JBL Offseason Continues...

Well, the lottery is complete and teams are now starting to look at their JBL rosters again as the start of the 2012/13 season isn't that far away.

Tonight, Brussels made it official and announced that his #2 lottery pick was up for grabs and that he was looking for a player and a lower pick. Smart move by Brussels has he looks to acquire talent for a roster that is currently empty.

Any trades will have to be delayed until October 1st after all the rosters have been trimmed. Why can't he make a move now? Simply because some teams still have 10 players on their team. Chilliwack can't keep 4 players for himself and then offer the other 6 players to Brussels for the #2 pick...that doesn't make sense. So, as previously discussed here in these Chronicles - teams must first reduce their rosters to the maximum allowable of players based on last season's standings. Once that's done - then trades (lottery picks or otherwise) can be made. The season essentially begins because Brussels is technically allowed no keepers for next season - so we have to start the new season for him to acquire players.

So, as you can see on the JBL site we have a couple of significant dates ahead.
September 1st - teams reduce their rosters to a maximum of 6 guys.
October 1st - teams reduce their rosters to maximum allowable # of players (4-3-2-1 depending on your finish)
Once all teams have reduced their rosters - then the 2012/13 JBL season can begin and trading is open and roster limits no longer apply.
IE. If Brussels can trade the #2 pick for 4 players - that's allowed after October 1st.

So - what kind of offers could Timbo get for that #2 pick??

The first team that jumps out at me is Idaho. Tuna holds the #11 pick and will have 3 wicked keepers. Bynum and Harden should be locks. The 3rd spot is up for grabs in my opinion. Rubio would appear to be the guy but he could miss half the season. Can Tuna wait half a season for this guy? Or would Jordan or Thompson be better options if he could turn one of them and the #11 spot into the #2 pick? This could be a discussion that Idaho and Brussels have in the meantime while they wait for that October 1st date to roll around.

The other team that has to be in the mix is French Lick. Brussels and French make a dozen trades every year so this could be #1 for 12/13. Or maybe Brussels wants to beat French this year? The last time Brussels finished ahead of French was way back in the 2008/09 season. Could Jeff Teague and the #7 pick spark any interest for #2? Or is the player available at #7 potentially too good to pass on as well as giving up a guy like Teague.

This JBL Rookie draft will certainly be interesting. Outside of the #1 pick - I think it will be very difficult to predict the order of the remaining JBL picks. It also depends on who is making that 2nd pick. Will it be Brussels or will it be another team? I see 4 top quality rookies in this draft. I see another 3-4 guys that could be very good. And I do think that there are 13 rookies worth drafting. Remember last year - we missed on a few rooks who saw action on JBL rosters (Biyombo and MarShon Brooks to name a couple). I'm sure we'll miss a couple again this year too.

I had already done some rookie research as I had expected to land the #13 pick in this lottery and there were a couple of guys I'd be interested in taking a flyer on for sure. That being said, I may consider moving down in this draft if the price was right. Again, I think it's a fairly deep rookie crop and some bargains may be found at the end of this rookie draft.

I love that Timbo sent that message tonight about the #2 pick. It's August 29th and I'm jacked about the JBL already. Love it.

Best Keepers??

With the 2nd Annual JBL Lottery just days away (August 26th), I thought it might be time to look at which JBL teams are best stocked for next season. I think there are 4-5 teams that set up quite well for next year with cheap talent. I do think that 3 teams are better than the rest though.

So, I'll start with honorable mentions....

Golden and French. Both teams should have a full complement of players (4 each) and are the #1 and #2 teams from last season. Could you imagine if either of these teams landed a top 5 rookie pick? Look out!

So, who are the best 'keeper' teams. As I mentioned, I think there are 3 really good ones.

Let's start with those Chilliwack Offs. Last years 4th place finish has earned him 4 keeper spots and I think he's had a good/lucky off season to set himself up for the coming season. I'm thinking Benny will bring back these 4 players - Evan Turner (8), Paul George (13), OJ Mayo (12) and JaVale McGee (21). Or he could bring back Kyle Lowry (36), Mario Chalmers (6) or even Blake Griffin (59).

Off season moves turned average keepers into potentially great keepers in the Wack. Evan Turner went from swing man option #4 to a 'core' guy in Philly with the trade of Iggy to Denver. OJ Mayo went from bench player in Memphis to the starting SG gig in Dallas where he should see increased playing time and put up decent numbers. Paul George is a mini-Matrix and McGee just blocks shots. Lots and lots of blocked shots. Even if Benny decides to bring back the newest Raptor Lowry - he could be a solid keeper as well. Lots of options in the Wack. This team has great keeper potential.

Another team building for a strong 2012/13 season is Arctic. He's got shot-blocker extraordinaire Serge Ibaka (14), manimal Kenneth Faried (12) and man-child Derrick Favors (8). Talk about rebound city. What a great 3 man option to start with if he so chooses. Could you imagine if Arctic's #8 ball comes out of the lottery first?? Those 3 guys AND the Unibrow!! Awesome potential.

And the 3rd team salivating for the upcoming season is the Idaho Udapimps. Andrew Bynum finally got moved out from Kobe and Pau's shadows and has his own team in Philly. What kind of numbers can he put up as the #1 option??? And he's only $25 bucks. Then he's got Ricky Rubio (15) just waiting to get back on the floor and pass to Love, Pekovic, Roy, and AK47. Assist after assist after assist after assist after assist...get my drift? And then he's still got James Harden (13) - reigning 6th man of the year he can bring back. Or he can go big and bring back DeAndre Jordan for 11 bucks. Or he could choose to bring back late season sensation Klay Thompson for just 6 bucks. 5 very good options but only 3 spots. Some tough choices will need to be made in Idaho.

So, there you have it - 3 teams loaded with keepers for next season. Watch out if any one of those teams end up winning the chance to add Anthony Davis to their already dangerous rosters.

Good luck boys!

The Lottery is 2 Weeks Away....

Here it is August 12th. One day before Ryan's birthday and 2 weeks before the 2nd Annual JBL Lottery. The ping pong balls are numbered. There is one #1. There are two #2's. All the way to thirteen #13's. Whichever number comes out of the box first on August 26th - the corresponding team from last years' final JBL standings will win the #1 pick in the October 2012 Rookie Draft. The tension will be high as we see that 1st ball get drawn.

Brussels has the most balls (13) in the box and the best chance of landing the chance to take the Unibrow with the 1st overall pick. Rumors are that Timmy has every intention of keeping the pick and taking Anthony Davis but you have to wonder what kind of potential offers will be thrown out there to the team with the #1 pick.

The drama does drop off after the 1st ball is drawn. However, I still believe the 2nd ball out and the 2nd pick in the JBL Rookie Draft will be an important one. Why? Because I think there are actually 6-8 impact Rookies from this year's class. So, even though 2-8 didn't win the right to the Unibrow they will have the chance to select some very good rookies. The challenge will be picking the right one.

Remember last year when no one picked up MarShon Brooks in the 13 rookie picks? Klay Thompson went 9th. Kawhi Leonard went 12th. And Kenneth Faried went 6th. There is talent available from 1-13 in the JBL Rookie Draft. You just have to know how to predict who will be good and who will bust. And of course, a great amount of luck comes into play.

So, after the Unibrow who are some other rookies who will have an impact?
How about MKG in Charlotte? They compare him to a Gerald Wallace or Scottie Pippen.
What about Bradley Beal in Washington? Can he start at SG? He only has to beat out Jordan Crawford.
Dion Waiters in Cleveland is likely to start from day one.
Thomas Robinson was a beast at Kansas last season and could see substantial minutes for the Kings.
Damian Lillard is the starting PG in PDX and says his goal is ROY.
Harrison Barnes could be the starter in GS from opening night.

That's 7 rookies listed above right there. What order you take them in is up for debate. It's also up to what your current JBL roster might look like. So, there should be a lot of interest as those ping pong balls get drawn.

But does this draft go deeper than 7 rookies? I think so...

Terrence Ross went 8th to the Raptors. Could he be a fantasy factor?
How about Andre Drummond in Detroit? He could end up as the starting C at some point this season.
Austin Rivers is gonna be good. Just ask him. He's Doc's kid. He has to be good right?
What about Meyers Leonard in Portland? Who else are they gonna use in the middle?
Jeremy Lamb could be the starting SG in Houston if they move K-Mart.
John Henson had a nice summer league in Vegas for the Bucks. He could be a cheap source of blocks.
Moe Harkless was a key piece of the Dwight Howard deal and only has an aging Turk to beat out.
Terrence Jones and Royce White could get time in HOU depending on the rotations.
Jarred Sullinger was once a top 5 pick and could get some run for an aging Celts team.
Tyler Zeller could see time for the Cavs as Varejao is injury prone.

I really like this rookie crop. I think there are more than 13 worthy picks for the JBL Draft. Last year was a lot tougher and many of the guys selected didn't last long on their teams. This year should be a lot more fun. Now, the question is who can figure out the right guy to draft.

Good luck....