Midseason Review - Part 2

And we continue on...

#7 - Bangkok Fighters. The team built around Dwight Howard and Tony Parker. Yes, it has other quality pieces (Wall, Deng, Gallinari) but this team still struggles in 4 areas (PTS, BLK, REB, and STL). PTS and STL's and are still close and the return of Gallinari could help here. This team is currently in 'decision land'. Does he stock up and make a run for the money? Or does he figure he can't make it and package Dwight for solid keepers for next season? I can argue that decision either way because Dwight can be packaged for guys to help him make a push for the money or he could gather wicked keepers. Bangkok needs to be the team that goes and gets Jeremy Lin. Come on Asian owners - step up. I think we all know the real reason for Bangkok's mediocrity is because his prediction for Jared Dudley (16-5-5) has failed to materialize. Also, Thad Young is the new Malik Sealy/Mario Elie - a guy that will always end up in Bangkok.

#6 - Montreal Poutang. What a turnaround a year makes. This was the 13th place from last season. No keepers. He won the lottery and added Kyrie Irving and built his team from there. This team is no worse than 7th in 6 of the 7 categories (3-6-6-6-3-7-13). The biggest weakness in Montreal - rebounding. He has Gasol and no one else to crash the boards. And Montreal has had all this success despite losing Ginobili to injury for most of the season. Very impressive. Should Montreal go after Dwight to shore up his rebounding? What about Kevin Love? This team has lots of likable talent in Batum, Gasol, Iguodala, Irving, and every one's favorite Jeremy Lin. You would think Montreal would be able to get Bangkok, Seoul or Juan to bite on this kid. If Montreal gets the rebounding - he could be factor in the 2nd half of the season.

#5 - French Lick Legends. French has risen from the ashes. Much like Golden, French could be found in the basement of the JBL Standings in the early weeks of the season. This team is deep and balanced now which is evident from his position ranks in each category (6-4-2-4-10-4-6). That 10th place category is scoring and that's still a very tight race. French added Carmelo Anthony to the mix just before he got hurt so if Carmelo can booster his PTS in the 2nd half of the season then French could be right there. The big piece to the French puzzle lies in Andrew Bynum. Maybe the JBL's top keeper for next season - French holds all the cards when it comes to this big dude. He could hit a home run with this chip. We'll see what he does...

#4 - Seoul Brothers. This is an old Seoul team that has lost man games due to injury. There are 2 reasons why Seoul is in 4th right now - (A) He finally got a real job and doesn't have the ability to spend 14 hours a day analyzing stats and (B) his team can't score. The Brothers are currently 12th in this category and don't appear to be going anywhere. Check out his other category ranks (1-5-4-2-5-4). Strong. Very strong. Seoul is getting big contributions from Josh, Millsap, Calderon and his aging Celts (Ray and KG). This team is built for the now and doesn't have many star studded keepers he can leverage in a trade. We'll see what tricks he has left up his sleeve. Remember, Woo is going for the 4-peat and is not afraid to make a deal. Also, the Bangkok vs. Seoul rivalry is heating up. Some trash talking is occurring and we see a recent poll posted. I also got another taste of an asian 3-way this afternoon on my drive home as I had Bangkok and Seoul on the bluetooth. I love this rivalry and with only 130 points separating the two teams this will be an interesting sideshow to watch down the stretch.

#3 - Chilliwack Offs. Benny's big team is now in 3rd but he's loaded up for the 2nd half of the season. His current position ranks? How about 7-12-1-1-4-11-1. That's right - he's 1st in 3 categories. Blocks, FG% and rebounds. He has cheap pieces, which could be redundant to his current needs, that he could leverage in trade. The Wack needs ATO and steals. He recently acquired Kyle Lowry from Golden and I'm sure he wants to see how much Kyle can help in those 2 cats. He also has JaVale McGee and Paul George as top notch keepers for next season that he could leverage at some point. The keeper trading deadline is March 18th so there is plenty of time to evaluate the needs. This team is built to win right now. He has Love, Griffin, Rose, and Lowry. He has the assets to move if needed. Expect a big push from the Offs in the final 9 weeks of the season.

#2 - Juan de Fuca Yo Mamas. I love the look of this team. Built in a similar mode to the Offs, this team is built around the big men. Durant, Cousins, Dirty Dirk, Chandler and the recently added David West form one of the best front lines in the JBL. The Guards on this team are not spectacular - but they do a nice job of getting those Guard categories. Currently, Juan is 8-8-5-8-2-2-2 across the cats. Those three 8th place cats are 3PT%, ATO, and FG%. Sounds like it's time to leverage one of those many big men for a PG that shoots 3's. As for trade chips - he has his 2 rookie PG's - Rubio and Knight - that could be leveraged for a run at a 2nd title. Did you know that Juan de Fuca was the last JBL team not named Golden, Chilliwack or Seoul to win the JBL title? Did you know Juan won his 1st and only title back in 2000/01? More trivia...in 20 years of the JBL - any team that has won a JBL title has gone on to win more than one title (Golden 7, Seoul 5, Chilliwack 3, Oliver 2, Renton 2 and Juan de Fuca 1) so Juan could join the other JBL winners in the history books. And I'm sure no one is more proud of the Juan de Fuca resurgence than the Kok Fighters.

#1 - Golden Showers. It's been a long season already in Golden. Only 5 players remain from draft night. Another slow start to the season initiated massive changes. Currently, the Showers are 4-7-7-11-1-1-3 across the board. The weakest category is still FG% and then BLK and ATO. I'm hoping the recent acquisition of Tim Duncan and the return of Brook Lopez can help in the FG% and BLK categories. Golden is still active in the trade market and has had recent discussions with Brussels and Bangkok over players. I've seen the leaders of the JBL Standings sometimes get complacent and I have no intention of doing that. If needed, the Showers have some potential keepers that could be leveraged in trade - Gortat, Anderson, Biyombo, and Thomas seem to be targets of affection already and I'm prepared to move them if necessary. For now, I look forward to finally, after 9 weeks, putting together a 12-man lineup that actually includes my best 12 players. I think I can do that in week 10.

So, there you have it. We still have 9 weeks of JBL basketball ahead of us. I believe that probably 6-7 JBL teams still have a chance to win the title. Golden is ready for the 2nd half of the season - are you? The keeper trade deadline is Sunday, March 18th. Will you be a buyer or a seller? Will anyone try to secure more rookie picks? Will we see the first ever JBL trade of a player for a pick? How many trades will the Portland summit produce? Will Bangkok trade Dwight? Will French trade Bynum? Will Montreal trade Lin? Will Maui trade CP3? Will Brussels move Aldridge in attempt to get out of the basement? Will we see a new JBL Champion crowned? How many points will it take to win it all? Will MBB be tempted to trade Lebron? Will Yuma move Gasol? There are so many questions to answer and we have just 9 weeks to go....I'm excited.

Midseason Review - Part 1

So, here we go...just a couple days away from the All-Star break. It's time to look at each JBL team and see what's gone on and what the 2nd half of the season has in store. Usually, the All-Star break means keeper trade deadline but because of the lockout that's been pushed back to March 18th. Without further ado, here we go...I'll look at those teams currently in 13th up to 8th tonight and then focus on the top 7 teams later this week.

13th - Brussels Muscles. Injuries and injuries and more injuries. Zach Randolph and Eric Gordon played 6 games combined before they got hurt. Other injuries to Tyrus Thomas, Anderson Varejao and Ty Lawson (and others) have killed this team. Add in the fact that Tim shot his Free Agent wad by week 4 and has zero ability to improve his roster means it's going to be a long season in Brussels. The hope would be to land a stud keeper while somehow staying above the $200 dollar salary cap floor and then somehow, someway, get into 12th so he could have 1 keeper for next season. Simple in theory - challenging in reality. That being said, despite this team being in 13th and challenging to be the all time worst team in JBL history (CBS based) - this team has talent that contending teams would want - LaMarcus Aldridge. Zach Randolph. Mo Williams. Jason Terry. Chris Kaman. Ty Lawson. All of these guys would find active roster spots on most JBL teams.

12th - Maui Ribs. Trev's team, after draft night, had some good talent on paper. CP3, Monta, Scola, Hibbert, Odom, Harrington, Beasley, Salmons, etc. The problem? Some of these guys have had disastrous seasons. Odom went for $30 bucks in a bidding war (with Seoul I might add) and has turned out to be horrible in Dallas. Beasley got hurt and fell out of favor in Minny and John Salmons (who averaged 16ppg over his last 3 years) forgot how to play. The result - another mediocre season in Maui. Trev has talent that a lot of teams could use but Maui has never been a team to initiate trade offers. So, if you want something from Maui - you're gonna have to go get it. Maui has a few interesting keeper options currently on the roster but should leverage his big guns to get a stud keeper for next season.

11th - Arctic Circle Jerks. Crikker's words, not mine, but his season can be summed up by fat, overweight, out-of-shape PG's and injuries. Bogut gone. Bargnani injured. Augustin injured. Felton fat. The list goes on. Arctic put a lot of faith in Bogut ($47 bucks) and Felton ($24) for little results. The best thing about the Arctic roster is the list of cheap talent. It's not doing him much good right now - but it has to be intriguing to all other JBL teams. If Arctic finished in 11th place he would only get 1 keeper. That's a problem for him because he is loaded with great cheap talent. DeRozan $10, Faried $6, Ibaka $9, Pekovic $7, Monroe $31, Bargnani $21, Favors $8 are just some of the guys I think could be bargains for next season. So, what will Arctic do?? Lots of potential action for him in the coming 4 weeks.

10th - Yuma Thurmans - The top end talent on this team is very good. Kobe, Jefferson, Gasol, Jennings, Pierce, Conley, Humphries, Okafor, etc...So why is this team in 10th? Inactivity I think is one of the bigger reasons. I don't think there are a lot of trade offers coming out of Yuma these days. Yuma has not made any trades this season. Checking the Free Agent wire reveals just 6 FA signings all year. I really like this team but it needs some tweaks in the 2nd half of the year to get back in the mix. Yuma is consistently in that 7th to 10th place range and it appears he's headed for that range again without any moves. So, why not shake it up? We'll see what happens....

9th - Manhattan Beach Ballers. Another star-studded team that has been doomed by inactivity. Lebron, Westbrook, and Amare and then a bunch of other guys. The transaction log shows 1 trade (brought in Noah for Harden) and 2 add/drops. Those adds were in week 1. Not much has gone on in MBB since then. MBB got off to a great start and his progress was slowed when he lost Hawes. However, a review of his current stats shows that Wesley Johnson has played 29 games for him while averaging less than 6ppg. Also, Derrick Williams, has played 33 games for MBB while averaging 7ppg. The depth on this MBB squad has hurt his chances. Will MBB look to move Lebron for some depth in the 2nd half to make a run? Will he build for next season? Only time will tell.

8th - Idaho Udapimps. Idaho is again setting records for number of players used in a season. He's making trade offers and signing FA's like crazy. And I love it. That's what Fantasy basketball should be about - trying to improve your team at all times. Tuna has some very good talent on this roster but sometimes I think he needs to let it sit for a bit to see what he has. I know he has 2 very good potential keepers in James Harden (my choice for 6th man of the year so far) and Ersan Ilyasova (depending on how Scott Skiles is feeling that day). The most disappointing player on this roster has to be Danny Granger for $41 bucks. He's shooting 38/35 and has really struggled all season. Over the 2nd half of the season, I already know what's going to happen - Tuna will continue to make offers,; make deals; sign FA's; take chances and who knows - we'll all probably have a great time watching him work. Thanks Tuna for doing what you do.

That's it for tonight...have a good week boys and enjoy the All-Star break. Up next, Part 2 of the Midseason Review and then next week it's the JBL Portland Summit with Golden, Idaho, Brussels and French Lick - and yes, I'll be documenting all the shenanigans that come from that roadie.

The Bynum Sweepstakes...

And so it begins, French has made Bynum available. And that means that the 2nd half of the season and the race for the title is on! It's actually one month today until the keeper trade deadline. There are going to be some major names put up for auction and we'll see which of the contending teams can improve for the stretch drive.

So, Bynum is available. Seen by most as one of the top keepers for next season - he's sure to be in high demand. So, who has the talent to acquire him?? And what does French need? Looks like he could use some scoring....

Let's start with the 13th place Brussels Muscles. He's dead last and going nowhere fast - other than maybe the JBL record books for one of the worst seasons in JBL history. The challenge for Brussels will be his salary cap. He's at $203 and can't ship out guys like Aldridge $40 or Randolph $33 for Bynum $20 because he would go under the floor. More work would have to be done.

What about the Maui Ribs? Trev is lacking a stud keeper and has a scorer in Monta Ellis; a PG stud in Chris Paul; and 2 quality centers (Sammy D and Hibbert) that could be packaged up for Bynum. If anything happens with Maui - it will be initiated by French however.

The Beach Ballers continue to slide down the standings. They had a great start but a lack of FA activity and trades has them free falling into the 500's. The most intriguing name on this roster is Lebron James. Interesting. I know. MBB also has Amare on the roster as well. Rusty Westbrook is also here. MBB has the names to get Bynum - if he wanted to.

Arctic has suffered through horrible injury news this season. Bogut and Bargnani have missed a tonne of time and he's now down in the 500's. Arctic is actually already stacked with potential keepers for next season - but acquiring Bynum could be possible as he has some decent trade chips in David Lee, Tyreke Evans and Kevin Martin.

I would be a fool not to mention Idaho as a potential trade partner - just because we know as soon as French hit the 'update' button on the 'On the Block' page - an automated alert email went to Idaho's phone and he immediately thought of offering Devin Harris and Ed Davis for Mr. Bynum. Idaho does have Bosh, Granger, Boozer, and Rondo - but I'm not sure those are the guys that French wants.

Would French be willing to trade with other potential JBL contenders? Seoul could offer guys like Josh Smith or Paul Millsap in some sort of package - but would French risk making Seoul any stronger since they are both chasing down the Offs? And what about the Offs as a potential destination for Bynum? Benny could offer Blake Griffin...would that interest French? Does that help Benny at all? Other than he would have a wicked keeper for next season and still be the odds on favorite to win his first JBL title since the 04/05 season.

What if Bangkok offered up Dwight Howard in some sort of package for Bynum? Is Bangkok still a contender? Montreal is 3rd in scoring and has Marc Gasol and Jeremy Lin (and others) to put an interesting package together. Yuma has Al Jefferson and Paul Pierce. French loves his Celtics remember.

Each and every team has some talent that could be offered up to obtain Bynum. French has 30 days to wait for the best offer to come in. In the coming weeks - more and more JBL teams will realize their JBL title dreams are fading and they will start to focus on next season. As time marches on, the demand for stud keepers for next year should go up. Remember, we're going into week 9 of an 18 week season. We're half way home. Time to either shit or get off the pot - so to speak. French should be flooded with offers. I would love to be a fly on the wall to learn of some of those offers so I could comment on them here - in this public forum. Who knows, maybe someone will float some of the offers my way so I can comment on them (nudge nudge wink wink).

Also, the JBL Constitution is 95% complete. It reads pretty well I think. Benny and I will work on the final touches in the coming weeks and then get it out to you guys for perusal. Pretty cool stuff.

And I have to mention Montreal's new co-GM David Boucher being brought on board. Welcome David. Welcome to the crazy world of JBL Fantasy Basketball. I wonder if David will become addicted like the rest of us and want a team of his own next year?? He would of course have to submit an expansion application this summer. Let's see how the 2 GM's co-exist the rest of the year before we get our hopes up. I am impressed with Montreal's season so far. Coming off a 13th place finish - the Poutang are in 8th with 742 points. That's a marked improvement from last year. Injuries to Manu Ginobili have really hurt his team this season too so he could probably be even higher in the standings. Well done Poutang. Well done. And since David has come on board I've seen trade offers; on the block updates; articles being posted. Gotta love active and involved JBL owners. Again, welcome David. Hopefully someone tells you about this blog :)

Well, that's all for me - if anyone has any blog requests - send them over. I can give one of them a whirl. Signing off...

Oh Brussels...

First, yes, I realize it's Feb 14th and I'm blogging. Well, after 13 years of marriage, this day is just another day. No biggie apparently. So, I'll retire to my personal bedroom and rant on about all things JBL. Tonight's topic - the Brussels Muscles.

To say that things haven't gone well this year in Brussels is a bit of an under-statement. He drafted Eric Gordon to pair with keeper Zach Randolph. They have combined for just 6 games this season. Yes, I'm aware that all JBL teams have suffered through various serious injuries this season (I have yet to get anything from my $36 dollar centre Brook Lopez)...but Brussels is really taking an injury beating this season. In addition to Gordon and Zach they have now lost Varejao for an extended period of time as well. Now, I see LaMarcus Aldridge sprains his ankle. Ugh. Poor Timmy.

What can a JBL owner do when everything is going against him? Every move Timmy has tried appears to have back fired this season.

He could have traded Dorell Wright to Chilliwack at the start of the season. The return would have been JaVale McGee. Instead, he traded Wright for Jan Vesely. Ouch.

Timbo was the one who bid $33 bucks to grab James Johnson off the waiver wire way back when. The same James Johnson who has 30+ steals and 40+ blocks. Unfortunately, in Brussels, Johnson didn't do much. He came alive after Brussels had sent him packing.

Brussels has already exhausted his $130 dollar Free Agent budget. He doesn't have any money to sign any players!! Oh boy. Timmy has tried many FA's but none have had much success. He's spent the money on Johnson $33, Patrick Patterson $21, Terrence Williams $15, Ersan Ilyasova $11, Mareese Speights, Gary Neal, Trevor Booker, Mehmet Okur, Jason Thompson, Francisco Garcia, Daniel Gibson, Jerryd Bayless and Roddy Buckets. He's tried. But only a couple of those guys are still on the Brussels roster.

So, what`s the plan in Brussels...

Well, the first part has to be to get out of the basement. Last place means no keepers. It does mean 13 lottery balls however. Will Timbo try to acquire other rookie picks as well...Brussels best keeper option appears to be Ty Lawson but the squad will have to move up to earn that keeper spot.

The other challenge in making further roster moves is that the team salary is currently at $203 bucks. The salary cap floor is $200 so he won`t be able to trade a big salary guy (LaMarcus or Zach) for a super cheap guy as he would go under the cap. The other challenge will be to try and secure good keepers while also realizing that he has to get out of last to keep those guys. I failed to this last season when I gather 3-4 good keepers only to see my squad fall from 8th to 12th and end up with just 1 keeper. Challenging tasks ahead in Brussels.

I`m sure Brussels will field many trade offers for LaMarcus (if the ankle injury isn`t serious). Also, when Zach returns, he`ll be on any teams list that needs a 20 and 10 guy (that should be all of us). I don`t think Eric Gordon will be sought after much as his knee injury is a great unknown. Also, it will be tough to move his salary without going below the salary cap floor. I can see JBL teams inquiring on Mo Williams and Jason Terry as well. Both are veteran guards that can help many teams. And then there`s Chris Kaman, Kenyon Martin or Jason Thompson. All decent forwards that can help out. There is talent in Brussels so I think Timbo will be very busy come March 18th and the JBL Keeper Trade deadline.

I can`t wait for this March 2nd to 4th Portland roadie with the boys because I have this vision that Brussels and Idaho will be super active in trade discussions that weekend and there are some monster deals done in that 72 hours. We shall see. Oh yes, we shall see.

Well, that`s it for me tonight. Brussels has endured numerous injuries this JBL season and I`m not sure any JBL owner would be able to right the ship with the number of casualties the Muscles have faced this season. But, the JBL goes on. There are always challenges ahead of us. It`s not too early to think about next season. Tim`s focus should be on getting out of 13th and getting the best keeper he can on his roster for next season. Whether that`s Ty Lawson or someone else if up to him to decide. That`s the beauty of the JBL.

Good luck Timmy. Good luck Brussels. Enjoy the ride and the challenge. I went through it all last season and as disappointed I was in the year my Showers had - the challenge of staying in the present (getting out of 13th) while also trying to build for next season (trying to identify and acquire the best keepers possible). Have fun with it....

Cheers.

The Guys I Like for 2012/13

Hey, I know it's early to think about next season...but I really do think there is some quality talent available for next year. And since we're into February and now just 6 weeks or so away from the keeper trade deadline - I thought I should at least mention some of the talent I like for next season.

So, here we go, in no particular order....I'll also use the current salary of the player so remember to add $5 bucks to that for his keeper price.

Andrew Bynum $20 - Love the big man's game. I've already had numerous discussions with French earlier this year about acquiring the big man. 17ppg, 12reb, and 2 blocks with 56% shooting? Yeah, me likey.

Marc Gasol $28 - breakout season? Inflated numbers because Zach Randolph is out? Either way, the younger Gasol is averaging 15 and 10 with 25 steals, 52 blocks, shooting 51% and has a positive ATO. Wicked season.

Marcin Gortat $15 - There was a reason he was acquired in the Love deal. He's now averaging 15 and 10 with 40 blocks and shooting 56% for the season. He's become the focal point of the Suns offense.

JaVale McGee $16 - 11ppg, 9reb, and 72 blocks (3/game). While still inconsistent his game is improving and he's shooting over 50% and adds 21 steals to the table. Because blocks are tough to come by McGee can be a great piece for any team.

DeAndre Jordan $6 - 9ppg, 9reb, and 62 blocks (3/game). See a trend here? Big men. Blocks. All good. And Jordan is the cheapest one yet. He's also shooting 68%. Not a type-o. 68% my friends. Sure, a few more points would be nice - but he's a nice big men to have on your team.

Spencer Hawes $2 - the shine has come off his stock because he missed 10 games due to injury, however, his numbers are still impressive. 11pg, 8reb, 59%FG, 21blocks, 2:1 ATO. Not bad for this youngster who is a free agent after the season. His landing spot will factor into his numbers for next year.

Anderson Varejao $16 - 11ppg, 12reb, 29 steals, 16 blocks, 49% FG, and 1:1 ATO. A very good year so far for him. Some injury risk with him but he appears healthy and appears to have found a solid role this season.

Kyrie Irving $15 - Finally someone who doesn't play Center. This rookie is well on his way to earning his potential 5 year deal. 18ppg and 5ast while shooting 50/40/83. Usually rookie PG's struggle with FG% so this kid is the real deal. Love him. Absolutely love him.

Paul George $8 - 12ppg, 5reb, and shooting 46.7% from the field and from downtown. Add in 32 steals and 16 blocks and you've got yourself a new Shawn Marion type player. He appears to be getting better as the season wears on.

Jeff Teague $6 - I'd like to say I knew the breakout was coming. I drafted him at $6 bucks but traded him for rebounds. He's averaging 13ppg and 5ast while shooting 49/47 and has 45 steals. Awesome stuff from this 1st year starter.

Ricky Rubio $10 - OK, I admit it. I didn't see this one coming. Juan did as they tried to select him in the lottery and then successfully won him at Auction. 11pg, 9ast, and 56 steals in 24 games. The shooting 38/35 is holding him back from the elite class - but he appears to be the real deal.

Ryan Anderson $2 - I like his game. A cheap source of 16ppg and 7reb and 43% from downtown. More steals and blocks would be nice but he doesn't hurt you in ATO (14 TO's in 23 games). Question remains - what happens to Ryan if Dwight leaves town?

Ty Lawson $10 - 15ppg and 6ast so far for the little speedster. He's shooting 48% and 30% and also has 30 steals. Denver shares the ball a lot so his numbers can sometimes be inconsistent - but Andre Miller won't be around forever. Lawson has the Nuggets keys. Let him drive.

James Harden $8 - Say Hi to the NBA 6th man of the year. Pretty much 17-4-4 this season with 47/37 for shooting %'s. He's the new Microwave and doesn't need a tonne of minutes to put up great fantasy numbers.

Serge Ibaka $9 - 7ppg, 7reb, and 63 blocks. I love this dude but I honestly expected more from him this year. I was thinking 12/10 and blocks. He just hasn't found the total package yet - but let's remember how young he is. Another shot-blocker off the Auction board.

Brandon Knight $4 - the trifecta guard in Juan's PG keeper package (Teague, Rubio, Knight). I think he has great long term potential for a really bad Pistons team. Hi numbers have leveled off a bit lately - but I think he could be a good one.

Mo Williams $5 - super sub off the Clippers bench is adjusting well to his new role. 15ppg with 50/45 for shooting. Oh so nice. The Clips must love having a 3rd guard in the rotation who can light it up at anytime. And considering Mo has Chauncey (old and struggling) and CP3 (brittle?) in front of him - he'll always have the potential for even more playing time.

Al Harrington $1 - I'm usually not a fan but I have to admit Al has impressed me so far this season. 15ppg and 6reb while shooting 50% from the field? Nice stuff. And he was a $1 dollar pickup late in the Auction. What will his role be next season?

Mike Conley $14 - another PG I think is vastly underrated in the world of fantasy. 13ppg and 7ast with 54 steals.

Brandon Jennings $17 - I wasn't sure if I would include him on the list of 20 players - but I almost had to. 20ppg, 5ast, 43/37 for %'s. I know he's a notoriously bad shooter but he really appears to be improving. He's a 20ppg guy? I didn't think he could do that. So, for now, he cracks my top 20.

Others to watch over the next few weeks (based on potential and their cheap salary)....

DeMar DeRozan $10 - 14ppg scorer who has not expanded his game.

Derrick Favors $8 - will he ever get the playing time to blossom?

Nicola Pekovic $7 - is he the answer in the middle in Minny?

Reggie Williams $1 - the Kittens are so bad that Reggie could become their go to guy

Jan Vesely $5 - no, just kidding....

Bismack Biyombo $1 - Ibaka 2.0?

Gerald Henderson $1 - MJ loves him. Injuries have slowed him down

So, there you have it, some of my favorite potential keepers for next season. Yes, there are more guys probably worth keeping for next season. But hey, I had to draw the line somewhere. What you'll see from that list is that there are a number of Centre's that won't be back at Auction and the same can be said for PG's.

Week 6 Almost Done...

Well, week 6 is almost in the books. This week has been dominated by Chilliwack. His team is averaging almost 19 and 5 this week as a 12 man group. Insane. Clearly, the Offs are the team to beat. I guess that Kevin Love trade worked out pretty well for him. And the Morrow/Mayo for Fields deal. And his drafting of Rose and McGee to pair with his super keeper Griffin. Everything is coming up roses for the Offs these days.

Seoul is having a horrible week. His team is averaging 10ppg this week. Ugly. The strength of this Brothers team, as in years gone by, is his %'s, steals, and blocks. Woo's squad is set up for success in those categories so he's not going anywhere right now. He's holding on to that #2 spot. For now.

The only reason that Seoul has managed to stay in 2nd is because all the teams chasing him have some glaring weaknesses. Juan is in 3rd right now but is 8th or lower in 4 categories. French is tied for 3rd but is 11th in scoring and 8th in rebounds. Golden is 5th and I'm 13th in FG% and 10th in blocks. Bangkok is 6th but he's 11th in blocks and 9th in steals. So, until those warts are taken care of - Chilliwack and Seoul will remain 1-2 in the standings.

Bangkok changed the makeup of his team late this week when he traded Aldridge and rookie Tristan Thompson to Brussels for John Wall and Danilo Gallinari. This trade went down relatively quickly considering Golden spent almost 48 hours trying to secure the L-Train from the Kok for packages including Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry, and Jarrett Jack. Brussels sweeps in with a couple of guys who average 41% and 29% from the floor and snatches one of my favorite players away. Yes, Bangkok improved his scoring - but did he do so at the expense of his %'s? I guess we'll find out.

I attempted to make a deal with Brussels for LA but he too didn't seem to enamored with Rudy Gay and others. Tim is always a willing trade participant but never wants to show his hand. He's always looking for an offer - instead of just telling you what he wants. It would be so much easier, in my opinion, to just say - "OK, what do you want to Aldridge?" - and get an answer of "I want this guy and that guy." Then I would know what the price is. It's much harder to make a deal when it's just - make me an offer. Ben and I quickly discussed a deal earlier this week. I asked him if he liked the sound of a player A for player B - he said that wasn't enough. OK, fair enough. Done. Timbo requires a little more work.

At long last my patience with Bismack Biyombo may have paid off. Part of the very controversial deal where I sent Wesley Mathews to Idaho for Biyombo and Ed Davis - only to release Davis a week later- Biyombo finally got the playing time he deserves tonight. I say deserves because the Bobcats are like 3 and 42 and suck goat balls. They may as well play this kid. He jumps out the gym and is being compared to Serge Ibaka. When your other options are Byron Mullens and Desagna Diop - shouldn't you just say fuck it and play the 19 year old? He responded with a double-double and I hope can continue to play 30+ minutes and rack up some much needed blocks.

I finally gave up on Chuck Hayes tonight. Love the way he plays the game - but he's struggling with injuries and it appears Jason Thompson has secured the PF spot in Sac-town.

Another Golden favorite is quickly becoming Tony Allen. In his last 10 games he has 20 steals and 9 blocks while getting 13ppg. Love him right now.

This has been another week of man games lost in Golden. Jack has missed 2 games. Kleiza and Budinger have been inconsistent. I need a week where are all 12 guys are going. We'll see if I can accomplish that next week...

Saturday night I changed 20% of my roster over and brought in John Salmons, Kyle Korver and Earl Watson. Again, this move is about getting healthy bodies and dropping Budinger and Kleiza seemed like a no brainer because I just had no idea how much they were going to play on a night to night basis. Salmons, a notorious slow starter, is still starting in Sacramento and played 38 and 41 minutes in his last 2 games. So, he's worth a shot. And Korver plays for a wicked Bulls team that blows everyone out. Their upcoming schedule should lead to at least 3 more blowouts and plenty of playing time for Ashton Kutcher. Add in the fact that he's been on fire from downtown lately and hopefully I can get my squad back in the mix in 3PT% as well. And Earl Watson was brought in to help out in the ATO category. Surprisingly, Ryan actually has an Earl Watson Sonics' jersey that I bought a couple years ago for $10 bucks when the Sonics still existed. But that's not the reason I picked him up. He's in Golden to see if he continues to steal playing time from Devin Harris. The JBL ATO race is tight. There are 7 teams between 1.480 and 1.599. So, if I need a little ATO boost I can plug in Earl and his 45/17 ATO over his last 10.

And as we head to week 7 and begin the middle 3rd of the season (weeks 7 to 12), JBL teams continue to try and find the right players to improve in certain categories. My excitement level is rising (as I'm sure Montreal's is) because we are going to be able (hopefully) to plug in some special players pretty soon. Golden will be adding Brook Lopez to the squad and Montreal will be adding Manu Ginobili. For Golden, a team desperate for more FG% and blocks - Lopez is the perfect fit. Last year Brook shot 49% and had 121 blocks. I'm hoping he's healthy and can really help the squad. It's not often you can add a player like that in the middle of the season.

We also saw the first Chinese signing this week. Kenyon Martin found a home in French Lick. As per standard JBL rules - any JBL free agent signed during the course of a season must play in at least 20 NBA games in order to be eligible for protection. I'm sure Kenyon will get those as the Clippers still have 40+ games remaining. I don't think he's on French's list for protection however. JR Smith and Wilson Chandler could also be back soon. Smith's career shooting %'s usually keep him from being too valuable but who knows - he could find a home on a JBL roster. Chandler is also bound to a deep Denver team and could be worth stashing. Aaron Brooks - not so much.

And here we are on Superbowl Sunday....Giants vs. Patriots. I know that I will will stuffing my face with appies and cold beverages all day. Enjoy the game. Enjoy your Sunday. And my official prediction - Giants 24 Patriots 21.