5 year Rookie Idea....Q & A

With Benny's recent league wide announcement this morning, I thought I should go through some of the Q & A's associated to the proposed 5 year rookie rule. I don't want anyone kicked out of the Pershick clan over a little JBL rule idea. Let's see if I can clarify some of the questions...

Q. How many rookies currently would still be eligible for this 5 year protection idea?

A. 10 rookies would qualify. They are easily identified by their 'R1' status in the 'Contract' field. The only rookies that qualify for the 5 year rule would be those taken in the Lottery process. So, guys like MarShon Brooks and Ricky Rubio, even though they are rookies, are NOT eligible for the 5 year rule.

Q. I see Kawhi Leonard on Juan de Fuca's roster - how come he doesn't have R1 status?

A. Kawhi Leonard was released from his JBL roster spot by Seoul Brothers. Juan signed him as a Free Agent. Once a Lottery picked rookie is released to the waiver wire - the 5 year option is gone. You'll see that Kawhi Leonard's contract status is simply '1'. Those rookies that have been traded (Markieff Morris and Jan Vesely) are still eligible for the 5 year rule because they have always remained on a JBL roster.

Q. Sounds complicated. Who's going to keep track of all this?

A. Duh. Your fearless JBL Commissioner of course. It's really quite simple because, at most, there are only 13 players in the entire league (per season) that are eligible for this rule. And already we're down to 10. Monitoring what year the rookie is in is a simple process changing R1 to R2 and so on. There is no extra effort at all.

Q. Can JBL owners just trade for all these rookies and bring them all back the following year?

A. Yes and no. JBL owners can trade for whoever they like. They can have 6 rookies on their roster if they want. However, at the end of the season, standard keeper rules apply. If you finish 8th and are allowed to keep 3 players - these rookies still count against total. They are not additional keepers. Also, standard $5 dollar bumps in salary apply. Up to individual owners to decide how many rookies they will bring back in their allotment.

Q. Golden Johnny - do you like the 5 year keeper rule?

A. Yes. I have no problems with the 5 year rule for Lottery picked keepers. At most, only 13 players a season will be eligible for this rule. Currently, only 10 are eligible. The JBL rosters are currently filled with over 200 players - so less than 5% of the JBL player population qualify for the 5 years.

Currently, only 10 rookies are still eligible for the 5 year rule. How many of those rookies are actually worth protecting? Derrick Williams is $12 bucks. Is MBB going to bring him back for $17 bucks when he averages 8 and 4? Right now, I can only think of maybe 2-3 lottery picked rookies that are even worth keeping. And that a layer of strategy to whether you use one of your keeper spots for a young rookie. Take Bangkok for example. He has Tristan Thompson for $8 bucks. Right now, Thompson is averaging 8ppg, 5reb, and 1blk. However, he could be the Cavs starting PF next year. With more minutes, he could be studly. So, is he worth protecting for $13 bucks? Maybe...a decision will have to be made.

I like the idea of being able to build around a potential rookie stud. The best example from this years crop is Kyrie Irving. As the #1 pick he's just $15 bucks. Montreal, provided he doesn't finish last, will be able to protect him and bring him back for $20 bucks. And then $25, and $30 and finally $35 bucks in year 5. Will Kyrie be worth $35 bucks? Maybe. Maybe not. But Montreal would be able to build around the kid for up to 5 years. And of course, anyone who traded for Kyrie would also be able to protect him for up to 5 years as well.

Q. What now Johnny? What now?

A. Well, let's see what the feedback is about the 5 year rule. If warranted, I can always put another poll up to see if these clarifications have changed anyone's mind.

Week 5 Roundup...

Well, the end of week 5 is near. Lots has happened this week. Let's see what's going on in the JBL

The Rookie Lottery system was approved by popular vote. The new system will see the lottery balls match the JBL team's finish in the standings. As I've previously mentioned, I like this format and look forward to seeing how it plays out in the fall. Right now, Maui would not have any keepers but he would have 13 lottery balls.

We also voted on whether Lottery Rookies should be eligible for 5 years protection. This was voted down when the 4th 'No' vote was received today. It was actually 6-4 in favour of a 5 year keeper system but implementing something like this in the middle of the season is tough to do. Maybe we can revisit this idea in the summer.

Chilliwack has taken the lead from Seoul this week. I guess adding a guy like Kevin Love really helped. Love's debut in the Wack was something like 39 and 12 and 5/5 from downtown. Crazy. The Wack looks like they will get even stronger as Benny somehow managed to get Dorell Wright from Brussels while giving up just Jan Vesely. While Vesely is now starting for Washington - Dorell Wright appears to have broken out of his early season funk. Wright did go for $33 dollars on Auction night and could really help the Wack in scoring, 3PT% and steals if he gets hot. Brussels gets a young player with lots of upside...

Seoul officially hates his team. It's now 12th in scoring and is struggling with injuries to Allen and Blatche. Luckily for him, Seoul is very strong in all the other categories and I don't see him falling from the money spots anytime soon.

Arctic suffered devastating blows in week 5. He lost Bogut for the season with a bad ankle. He lost Bargnani to a strained calf. It's unknown how long he'll be out. Kevin Martin has also missed time due to plantars. A tough week for the Arctic. He may have to consider a move to stay in the race.

French Lick has climbed the leader board and now sits in 3rd place. The return of Andrew Bynum and Stephen Curry has certainly helped him climb the JBL standings. This is a very good team and should be able to stick around the top of the leader board.

The big drop this week comes from Bangkok. After week 4, Bangkok was 2nd with 794 points. Despite dropping just over 100 points - Bangkok now finds himself in 11th place. The Kok squad is built around the big 3 of Howard, Aldridge and Parker. After that tough the rest of the team and the role players just haven't been very good lately.

Golden will get a healthy D-Wade back in the lineup in week 6. It's about time. Golden played week 5 essentially with 9 guys as Brooks was injured and the Biyombo/Davis experiment didn't work out so well. I hope I can play with a full 12 man roster at some point in the near future. Chuck Hayes returned from his shoulder injury on Saturday night and had 8 rebounds and 2 steals before re-injuring his shoulder.

The Showers remain on pace to the best the worst shooting JBL team of all time. I'd like to thank Kyle Lowry for his efforts in keeping my FG% low. Lowry is an amazing 26/89 (28%) in his last handful of games. Awesome Kyle. Way to go.

I am still excited about the Showers potential this year as I'm hanging around in the 700's and I haven't got much from Wade yet. Brooks looks like he could be a good player and I am still waiting for Brook Lopez's return in the coming weeks. With a little luck and a lot of health - Golden could be a contender.

Up next...I'm going to come up with my list of the top FA signings so far....stay tuned....

Rookie Lottery Vote

Well, we now have 12 votes registered in the latest Rookie Lottery poll...

Leading the way with 8 votes is the "# of Balls Matches JBL Standings". Next, with 2 votes each is 'Status Quo' and 'Balls Match Keepers'.

Two-thirds of the JBL owners are supporting the implementation of the rookie lottery closely resembling the NBA lottery system as well as providing the easiest method for those of us who will be administering the lottery.

If this proposal goes through - the rookie lottery is very simple to set up.

I need 91 ping pong balls. One is labelled #1; two are labelled #2; three are labelled #3; thirteen are labelled #13 etc. All balls would be placed in a lottery drum/box or whatever we can get. First ball out, whatever number it is, that corresponding team would get the 1st pick. 2nd ball out gets 2nd pick and so on. The balls can be re-used for years to come.

I support this idea. I think it's the closest system to the NBA and I think it increases the drama when it comes time to the actual lottery.

If we used status quo - one ball each - we would all have the same chances of getting the 1st pick. Would it be surprising to learn that Seoul got the 1st pick over Maui? No, they had equal chances after all. With the proposed system, if Seoul only had 1 ball in there and he won the lottery (1 in 91 chance) - that would be amazing. Can you imagine the faces of Brussels and Idaho if Philly Woo defied all lottery odds to win the 1st pick. Oh, the drama!

For those that supported the idea that the better you do in the Standings - the more balls you should get. I understand that side too. But, I would rather have a JBL title or some top 4 money winnings than a couple of extra lottery balls. Do you want the JBL title and the prestige that goes with it?? Or 4 lottery balls instead of 1?? Remember there have only been 7 JBL Champions in 20 years!! Sorry, I'll take the JBL title and 1 lottery ball please.

The other thing to remember is that the rookie lottery and the rookie draft are two different things. It's one thing to get a high draft pick - it's another to pick the right player. This year's 13th rookie pick was Iman Shumpert - he's starting in NY. This year's 10th pick was Markieff Morris. No one picked MarShon Brooks. My point? JBL contending teams with only a couple of lottery balls - even if they end up with picks 9-13 - they can still get quality rookies. And remember, the 2011 draft class was supposed to be a weak draft.

Gentlemen, it's time to put this to a final vote. 8 of the 12 JBL owners support moving to this system (Balls Match Standings). It's not often I use this blog to lobby for your vote - but in this case, I will. When the final poll goes up - I urge you to support this proposition.

My Love is Gone...

Yes, that's right, Kevin Love is moving on from Golden. The only keeper in Golden has been moved on to greener pastures in Chilliwack. Love is the ideal Off. Following in the footsteps of the 'great' Bryant Reeves....Kevin Love is Chilliwack's new found Son who might just leave them to the promised land.

Bryant Reeves (below) apparently is picking Kevin up

at the Abbotsford airport this morning.

So why did I do this trade? It was time to change the stat collection going on in Golden. Love is a fantastic fantasy player. 24 and 14. But his high volume shooting with low FG%'s is a big factor of why Golden is in 12th place in that category. Furthermore, with Golden now 13th place in blocks - it was time to add some new pieces. And let me add this - I offered this trade to Benny. This was a deal that I wanted.

Enter - this man. Marcin Gortat. Based on this photo alone - wouldn't you want this guy on your team? Gortat is averaging 15ppg and 9reb and 1.6 blocks while shooting 59%. Add in the fact that he's only $15 bucks and you can count on him being back in Golden next season. I'm hoping his last 5 games (19 and 13) are signs he's ready to become the leader in PHX. And again, come on, the guy is holding a sledge hammer in this photo. That's awesome.

Also coming to town is Ryan Anderson. Again, based on a photo - I like him. Did you know he's made the most 3 pointers in the NBA this season? He's also averaging 17ppg and 7reb per game. He gets 1 steal per game. He's also $2 bucks. You get the picture - he could be back in Golden next season.

This trade greatly benefits Chilliwack when you just look at the 4 players involved. That being said, I didn't improve Chilliwack's rebounding you know - he's already in 1st place in that category so he's not getting any more points there. Chalmers will help the Wack's 3PT shooting and ATO as well. So, with this deal, it's rumored Seoul is quite worried about the Wack and their potential.

For Golden, I made this trade not just for Gortat and Anderson. I'm also expecting 3 more newcomers to the Golden lineup in the coming days and weeks. Dwyane Wade, Brook Lopez and Chuck Hayes should all be back soon. They will all be counted on for the stretch drive to see if Golden can make a run for the money.

Golden is last in blocks. So I've tried to address that. Adding Gortat, James Johnson, Ed Davis and ultimately Wade and Lopez should hopefully allow me back into the middle of the pack by the end of the season.

Golden has not been good in FG%. Again, adding Gortat's 59% will help. Wade usually shoots 50% and has not been a fantasy factor yet this season. Lopez can shoot 50% as well. So, hopefully I can move up in this category as well.

The core of my Golden squad, in short time, will be Wade, Lopez, Gay, Gortat, Anderson, and Lowry. Add in surprising players like MarShon Brooks and Jarrett Jack and Golden could still find a way to scare Seoul a little bit. Maybe. Just maybe.

Bottom line - I made this trade to try and improve my team. I could have sat there and waited for Wade and Lopez to return and see what would happen. But I knew that adding those two players alone wouldn't be enough to help me in FG% and blocks - so I attempted to fix the problem. And who knows - maybe my team doesn't improve? Oh well, at least I tried.

A Twist to the Final 3??

So, it looks like we have 3 finalists for the Rookie Lottery.

1) Status Quo - exactly what we did this year. Each JBL team has one ball. Reverse order draw. 1st ball out gets 13th pick; 2nd ball out gets 12th; last ball out wins the lottery and gets the 1st pick

2) # of Balls Matches Standings - 1st place gets 1 lottery ball; 2nd gets 2; 13th gets 13 balls.

3) # of Balls Matches Keepers - top 4 teams can keep 4 players and get 4 lottery balls each; 5th to 8th can protect 3 players and get 3 lottery balls; all the way done. The one change - the 13th place team does get 1 lottery ball (because they get no keepers)

Those are the 3 finalists - each receiving 3 votes each.

As the voting process was underway I was thinking about different ways to enhance the lottery idea. One of the discussion points around some of the options is whether we should reward those teams who do poorly in the standings with less lottery balls or more lottery balls?? Do we want to reward them for being shitty? Or do we want to give them a better shot at being competitive?

So, thinking about the idea more - what if we started with the STATUS QUO idea. Each JBL team is guaranteed one lottery ball in the mix. However, JBL teams can earn additional balls by winning the weekly scoring periods. So far this season - Seoul, MBB and the Wack have won weeks 1-3 and would earn an extra lottery ball. In standard years - this would mean an extra 24 balls (matching the 24 weeks) could be 'earned'. Now, in this scenario, I'm well aware that the "better" JBL teams are likely to earn more lottery balls. Last year, Seoul won something like 12 of the 24 weeks and he would have a better chance at winning the rookie lottery. That being said, the lower teams would still be motivated to put out competitive line-ups all season long to try and earn extra lottery balls.

So, let's look at the scenario with BALLS MATCHES STANDINGS. The 1st place team would get 1 ball automatically and the 13th place team would have 13 balls. In this scenario, the 1st place team, because they finished in 1st place likely won a handful of scoring periods and would end up with maybe 8-10 lottery balls while the 13th place team maybe just has the 13 balls. This would be a far more balanced lottery and allows the better teams to 'earn' extra chances at winning the 1st Rookie Pick while still providing those bottom feeders with some hope as well.

Same goes for the option BALLS MATCHES KEEPERS. This is a more equal starting point with groups of teams with the same number of lottery balls to start with - but again, could earn additional balls by winning weekly scoring periods.

The more I think about these options as I put them on the paper - the more I like them.

Finding the balance between 'rewarding success' and 'finding parity' could be found in the 2nd option - BALLS MATCHES STANDINGS.

The JBL Champ will have just 1 ball based on his JBL title but would have likely earned several more throughout his championship run. This is rewarding success. The 13th place team, who might have suffered through injuries or bad luck would still have 13 balls in the mix for the rookie lottery. This would potentially allow him a good rookie to rebuild his franchise for the next season. Best of both worlds? Maybe...

So, here's my thought. I'll let this current poll play out. Let's make sure that the masses like the idea of 'earning extra balls' by winning weekly scoring periods. If that's the case, then I think the final 3 options becomes a final 6 options. The 3 as is and then the same 3 again with the ability to earn extra balls.

Any comments fellas? Good idea? Bad idea? Let me know what you think...

Week 3 Closing Comments...

Well, the rookie lottery choices are up...so far, leading the way with 3 votes each is "Balls Match Standings" and "Balls Match Keepers". Two very different schools of thought as to how the rookie lottery should work. And I respect both choices and I could live with either of these choices. Let me explain.

Balls Match Standings - this is more like the NBA model in that the higher you finish in the JBL standings the less chance you have of getting the 1st pick. The JBL Champ would have just 1 ball in the mix while the last place team would have 13 balls. To me, this makes the actual lottery more exciting because if the JBL champ's ball came out first - that's a true lottery miracle (a 1 in 91 shot). The other advantage to this choice is trying to balance the powers of the JBL or another way of looking at it - challenging those JBL owners who have constant success. Look at the current JBL standings - Phil Woo is leading the way AGAIN! Do we really need him having the chance of getting the best rookies too?? I get the side that says - "why are we rewarding the teams that finish lower in the standings?" I understand that - but one of the facts of the matter is that those JBL owners who consistently do well in the JBL- put more time into the league. Those teams that finish lower would greatly benefit from getting a good rookie to help their JBL cause. And of course, just because you get a top 5 rookie pick - doesn't mean that JBL owner will pick the right guy. And remember - we are talking about just 1 rookie player who has never played an NBA game in his life.

Balls Match Keepers - This is a motivation-based system that rewards success. Just like our keeper system. The better you do - the more keepers you get. The better you do - the more chances you'll get a higher rookie pick. While the chances aren't as staggered in this model as the 1st place team will have 4 balls and the 13th place team will have 1 ball - so the odds aren't quite as exciting. Is there enough motivation in this model for a late season charge from to get from 9th to 8th so the JBL team can get 1 extra rookie ball and 1 extra keeper? Perhaps. Either way - however, the vote goes - I'd be happy with either of these choices.

Week 3 is winding down and I've noticed a few things...

• My Showers squad did just fine without Dwyane Wade. Looks like it's time to move him for a stud shot blocker.
• Kyle Lowry has become a top notch fantasy PG
• The Wizards are bad and John Wall has not been a good fantasy player
• JaVale McGee is a block machine....Mutombo like
• Scoring this season is way down and reminds me of college scores.
• Injuries continue to mount - part of the JBL success is definitely going to be tied to how many many games are lost due to injury
• Kobe just ripped off 4 straight games of 40+ points - that sure helps Yuma when the league scoring average per JBL team is around 13ppg
• Looks like the Rookie of the Year race will be a two man show - Kyrie Irving and Ricky Rubio are heads and tails above the rest so far. And on top of that - Rubio is waaaaaay better than I thought he would be.
• And kudos to Idaho and Maui for finding rookie gems late in the lottery. Markieff Morris and Iman Shumpert were both very good picks
• Indy and Philly are both winning and are doing it with balance. It doesn't make for very exciting fantasy players however. Both teams have 6-7 guys averaging double digits in scoring

Team Needs

Brussels is last in 3PT% (27%) and last in scoring. They are 2nd in steals and 2nd in rebounds. He will also be getting Zach back in a few weeks. Sounds like he could move a big body for some scoring and 3PT help.

Maui is last in ATO - which I actually find a bit surprising considering he has Chris Paul, Monta, Odom and others. Maui is slowly gaining in categories as guys like Dalembert, Odom, and others wake up. Losing a 15-18ppg scorer like Beasley has also hurt.

Golden is 12th in blocks and 2nd in scoring and steals. This has been accomplished without much from D-Wade so if Wade and can leveraged for a big time shot blocker that would give Golden much more balance.

Montreal is last in rebounds and FG% while he's 3rd in blocks. How is this possible? Big men block shots. Usually they also rebound and make easy buckets. I just don't get this correlation. Montreal is really missing the production of Manu Ginobili but has to be very please with Kyrie and my new favorite big man Marc Gasol.

Arctic is last in steals and 12th in FG% while they are 1st in scoring. Sounds like they could use a thief that shoots 3's.

Seoul is 11th in scoring but is solid everywhere else. No wonder there's lots of interest in D-Wade.

TOP KEEPERS (1st Edition)

I know it's early in the season but all this talk about Rookie Lotteries and thinking about next season has got me in the mood to identify some of those guys I like as potential keepers. The list is loaded with Centers and Guards...

Here are my current favorites - in no particular order...

Marc Gasol $28 - look at his all around numbers - if only he could score 15+

Andrew Bynum $20 - dominant big man - will he change postal codes and be the #1 option?

Ty Lawson $10 - scoring, FG% and steals are very impressive for this little guy

JaVale McGee $16 - leads the league in blocks and adds 12ppg and 10reb.

Spencer Hawes $2 - so far he's been very good - big pay day in his future

DeAndre Jordan $6 - needs more scoring and boards - but blocks are sure nice

Jeff Teague $6 - 12ppg and 6ast and 2 steals per game. Great start to season

Ricky Rubio $10 - can't believe his numbers - 11pg and 8ast and 2 steals a game

Ryan Anderson $2 - 17ppg and 7reb and wicked 3PT%

James Harden $8 - 17ppg and all round numbers - breakout season underway

Others I like include - Gerald Henderson $1, Lou Williams $1, Paul George $8, Evan Turner $3, Markieff Morris $2, Brandon Knight $4, Kris Humphries $15, Mike Conley $14, Kyrie Irving $15, and Marcus Thornton $15.

I'm sure throughout the season these players will come and go from the list....

Enjoy football Sunday!

7 Lottery Choices...

I am posting this blog so we can have a clear definition of the 7 choices for the rookie lottery. I realize that the current poll shows 9 owners in favor of voting on the 7 ideas and 1 owner who doesn't like any of those ideas. What I don't have is any other suggestions...so, we're carrying on.

So, I'll try to keep these short and sweet. The type in bold will be the descriptor used in the poll. Owners can reference the concept here for more details. The hope is we can do an initial round of voting and narrow the choices down to 2-3 options and then vote again for the final round. Here are the potential 7 options for the JBL Rookie Lottery.

Option #1 - Status Quo - same as this year's lottery. One ball per team. Reverse order draw. 1st ball out gets 13th pick; 2nd ball gets 12th; last ball out gets #1 pick.

Option #2 - Reverse Order/No Lottery - no lottery balls here. Just reverse order based on last year's standings. 13th place gets 1st pick; 12th place gets 2nd pick; JBL champ gets 13th pick. Again, I'm not a fan.

Option #3 - Balls Equals Standings - 1st place team has 1 ball; 6th place team gets 6 balls; 13th place has 13 balls etc. 91 balls in total. 1st ball out gets 1st pick; 2nd ball out gets 2nd pick (standard draw)

Option #4 - Weighted and Tiered - Top 4 teams gets # of balls equal to their finish; 5th to 8th gets 8 balls each; 9th to 12th gets 12 balls each; 13th place gets 18 balls. 1st ball out gets 1st pick. (standard draw)

Option #5 - Money Winners No Lottery - Only 5th to 13th are lottery eligible. I would propose this one to be weighted towards the higher placed teams as well. For example, I would propose 5th to 8th place teams get 8 balls each; 9th/10th get 6 balls each; 11th/12th get 4 balls each; and 13th gets 2 balls. Money winners would be slotted in for rookie picks 10th to 13th based on reverse order of standings (JBL winner gets 13th pick)

Option #6 - Top 8 =2 Balls - Bottom 5 = 1 - simple. Top 8 teams get 2 balls and bottom 5 teams get 1 ball. Standard draw format.

Option #7 - Lottery Balls Match Keepers - again, simple concept, the number of lottery balls you get matches your keepers. 1st to 4th get 4 keepers so they get 4 lottery balls. 5th to 8th gets 3 keepers/balls; 9th and 10th get 2 keepers/balls and 11th to 13th get 1 ball each (yes, slight change - 13th place finisher gets NO keepers but we would give them 1 lottery ball)

So, there you have it. 7 options for the Rookie Lottery. I'll post the poll sometime tomorrow. Obviously, if someone has ANY other ideas - please post a message or an article for all of us to see. And remember to vote so we can narrow the list of 7 down to 2-3 finalists....

2 More Rookie Lottery Ideas...

Got some feedback today from Chilliwack...well, Halifax, but really Chilliwack...you know what I mean. Benny wants another option considered for the rookie lottery. And his idea definitely has merit. Why should we reward those teams that finish lower in the JBL standings with more chance of winning the lottery?? With that in mind...here is concept #6.

#6 - Reverse weighting system - Benny's idea would have the top 8 teams in the JBL standings all have 2 balls each while the bottom 5 teams would have just 1 ball each. For the bottom teams each year - the idea that you want to climb into the top 8 to get another ping pong ball would potentially keep the interest levels up...I'll take this concept one level further and suggest....

#7 - Weighted lottery that matches Keeper Guidelines. Top 4 teams in the Standings get 4 balls each; 5th to 8th get 3 balls; 9th ands 10th get 2 balls; 11th to 13th would get 1 ball each (yes, even the 13th place team would get 1 ball - but they wouldn't get any keepers). This really encourages JBL teams to succeed year after year. Those teams that don't do as well - better try harder next year.

Any other concepts out there??

Rookie Lottery Ideas...

Well, after not receiving one single idea from the JBL masses, I thought I would throw some of mine out there for the 2012 Rookie Lottery. I'm sitting here watching the Denver Tebow's or God's Team beat up on the Steelers. Come on, who didn't see this one coming? Bill Simmons got it right - you always take God and the points.

So, some rookie lottery ideas...

#1 - Status Quo - exactly how we did it this year. 1 ball for each team. Reverse order draw. 1st ball out gets 13th pick, then 12th, then 11th and so on. So, in this format, it doesn't matter where you finish in the JBL standings the year before - everyone has the same chance of getting that #1 pick.

#2 Reverse order draft picks based on JBL standings. You finish 13th - you get the 1st pick. 12th place gets you 2nd pick, etc... No lottery required. I'm not a fan - this wouldn't be any fun at all - but, it's an option. Would JBL teams try to finish lower in the standings to get a higher draft pick? Maybe - but at least we have the keeper system in place that would mean you wouldn't be able to keep as many players the lower you finished in the standings. Again, not a fan of this option at all.

#3 - Fully weighted option. The lower you finish in the JBL standings - the more chance you have to get the 1st rookie pick. We would need to figure out how to do this with ping pong balls so that we don't need 91 ping pong balls. Or, you know what, maybe we do just get 91 ping pong balls. If we labelled the balls with numbers ('13') then they could be used in future years. If In this fully weighted option - even the JBL winning team would be in the lottery and could get the #1 rookie pick. The 1st ball out would get the 1st pick. 2nd ball out gets 2nd pick and so on. So, the JBL champion (1 ball) would have a 1 in 91 (o.o1%) chance of getting the 1st pick. The last place team (13 balls) would have a 13/91 (14.3%) chance of getting the 1st pick.

#4 - Fully weighted and Tiered option. Similar to #3 option in that every team has a chance to win the lottery. In this scenario I would propose that there would be tiers where teams would have the same number of balls. Total number of balls in play =108 (9 dozen - makes it easy for purchase)

1st - 1 ball (less than 1% chance of winning lottery)

2nd - 2 balls (just under 2% chance)

3rd - 3 balls (just under 3% chance)

4th - 4 balls (just under 4% chance)

5th to 8th - 8 balls each (7.4% chance)

9th to 12th - 12 balls each (11.1% chance)

13th - 18 balls (16.6% chance)

#5 - Partially weighted option. In this scenario - let's say the top 4 JBL teams (money winners) would not be in the lottery. The other 9 teams go into the weighted lottery to determine picks 1-9. Then, the remaining teams would be placed in reverse order of standings. How many balls per lottery team would need to be determined. Then, once the lottery is determined for picks 1 to 9, the 4th place finisher would get 10th pick; 3rd gets 11th; 2nd gets 12th and the JBL champion would get the 13th pick. This is similar to the NBA model where the lower teams get the chance to add the better rookies.

There you have it....5 ideas for consideration. If anyone else has any ideas - I'm listening....

Week 2 Almost Over...

Wow - what a week. The JBL standings are starting to spread out...Seoul is rising to the top and Maui is sinking to the bottom. It's been a crazy week of injuries and observations from Golden headquarters.

Golden will have lost 11 man games this week when it's all said and done. That's essentially like playing the week with just 9 guys. It doesn't help that 5 of those man games lost were from Wade and Lowry. Hayes and Okur have also missed time this week. It's hard to know how your team measures up to the rest of the pack when you're only playing with 9 guys. At one point in week 2 Golden was over 800 points. By the end of the week, Golden will probably finish in the 550 point range. Such is the life of an injured fantasy team early in the season.

Week 3 will hopefully yield a healthy Wade and Lowry as well as see the debut of Marshon Brooks, Ian Mahinmi and Byron Mullens. It's a sad week for your JBL team when you have to start the last 3 names I just mentioned. However, these are the problems a team faces when you crap your pants in the JBL Auction.

So, these are the men that will be relied upon to provide some stats, any stats, for week 3. Compare them to the other JBL teams who have Gortat and McGee in Chilliwack. Or Amare and Hawes in MBB. Or Bynum and Jordan. Or Howard. Simply stated, the center situation in Golden is as ugly as Mullens porno facial hair.

It looks like there are some major bargains in the JBL this season. Some guys went for cheap and are putting up big numbers. There aren't many Centers you'd rather have so far than Spencer Hawes. He's putting up big numbers to date for a guy who went for a couple of bucks. Can he keep it up all year though? Andrew Bynum has also turned into a fantasy stud and is just $20 bucks. He could be the #1 keeper in the soon to be released 'Keeper Studs for 2012' list.

Has anyone checked out the numbers that Andrea Bargnani is putting up? Not bad for $21 bucks.

Or how about the early season numbers on this guy....

Mr. Harden is quietly averaging 18-5-4 and shooting almost 49% from the field.

And Steph Curry's fantasy stock took a huge hit in week 2. He suffered his 7th ankle sprain in the last 15 months. The kid is uber-talented but he just can't stay on the court. I'm sure that injury is a frustrating one for his French Lick owner.

That's all for now...it's late...Golden sucks.

Tuesday, Jan 3rd

Well, we're into week 2 and the more things change the more they stay the same. There's good old Philly Woo's Seoul Brothers back on top of the JBL standings with over 1000 points. What's scary about his team is that he's doing it all the while he has at least 3 guys underachieving big time (Josh, Brand, Millsap). Can you imagine the potential of this team when those guys turn it around? I hate to say it this early - but he's the team to catch right now.

Some other bigger name injuries are starting to role in. So far, Brook Lopez has been the biggest name to go down (it haunts me every day) but now Montreal is getting kicked in the nuts pretty hard. First he loses Manu Ginobili - who started the season on fire - for maybe a month...and now he loses Devin Harris to some kind of injury tonight.

MBB continues to be a strong contender early in the season. He's strong in every category except for blocks and rebounds so far this season. Losing Amare for a few games already hurts there but getting him back should help out immensely. He's getting big efforts from Lebron and Westbrook as we expected but he's also had huge help from Spencer Hawes early on. He's averaging 12 and 12 with wicked ATO and steals and blocks. He's doing it all. Before I looked it up I would have thought Spencer was mid to late 20's. Actually, he's 23. Can he keep up his magical start and sustain it for the season? I doubt it - but MBB is benefitting big time so far.

There have also been a flurry of trades in the last couple of days. French has been very busy. Before I get into his trades - when did he become the French Lick Legends? I thought he was the French Lick Celtics? I love the name change by the way. OK, so first off, French moves Blatche to Idaho for Diaw. After the deal, Blatche goes monster for Idaho and Diaw poops his shorts. Typical. Both players are good fantasy players and should both put up good fantasy numbers going forward.

Then French moved his 3rd centre Chris Kaman to Brussels for Dorell Wright. French had 3 very good centers and needed to move one of them to get another asset on board. Brussels was looking for a big with blocks and got that in Kaman. Both players have associated risks - Kaman is injury prone and Wright had a huge breakout season last year but has gotten off to a horrible start. Was Wright's season last year a fluke?? Will Kaman be able to co-exist with Okafor and Landry in NOLA?

And finally, French moves Jason Terry/Tyrus Thomas to Brussels for Boozer/Ilyasova. Brussels gets 3pt shooting and steals while French gets some much needed rebounding. The wildcard in this trade is Tyrus Thomas. He's now in his 7th year in the NBA and is always considered a breakout candidate. His best season was 08/09 when he averaged 10 and 6 and blocked 150 shots. What can be expected from him this season? He's already out with an injury and sooner or later this kid either has to become a starter and excel in the role or we're going to accept him for what he is - a 10 and 6 player who can block some shots now and again. Which Tyrus will show up?

Around the NBA tonight...

Charlotte vs. Cleveland. The other day I posted a poll about who would win rookie of the year. The majority said Rubio based on his stellar play. I wonder if that would change with Kyrie Irving's performance tonight? 20pts on 8/10 shooting and 2/2 from downtown with 6 assists and no turnovers and 2 blocks. Umm, yeah, that's nice. No one on Cleveland played more than 28 minutes and they scored 115 points. Not very good for fantasy stats but this Cavs team has some moxie. Jamison had a nice game and Tristan Thompson showed why the Cavs took him at #4 overall. The kid has potential and I'm sure Bangkok hopes he can get into that starting lineup for the Cavs right away. I give Rick credit, he started him this week. Charlotte got big games from Augustin, Maggette and Henderson but their bench didn't do anything. BJ Mullens and DJ White, both JBL free agents, continue to impress me in limited minutes while Boris Diaw has come full circle from looking like a nightly triple-double threat to crapping his pants on a regular basis.

Sacramento vs. Memphis. The Paul Westphal watch has to be on right? This team is struggling big time. They have no true point guard. The players are throwing the coach under the bus saying he runs no offense and they just run around out there. Cousins is acting up already. Mr. Westphal - time to update the resume. Did you know that in the 5 Kings games this season that the most assists one player has had in a game is 5 (Jimmer)?? And in 3 of the 5 games - the most assists in a game has been 3? They don't get any easy hoops. There aren't many players I like from a fantasy perspective in Kings land these days. Meanwhile, a lot of Grizz had big games. That will happen against a porous Kings defense. Even my $49 dollar man Rudy Gay broke out of a mini slump. Marc Gasol had a nice game as well. And Yuma received a nice surprise with the return of the highly underrated Mike Conley. 14pts, 7asts, and 4 steals in 22 minutes. Welcome back Mr. Conley.

Atlanta vs. Chicago. A night after the Hawks take down the powerful Heat they put up a measley 74 points against Chicago. Joe Johnson goes 3/17?? Yowzers. Josh Smith had his best game this season with 15/14 and some ticks. Derrick Rose goes for 30 and Luol Deng has another great game. There is no doubt he is the #2 man in Chi-town and Boozer is now a distant 3rd option. Chicago got all of 8 points from their bench and JBL specialists Korver and Gibson are barely noticeable these days. Joakim Noah puts up a monstrous 2 and 4 and quiets those critics who thought the Noah for Duncan trade was a one-sided affair.

Portland vs Seattle. Did you see what I did there? This game was played in OKC though - not Seattle. Curses! The L-Train dropped 30 and 8 continues to be a monster early this season. Anyone else noticing that Nate is really leaning on his core 8 guys right now? Lots of minutes to his starters. Good games from a lot of PDX players tonight. The defense of Wallace and Batum quieted Durant tonight as he only had 19 points on 8/26 shooting. Westy and Harden had big games. I kinda wished OKC got more out of Perkins in the middle. He's way better in real life than fantasy (6 & 6).

Utah vs. Milwaukee. 2 teams that are not very fantasy friendly these days. Jennings' game tonight is what drives his JBL owners crazy - he goes 4/19 and 0/7. You knew after I dropped Gooden he would have a monster game. No Bogut meant minutes for other bigs. Skiles drives JBL owners crazy as he has no set rotation when it comes to Gooden, Mbah a Moute, Ilsasova, Sanders, Leuer, and others. Delfino, S-Jax, and Ilyasova all struggled shooting tonight too. Utah was led by Jefferson (26 & 10) and get a good effort from Millsap as well. The rest of the Utah team is a crap shoot these days when trying to predict if any of them are going to have good nights. Favors had 5 blocks tonight and has shown he can play. But where is he going to get the minutes?

Houston vs. Lakers. Andrew Bynum. My oh my. 21 points, 22 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Crazy good so far. Kobe looked like he was 25 again and dropped 37 points. The highlight for the Rockets had to be Kyle's 22/10/9 line. He's turning out to be a darn good PG early on this season. My Golden squad hopes he can keep it rolling.

That's all for tonight. So far, ideas for the 2012 rookie lottery have been scarce. Or, should I say, non-existent. Not a single suggestion, idea, thought, or premise for me to build on.....