Week 17 - No Big Bang...

Well, the JBL keeper trade deadline has come and gone. And for the 1st time since 'keepers' were introduced into the JBL - not a single deadline deal was made. Not even a single deadline week deal was made. Did anyone make any offers? I know that French and Bangkok made some attempts as I received offers from them. But nothing. Not a single trade. I'm a bit surprised by this but also not that surprised by this.

So, why weren't there any trades? Well, one of my thoughts is that every team already has a bunch of guys they value for next season. Go back over my previous posts and you can see that each team has 2-3 or more potential keepers for next season. So, no one really needed to 'sell the farm' in order to get some cheap talent for next season. Our current last place team, French Lick, didn't need to grab cheap guys due to salary cap restrictions and the fact he already has the #1 keeper in Derrick Rose. Other teams near the bottom like Maui already have keepers on their rosters. In Maui's case it's Anthony Davis. I didn't expect any trade offers from the other teams -  Yuma and Manhattan Beach - did you? I was a little surprised that I didn't get one single Idaho offer. Very disappointing.

I think Bangkok tried to move Andrew Bynum but that had to be a difficult task with the uncertainty around whether he can even play this season. Bynum has the potential to be the best Center in the NBA but I wasn't going to take him on not knowing if he'll play 20, 10, or even a single game in 2013.

I'll admit it, I didn't make many offers at the deadline either. For starters, my potential keepers, Pekovic, Ilyasova and my mid-range priced guys aren't top notch keepers. They're nice - but not top 5 guys, so, I didn't really have much to offer. I'm maxed out on the salary cap so I couldn't trade a $15 dollar guy for a $50 dollar guy. And finally, I didn't make any deals because no one else was making any deals. If the Wack, Juan, Seoul, or Arctic had started loading up with high priced talent then I would have had to react. I still like my squad and hope that my big names (Duncan and Young) can get healthy and stay healthy down the stretch.

The roster limit poll results are in and there will be no changes to the 16 man roster limit for next season. If the JBL owners want an Injured Reserve spot - that's what they shall get. No changes. The other rule we'll have to look at is the 'Derrick Rose rule'. Currently, any player drafted at Auction (or protected) is eligible for protection. On top of that, any player signed as a Free Agent during the NBA season, must play 20 games in order to be eligible as a keeper for next season. Of course, they also have to be on your roster by the 'Keeper Deadline'.

So, currently, Derrick Rose is eligible to be protected for next season because he was drafted at Auction. Andrew Bynum can be protected for next season, even if he doesn't play a single game, because he was a keeper coming into the season. The question is do we want to change the rule that would make any player, drafted at Auction or otherwise, play at least 20 games to be eligible to be protected for next season?? Or, do we want to designate these players before Auction as 'non-keepers' and have owners bid at their own risk knowing they won't be able to protect the guy but might get a handful of games from them. So, I see it as a 3 option poll.

A) Keep it the same. Anyone drafted at Auction (or was a keeper) can be protected for next season. Any FA's signed must play at least 20 NBA regular season games.
B) In order to be eligible for protection - all players must play in 20 regular season NBA games.
C) Designate long term injured players as non-keepers prior to Auction.

If anyone has any other ideas, I'm all ears.

So, next time I come back I will break down the top 20 keepers for the 2013/14 season now that all the rosters are set. Yes, you can still make trades and sign Free Agents, but, of course, any players you acquire won't be eligible to be brought back for next season. It should be a great stretch run as we have just over 8 weeks left in the NBA season. Let's see which JBL teams can put it all together...

Just a Regular Tuesday Night...

It's day 2 of the final week to acquire keepers before the JBL deadline of February 17th. That's this Sunday at midnight PST you know. Will anyone be making any moves? I wonder...

I watched the Lakers vs Suns game tonight. The Suns are horrible. I mean, really bad. They all look lost and disinterested. Gortat and Dragic looked terrible. The only hope I hold out is that the Suns make some trades and do some roster shuffling before the NBA's Feb 21st trade deadline. Maybe Gortat will find a home where he can actually play 35 minutes a game and get back to his 15 and 10 potential. 

Utah put a whooping on OKC and Millsap and Jefferson had big lines. So, do the Jazz move one of them? Both of them? Neither? Is Derrick Favors a top keeper or not? 

You have to think the Raptors will be moving Bargnani. So that does make him more valuable? Will he get traded to a team who lets him be the #1 option? What if he went to Charlotte? Could he average 20ppg again? Or are his shooting %'s just too big of a negative to handle?

Will Atlanta trade Josh Smith? The Suns want him pretty bad. Will Gortat be paired with Horford? The Suns are also rumored to be after Iman Shumpert but the Knicks said they are not trading him. Ummm? I'm sorry? Is this the same Iman Shumpert who has only been in the league for one season?? And he's the same guy who shot 40/30 last year? I get it - he's a very good defender already - but is he really good enough to labelled untouchable already?

You know who would be perfect for my Blazers? Luke Ridnour. The T-Wolves are apparently shopping him. and my Blazers could use a combo guard for their bench to spell Lillard and Mathews. Come on guys - get Ridnour. 

Did anyone else notice Anthony Randolph played 27 minutes tonight and put up 16-7-3-2?? Must be trade deadline and the Nuggets are of course trying to leverage his 'potential' in hopes that someone bites. 

I would think the Kings would be getting ready to blow things up but that's probably not going to happen because of the pending sale to Chris Hansen's group. I wish that would resolve itself sooner rather than later. I mean, are the Kings becoming the Sonics or what?? Is John Salmons on the market? Will they move Thompson to give T-Rob the floor? I've held on to the Kansas all year in hopes of him getting the starting gig. I'm starting to think that if he can't beat out JT after 50 games that either Keith Smart is an idiot (likely) or that he's just not that good (possible too). If the Kings don't make any moves by the deadline, I think T-Rob will be finding his way to the waiver wire. My patience is running out.

No moves outta French just yet. He's under the cap floor and needs to make some moves this week. Of course, he could sign a Free Agent get back over. Of course, he'd be wasting a roster spot on another injured free agent if he brings in the big dollar injured PG out of Boston. Or, he has to make a trade. We'll see what route he goes.

The roster situation in many JBL teams brings me back to my idea about reducing rosters by 1 spot next year. Again, my proposal would be to eliminate the IR spot. 15 spots total. If guys get injured, too bad. There are numerous teams just sitting on guys all year long. Why? Because they can. But if they had to use a bench spot for these guys - would they? Would Chilliwack have held onto Granger all year? Would Bynum be on a roster? Numerous guys have sat on the IR for weeks/months because their JBL team didn't have to decide on waiting for them to return or to use a free agent. Guys like Mo Williams, Andrew Bogut, and Anderson Varejao have all spent extended periods of time on the IR because their owners didn't need to drop them. 

Also, look at a couple of strategic decisions that would have to be made with one less roster spot. Use Golden as an example. Right now, I have Big Baby on IR. I have Thad Young, Thomas Robinson and Carlos Delfino on my bench for next week. Without the IR spot I would have to drop one of those guys. Do I drop Davis or Young because they're injured? Unlikely. So, do I drop a valuable 3PT marksmen in Delfino or the #5 rookie pick in this year's NBA draft? A tough decision if I'm trying to win now and think about next season.

And what would Yuma do with one less roster spot?? Currently, he has Pau Gasol on IR. His bench is Andre Miller, Kris Humphries, and Marcus Morris. One would have to go. Would it be Gasol because of the injuries? And if it was - could you imagine the FA frenzy for his services? Or would be it be Miller or Humphries - both of whom are being rumored to be on the trading block where their value could be significantly impacted if dealt. Or would it be the young PF in Houston who could get more minutes (or less) if the Rockets make a big deal at the deadline. A tough, strategic decision would need to be made with Yuma only had 15 roster spots.

So - what do you guys think? One less roster spot would currently mean 9 more players back in the Free Agent pool. The other good thing would be a clean salary cap at $300 bucks. No more 'your roster is illegal' when you're at $309 but the IR spot is worth $20 bucks so you're really OK. It would just be 15 guys. $300 dollar cap. Don't go over. Simple and straight forward. I'm really OK with this idea and hope you guys are too. I'm going to post it as a poll and as per the JBL Constitution it would require 10 votes (out of 13) to be implemented.

I updated my 'On the Block' tonight. Dragic and Gortat both on the market. Both playing really poorly these days. I'm certainly not giving either of them away as both have the potential to be impacted by trades & roster moves in PHX in the coming week. So, if a good deal presents itself, I will review it, but I'm not giving up on them. I still like Gortat's potential in PHX or if he gets moved. He can block shots and shoot 50%. Unfortunately, neither of them have any keeper value for next season so they won't attract anyone in that market. 

Anyways, that's all for tonight. I'm posting the poll about roster size for next season. Keep it at 16 guys with an IR spot or reduce the rosters to 15 maximum. I think the 15 player maximum adds more strategy to how JBL owners would utilize their benches. It would also add up to 13 players to our Free Agent pool at any given time. It also adds some drama as to when Injured players would be signed off of the free agent wire. It also makes for a clean $300 salary cap. So, I hope you agree with me and vote for the 15 player maximum next season.

Week 15 in the Books...

Well, it's Monday morning, Family Day. A holiday. Awesome. I havent' had much time to dig my paws into week 15 so let's do that now. Rapid fire style.

• Brussels had some roster maneuvering to do this week. He had 4 bench players and his salary was at $196. He managed to get out of the salary castration area by acquiring an under-achieving Gerald Wallace from French. Was there any doubt it would be French to save the day? At least Mo Harkless didn't get immediately released by French. Although, looking at those injured names on French's bench - if they all got healthy - who would be the guy to go? For French, he's now below the $200 floor and needs to acquire salary. French's roster is currently at $186 so he needs a big move. 
• French has done some major house cleaning over the last little while. Getting rid of Kaman, Crash Wallace, Rodney Stuckey and now Ray Allen shows that Hildy is done waiting for guys to turn it around. 
• Seoul picked up two hot Free Agents in Alec Burks and Charlie V. Both have put up some decent numbers recently but I just hate Charlie V and couldn't bring myself to bid on him. Not even for a buck. That being said, look at the Seoul Brothers. Climbing the standings again. He's into the 800's. He's just 26 points out of the 4th and final money spot. Seoul has left his arch rival Bangkok in his dust.
• Speaking of the Kok - could this be the week that there is an Andrew Bynum sighting? Is he close to playing? Also, I see that the Kok and Brussels are tied at 585 for 8th. Not usually a big deal but that 8th spot gets 3 keepers for next season and 9th only gets 2 guys. So, for a team like Brussels, with numerous great options, moving up into the top 8 is a big deal. The current tie break process is head to head in the categories. Today, the Kok would win 4-3 in categories but ATO is so close between the 2 teams (1.622 for the Kok and 1.614 for Brussels). 
• The Wack had a miserable week. Even taking home the 'NOT' award for the week. Injuries and inconsistent play of course are the reason for the shitty week. Drummond is gone 4-6 weeks with a fractured tailbone. Aminu, Barnes, and Davis all struggled this week. Checking Benny's lineup for week 16 this morning reveals a 'new' player set to make his Offs 2013 debut. Danny Granger, as of 9:08am PST, is set to be active for the week. 

And finally, yes, this is keeper trade deadline week. If you want to protect someone for next season - they must be on your roster by Sunday, February 17th 12:00PST midnight. Over the last few weeks I've been touching on who has the best keeper options. Now, it's time to see who starts cashing in those chips to make a run for the money. It also could be a week where NBA teams start to shake their rosters up and new guys start to value. The NBA trade deadline is Feb 21st so we'll probably start to see some deals soon. This is where those JBL teams with FA money left over could snatch up some breakout candidates.

Again, rapid fire, JBL team by team look at some of the better keeper options each team has...

Arctic - Faried, Favors, Redick

Bangkok - Turner, Barnes, Bynum

Brussels - Vucevic, Lillard, Anderson

Chwk - George, Mayo, Drummond

French - Rose, Teague, Patterson

Golden - Pekovic, Ilyasova

Idaho - Harden, Hill

Juan - West, Sanders, Walker

MBB - Lopez, Love, Crawford

Maui - Davis, Parsons, Varejao

Montreal - Irving, Rubio, Splitter

Seoul - Vasquez, Calderon, Johnson

Yuma - Leonard, Afflalo, Jennings

There are certainly some wildcards in play here...

• Will Chwk be able to move Drummond?
• Will Bangkok consider moving Bynum? If so, what's he worth?
• Does Arctic cash in on one of his bigs in attempt to make a run?
• Does Golden consider moving Duncan for a healthier option for the stretch drive?
• Does Seoul move Vasquez to enhance his money spot chances?

Another factor to consider for many teams will be the salary cap. Bangkok, Chilliwack, Golden, Idaho and Juan are all right up against the $300 maximum. This means that if one of those teams wants to bring in a big name, big price player and ship out a cheap guy there are going to have to be other players involved. 

Well, that's all for this morning...have a good Family Day!

14 - The Week That Was...

What a week...lots going on.

Jared Sullinger is lost for the season just days after Rondo went down. Sullinger slipped in the NBA draft because of these potential back issues and they finally caught up with him. The surprising part if the Celtics are 4-0 since Rondo went down. Losing Sullinger probably hurt Brussels more than Boston as Timmy spent his final $1 dollar on FA rookie Mo Harkless. I like this kid in Orlando. It's either him or Nicholson that should see some increased minutes with Big Baby being out.

Timmy Duncan is finally showing his age and minor aches, pains, sprains and strains are slowing him down. The BLOCKS category has tightened right up since I haven't been able to count on Timmy's 2+ blocks per game.

Rudy Gay debuted in TO and put up some very good numbers. The Kok will be pleased.

Arctic and Juan are making big pushes this week and they have rose to the high 800's in the Standings. A resurgent Tyreke Evans is helping to lead the push in Arctic while Klay Thompson threw down a monster week in Juan. I see +78 points staring Juan right in the face. He could jump to 954 in a hurry next week as he has room to move in ATO (+39), BLOCKS (+13) and steals (+26). Juan isn't that far behind the Wack in scoring so that could be a 40 point swing there. The top 4 teams are really starting to tighten up.

The Pimps had a good week too as he averaged over 16ppg in Week 14. Mareese Speights has done very well in CLE this week averaging 16 and 7.

The Wack had a rough week as 4 of his guys (Aminu, Barnes, McGee, and Ed Davis) all struggled. Chilliwack's top 10 keeper Andre Drummond had another impressive week averaging 10ppg, 12reb, and over a steal and block per game while shooting 63%.

The current leading vote getter in the 'best value' poll - Nikola Vucevic - averaged 16 and 12 this week with 1.5 blocks and he shot 63%. Not bad for a $1 dollar player.

Earl Clark has been a surprising player this season in LA. He's averaged 12 and 8 over the last 2 weeks and is a nice fill in these days.

I like the Kyle Singler pick up in Maui. He beat me to the punch on this white kid.

I see 3 FA pickups tonight. Arctic brings in some much needed rebound help in Aaron Gray. He has played well lately and Arctic can use the boards. I'm surprised Arctic hasn't reached out to Maui for Reggie Evans. I also see French has picked up Jerryd Bayless and Nick Young. You know things are getting desperate when Nick Young finds a JBL home. But hey, to be fair, Young has played very well over his last 10 games and certainly deserves to be a roster. The biggest name to hit the wire has to be Rodney Stuckey. Once a promising part of the Pistons back court - he's been reduced to a 6th man who really can't shoot (39/29) and does little else to help your team.

So, it's February 3rd and this time 2 weeks from now we'll be just a couple of hours away from 'Keeper Trade Deadline'. Will the Wack move Drummond or George or Mayo? Will Arctic look to leverage Faried? Will Juan consider moving Kemba, Sanders, or West for bigger contributors? Would Golden dare move fan favorite Pekovic if it could improve the team?

Two weeks to decide on what you want to do with the rest of 2012/13. Go for it to try and get a money spot? Go for the title? Make sure you beat your biggest rival? Or load up with keepers for next season? Of course, being mindful that where you finish in the Standings will dictate how many guys you'll get to keep. I'll be watching the Standings carefully as there are a number of teams with several good keepers but not enough roster spots based on the current standings. The race for the finish line in 2013 is just heating up...