to draft those guys who are resting their bodies? Another something to think about.

What will the effect of the new NBA coaches have on their new teams? Minnesota has to be better under Rick Adelmann than Kurt Rambis don't they? How will rookie head coach Mark Jackson do in Golden State? Will they learn to play defense? What will the Lakers look like without Phil Jackson and under new coach Mike Brown? Will they rest Pau and Kobe more? A lot of questions with a lot of teams.

In 20 years of the JBL we've had something like 30-35 owners come through the league. There have only been 6 winners. Will that trend change this season? Can some of the veteran teams will a title? Trev has 20 years of JBL experience...and no titles. Did you know that Trev's best finish was a 2nd place finish in 2007 when he paid $62 bucks for Steve Nash??

And which of the aging NBA veterans takes the biggest dip in production this year? Steve Nash? Tim Duncan? Garnett? Vince Carter? Will they have big seasons? What have their off-seasons looked like? Are they in shape?

I was looking through the 2004 JBL rosters and saw some interesting salaries...check these out.

• Paul Pierce $69
• Steve Francis 56
• T-Mac 62
• Garnett 89
• Shaq 83
• Duncan 86
• AK47 - $56
• Peja 44
• Ben Wallace 49
• Brad Miller 37
• Elton Brand 56
• Jamal Magloire 28
• Rasho Nesterovic 26
• Dwight Howard 12

I also found a binder from the 1996/97. That year, with 13 teams and the same scoring system we use today - there were 9 players who were drafted for over $80 dollars in the Auction. This year - how many guys will go over the $80 dollar barrier in the Auction? I would venture to say none. Crazy. What's changed? Who were they you ask?

David Robinson $130

Shaquille $115

Hakeem $105

Jordan $101

Webber $98

Karl Malone $95

Ewing $89

Grant Hill $84

Mutombo $80

Well, that's all the spitballin' thoughts I have for tonight...

I can't wait to hear Marko's new team name and that he's chosen Kyrie Irving with the 1st pick.

Will anyone be going after Irving with a trade offer?

And who will go 2nd to Manhattan on Monday? And how many picks will it be before the JBL rookie draft stops mirroring the NBA draft?

And lots of exciting things to talk about this week with a crazy NBA schedule ahead.

God it's nice to have the JBL back...