The Keepers

The Top Keepers – December Version

So here is my first attempt at identifying the best potential keepers for the 2016/17 JBL season. These will change as the year goes on and other players will emerge as better value keepers. I’m approaching this with a couple of things in mind:

1)      Based on the player’s current salary and adding $5 bucks to that for a keeper price – is the player undervalued as to what I think his Auction price would be?

2)      Based on my expectations of how much better I think the player will be next season compared to his keeper price and potential Auction value

Let’s go team by team and look at who I think the best 4-5 keepers are on each team. I will list the current year’s salary and hope that you guys can all add $5 bucks to that number to figure out his Keeper price. Tuna, take your shoes and socks off if needed.

Arctic

·         Rondo $18 – he’s back! How long can he keep it up? Will he implode? If he continues like this, he’s a monster PG in Fantasyland.

·         The Alphabet, The Greek Freak, Giannis $17 – only going to get better. A roto-monster potentially

·         Zaza Pachulia $1 – the anti-DeAndre. Most teams are probably looking for some rebound help. Why not keep a guy who is underpriced? Of course, Dallas could bring in someone else.

·         Bradley Beal $21 – does a lot of things well. Unfortunately, staying healthy isn’t one of them

·         Mudiay $9 – I’m a sucker for the rookies that have 5 year keeper potential

Bangkok

·         Zach Lavine $1 – at some point Minny has to decide what to do with him. Is he a PG or a SG? Will they trade K-Mart? If yes, does Lavine play SG? Cheap option for sure with potentially expanded role in 2016/17

·         Cauley-Stein $8 – another rookie with 5 year potential. Looks like he could be a defensive gem. Challenge will be getting on the floor. I would have more faith in him if he wasn’t in Sactown

·         Nicholas Batum $23 – often dubbed a Johnny favourite. He’s become primary weapon in Charlotte with Kemba and having a renaissance year. He would go for more at Auction.

·         Justise Winslow $10 – If this was $1 instead of $10 I would love it. He has potential and he has the aging, often-injured Luol Deng blocking him. He’s getting a lot of minutes already.

·         The other guys I considered for 5^th and final spot was DeRozan $25 and Kaminsky $3. You know what you’re going to get with DeMar and that’s an OK price. Frank the Tank is based on potential and what you think Charlotte will do with Marvin Williams and Big Al. I wonder if Boston is thankful that MJ turned down their offer of 6 draft picks for Frank?

Brussels

·         Jusuf Nurkic $3 – big man with lots of upside. Can he stay healthy? A lot of big body options in Denver. Can he emerge as the best of the bunch?

·         Motiejunas $1 – another bargain basement price. Terrence Jones cannot stay healthy and Capela is more of a defensive stopper. Motie could get more and more time.

·         Capela $10 – Dwight’s replacement? Loads of potential. I would love it if he had a lower salary.

·         Millsap $45 – I still think he is under-valued at this price.

·         Super Mario Hezonja $3 – this is just based on potential and my affinity for 5 year keeper potential. Will Orlando give him minutes? Only time will tell.

Chilliwack

·         Avery Bradley $3 – I’m not sure he can keep up his current pace but he’s more like a $20 dollar player. Boston has a lot of guards. Where does he fit in the long term plan?

·         Deron Williams $4 – do you trust those ankles? I think he’s worth about $25 bucks but his Auction price this year indicates how much we trust his ability to stay healthy.

·         Jae Crowder $10 – the do-it-all forward is putting up some nice numbers. Just wish Boston had more of a set rotation. His shooting has improved and you gotta love those steals

·         Jonas Valanciunas $17 – Before his injury, he was having a really good year. I think he’s undervalued at this price.

·         Myles Turner $7 – the most hyped rookie in recent memory almost has to be protected after all of the deals he’s been a part of this year. I wonder if someone makes a play for him yet again?

·         Paul George $24 – what a comeback from a gruesome injury. He’s WAY undervalued at this price. 27ppg, 8reb, 4ast. 44/43 %’s. 37 steals. All that means big bucks at Auction.

·         I’ve already listed 6 guys and didn’t mention KD or Draymond in this space. Are they good keepers potentially? Absolutely. But I don’t want this to become some sort of love affair with the Wack and how many great keepers he has. And I don’t want other keeper-challenged teams to feel jealous about how inadequate their lists look up against the Offs. It’s like peeing next to a black guy – you’re going to be disappointed if you do a comparison. Benny has the most keeper options out of all the JBL rosters right now. We just have to face that fact and move one.

French Lick

·         Danilo Gallinari $6 – His FG% is down but he’s contributing in a lot of other categories. Good price for 18 and 6 guy.

·         Jimmy Butler $13 – He is the new face of the Bulls franchise. Forget D-Rose. 21-5-3 with steals. He’s a stud.

·         Khris Middleton $6 – Shoots better from downtown than he does in FG%. Good solid contributions in several categories. These cheap keepers allow teams to then add the high priced studs at Auction.

·         CJ McCollum $21 – too soon? What if he actually gets better? 20-4-3 with 43/39 shooting and 1+ steals. Big time potential. Could you imagine the Blazers if they had a stud PF? Someone like LaMarcus Aldridge? They would be a 50+ win team. Oh wait. Nevermind.

·         Isaiah Thomas $21 – He’s averaging 21ppg and 7ast with 35 steals and an ATO of 161/61. If other PG’s (Dragic, Conley, etc) are all going for $25-$35 at Auction – why isn’t this guy worth keeping?

Golden

·         Andre Drummond $18 – 18ppg, 16reb, 51 steals, 39 blocks, 52% FG. Nuff said.

·         Karl-Anthony Towns $15 – potential 5 year keeper is just scratching the surface.

·         Kawhi Leonard $35 – 21ppg, 8reb, 51/49 shooting with 48 steals and 25 blocks. Oh, and his ATO is 63/32.

·         Eric Bledsoe $28 – Golden is filled with this middle-priced keepers. EB is averaging 22-6-4 with 52 steals and decent percentages. The challenge with keeping all of these guys is not having any money left for the Auction.

·         Shane Larkin $2 – putting him here based on potential opportunity. At some point, you have to think Brooklyn will move Jarrett Jack along and see if Larkin can run the show the full time. His stats in limited time is appealing.

Idaho

·         Nerlens Noel $12 – once considered a top flight long-term keeper, Noel has struggled mightily in 2015. His numbers (10/8 with 30 steals and 20 blocks) are nowhere near where they should be after a very promising rookie campaign.

·         Damian Lillard $27 – superstar. 25-7-5. One more year left on his rookie deal.

·         Cody Zeller $2 – he’s here because of the potential opportunity. He’s shown glimpses of being a serviceable player. What Charlotte does with Marvin, Big Al, and Frank the Tank will directly impact Cody’s long term keeper potential. He’s cheap and could be a good source of rebounds. I can’t believe what I’ve just done by putting his name here. Can you imagine the number of trade offers we’re all going to receive now stating that Zeller has keeper potential. OMG – what have I done???

·         There aren’t a lot of other great keeper options on this roster right now. I like Marc Gasol and Mike Conley but those prices are about right for them. Would I carry them forward? Maybe, but I’m not sure if you would be saving any money on them off of their Auction prices.  Sorry Tuna, your cupboard is quite bare when it comes to top flight keepers. You have two (Noel, Lillard) but after that…..eeeesh.

Juan de Fuca

·         Kyle Lowry $41 – He’s playing skinny and he’s loving it. Monster year from Kyle. If he plays like this all year then he'd be undervalued. 

·         Brandon Knight $21 – Putting up 20-5-4 with good %’s. Enjoying the sun in PHX. Still undervalued at this price.

·         Jordan Clarkson $1 – with Kobe’s retirement news his stock just went up even higher. How did he go for just $1 bucks at Auction. The rest of us must have been fanning the stench of Maui’s arse away. We all messed up on this kid.

·         Andre Iguodala $4 – Hey, I thought he was done. Completely done. But he’s having a really good year off the bench. He’s a 5 category player (low scoring and no blocks anymore). His ATO is 3.518. He shoots 3’s. He does a little bit of everything. Love how he’s adapted his game. Absolutely undervalued at this price. Can he do it again next year though?

·         Lord Covington $2 – you knew I would be putting him on here. My favourite 76er. OK, he doesn’t shoot the greatest (38/32) and his ATO is pretty bad for a non-center (30/53) but my goodness, I just like this guy. He’s 14 and 6 with 39 steals and 17 blocks. And he plays a LOT of minutes. I like him. You guys know that.

Manhattan Beach

·         Currently our 13^th place team. Unless he picks up his socks, Bobby is in danger of bringing nobody back to this roster. Let’s assume he’ll move up and have some keepers….for now.

·         Andrew Wiggins $17 – hasn’t progressed like I thought he would but still has great potential. Lacking the stocks (14stls & 15 blks) and still has a poor ATO (36/48) but is dropping 21ppg.

·         Blake Griffin $54 – He’s averaging 24-9-5. He’s probably approaching his Auction price but it can sometimes be nice to start with a stud keeper so you don’t have to worry about the Auction prices.

·         Will Barton $10 – another Johnny favourite. Former Blazer. Breakout star in Denver. He’s averaging 15ppg with 6 rebounds. Shooting good percentages with good steals and even chips in some blocks. I like this guy. The true question is whether he can sustain it.

·         After those 3, slim pickings in MBB-land right now. His main focus needs to be getting out of the basement so he can at least keep one of these guys.

Maui

·         Anthony Davis $30 – one more year on the rookie deal. Does the Title window for Maui close once AD goes back in the pool?

·         Kristaps Porzingis $1 – could he be the #1 keeper overall? With his 5 year potential and $1 dollar price tag – I think he might be. How good can he be??

·         Dirty Dirk $20 – I think we all thought this would be the year that Dirk finally slowed down. It hasn’t happened. And to top it off, he’s actually under-priced at $20 bucks. The risk is can he do it again next year?

·         Rudy Gobert $12 – Based on pre-season expectations, who has been a bigger disappointment – Noel or Gobert? He’s been hurt a lot but is averaging 9ppg, 11reb, and 2.5 blocks. I expected so much more though.

·         CJ Miles $1 – he’s here because he’s $1 dollar. No one saw 15ppg coming with 43% from downtown. If you did, you would have said $2. Again, same question, can he do it again next year? But if anyone needs a big time 3PT threat to help them out then this could be a target. I wonder if Seoul read this far along?

Norfolk

·         Jahlil Okafor $12 – 5 year potential. 18 and 8 with 35 blocks. Best player on a bad team. I would expect him to be in Norfolk for a long time.

·         Kemba Walker $25 – If I asked you to guess what Kemba’s shooting percentages were you would probably say 40 and 33. Well, SURPRISE, he’s shooting 45/40 right now and putting 18-5-4. He’s having a really good year. Can he sustain those %’s? If he can, he’s undervalued.

·         Kentavious Caldwell-Pope $1 – it’s really more about the price. His percentages are not good but there is potential. He gets a lot of steals. OK, I’m stretching anything beyond that.

·         Aaron Gordon $1 – was supposed to breakout and claim the PF job. Hasn’t happened. Could still happen. Stay tuned.

·         Kent Bazemore $10 – wish it was $1 instead of $10. Can he sustain these numbers? I like him but would he really go for $15 bucks at Auction?

Seoul

·         D’Angelo Russell $10 – Phil loves the fact that Kobe is retiring. Despite Woo’s constant barking about Russell’s unathletic body and pipe-cleaner legs – the kid has potential.

·         Marcus Morris $2 – I think Woo would probably want Middleton’s name here on his list but Morris is still producing decent numbers. 14ppg and 6reb are good numbers. Will these improve once Detroit unloads Ersan for his twin-brother Markieff? Yes, I am starting this rumour. Reunite the wonder Morris twins and Ersan would love the sunshine in Arizona.

·         Tony Parker $9 – I think Phil dreaded this pick on Draft night but now he’s seeing the positives of Tony’s game. Do you know what TP is shooting this season? 57%!! You didn’t guess that. Do you know that TP’s ATO is currently 3.000? No, you didn’t. Tony is getting older and doesn’t steal – but he can still help your Fantasy team with his 13 and 5.

·         Gary Harris $5 – the kid has potential. The catch is whether Denver will allow him to grow as their SG.

·         Mason Plumlee $25 – or is it Miles? Whichever one plays in Portland. 10ppg. 8reb, 24 steals. 26 blocks. 54% shooting. He’s valuable. Is he worth $30 bucks? I guess that all depends…

South Surrey

·         Hassan Whiteside $6 – averaging over 4 blocks per game. 12ppg and 11reb. Oh, and did I mention the 93 blocks.

o   I just want to put this into better perspective.

§  Bangkok – Fantasy man games this year = 271 games

§  Bangkok – total blocks in those 271 man games = 135 blocks (last place in JBL)

§  Hassan Whiteside – 23 games played = 93 blocks

§  If Hassan Whiteside played 271 man games he would have 1,095 blocks

·         Stephen Curry $80 – If the Auction was right now, would you spend more than $80 bucks on Steph Curry?? Of course you would.

·         Dennis Schoder $1 – another $1 gem that could be in line for more minutes next season

·         DeMarre Carroll $7 – off to a slow start in TO but I have faith that he can be worth a lot more than this salary

·         Jared Sullinger $10 – from the waiver wire to the keeper list. My advice to Jared would be to keep losing weight and stop shooting 3’s. This Boston frontcourt rotation needs to get sorted out too.

OK, I’m pooped…

Enough about keepers…

Week 8 - What's Going On...

Week 8 – Christmas Approaches

With the big day approaching, this is usually the time of year that JBL teams start shuffling the deck chairs. It’s been 7 weeks and most players are settling into who they are going to be for the season. Sure, there is still some room for improvement (Danny Green and Markieff to name a couple) but for the most part, they are who we think they are - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWmQbk5h86w

So what’s happening the standings??

• My pre-season favourite Maui Ribs are on the Equator. They are the dividing line between contender and pretender. I still think they are a money team but they need to be more consistent and get healthy. Have they started the best 12-man roster they could yet? I don’t think so.
• Above Maui there are 5 teams that can currently be classified as true contenders. Again, the scary Chilliwack squad is sitting there in 5th with blocks (9th) and rebounds (10th) being his 2 worst categories and he has Valanciunas waiting in the wings.
• Seoul is still right there too. Why? Because he’s a 5-time champion.
• Juan continues to excel despite numerous injuries. Lord Covington continues to impress and is definitely my favourite 76er. And let’s not forget they have Kyrie still coming back.
• French does everything well except shoot. That being said, they are almost at 1000 points and are still in title contention.
• Golden, despite being in 1st place, did a major shuffle on the weekend. Trading Whiteside and Dragic for Towns and Holiday is a major move at this time of the year. Could Whiteside have garnished more assets in February? Maybe. But the chance to acquire a potential 5 year asset like Towns was too good to pass up. I have to say, South Surrey was very easy to deal with. This Towns/Whiteside deal was consummated in approximately 5 minutes. I made an initial offer that was rejected with some feedback. My 2nd offer was accepted. Again, done in a matter of minutes. I’ll comment more on this deal in a couple minutes. Overall, Golden has 4 new starters this week (Towns, Holiday, Barnes, and Felton).
• The group of teams below the Maui Equator can, for now, be called ‘chasers’. Idaho, Arctic, Splooge and Norfolk are the best of the bunch it appears. Idaho continues to hang tough with his 6 and 6 approach. 6 guys that would be sought after by strong JBL teams and 6 guys who could end up on the waiver wire at any given moment (it could be 7:5 Idaho, I’ll give you that) Arctic is more 9/3;  Norfolk is probably a 10:2 or 9:3 roster and Splooge is probably 9:3 or even 10:2. These guys are still right there but the gap is widening. And hey, don’t take these numbers the wrong way – I consider Golden to be a 8:4 or maybe 9:3 type of roster most weeks. We all have guys that could be dumped to the waiver pile in a heartbeat.
• After the chasers group there are 3 teams that need an overhaul.  These teams are situated in 11th to 13th. We all know the higher you finish in the standings the more keepers you get. 13th is not a good place to finish because, as Timmy can attest, you don’t get to protect ANY players for next season. Getting up to 8th place gets you 3 keepers for next season. It should be a focus for these teams to ensure they are trying to move up the standings while acquiring keepers for next season. The challenge is trying to get the best keepers while trying to move up the standings. Those 2 objectives often clash as getting the best keepers usually requires selling the farm. Again, these teams need to make sure that they are (1) still trying to move up the standings and (2) do so while still acquiring the best cheap talent as potential keepers. If you have 2 players who essentially put up the same stats and player A’s salary is $20 and player B’s salary is $2 – you know which guy you should own right??
• To further the importance of keepers I will say this….the best teams in the JBL are typically built around two things – great keepers and/or great rookie draft picks. Golden, Juan, French and Chilliwack all had great keepers and are all in the top 5 right now. Maui had great keepers (Gobert) and great draft picks (Unibrow and Oladipo). The idea that you can go into a JBL Auction without any keepers and simply out-draft the rest of us should be considered very difficult to accomplish. It’s highly unlikely to work on a regular basis. That being said, the Seoul Brothers has done very well this year without any stellar keepers and without a high impact rookie pick. So, Phil, you can tell me that it is possible, I’m OK with that. But for the majority – get some GREAT keepers!!!
• This leads me back to the Whiteside for Towns trade. I get why Splooge made this deal. Whiteside is an attractive piece because he could go triple-double with blocks. He’s averaging over 4 per game this year. Add in the fact that he can be protected for $11 bucks next year and he’s a top 10 keeper. Also, Dragic is under-performing and should improve while Holiday is an injury risk. From my end, Towns has the potential to be a 5 year keeper. Sure, his remaining salaries would be $20-$25-$30 and $35 but he could be worth it. He’s averaging 15 and 9 with 2.2 blocks and shooting 53% in his rookie year. He could be a monster once he figures everything out. Even while chasing a title, my focus still remains on longevity so that Golden can compete for years to come. It’s not quite Christmas and Golden is already discussing extensions with Towns, Drummond, and Kawhi for next season.
• The latest chat discussion featured the ratio of Idaho outbound trade offers to inbound trade offers. Is it 10:1? 25:1? 50:1? 100:1? Chilliwack believes it has to be 100:1 and is willing to bet a hair modelling application on the outcome. So, let’s think this through. Can Idaho really make 100 offers for every single offer he receives? So how many of us would actually make an offer to Idaho? We all know that would create multiple counter offers involving completely different players that we didn’t even want in the first place. But, let’s say that Idaho has at least 7 guys that we would want on our roster (Conley, Monroe, Lillard, Noel, Anderson, Hayward, and Gasol) and that we would actually pursue these players. Did you notice that Danny Green, Cody Zeller, and Jeremy Lamb are not included in this list? I’ll ask you this - have you made ANY offers for any of those players listed above? I know I have. I really think the ratio is less than 100:1 – because I really want to see Benny make a hair video – kind of like this one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXMBxcHxkMA
• Looking ahead to next year’s Auction there are 3 players that will definitely be back in the pool. Kenneth Faried, Marcin Gortat, and DeAndre Jordan. Faried has been a keeper for 5 years (he’s on the only rookie to ever last all 5 years – so far) so it will be interesting to see how much he goes for at Auction. Gortat is aging gracefully and would be a nice #2 center on a JBL roster. Finally, DeAndre, the monster, the machine, the legend. He’s a beast and is currently averaging 11ppg, 13reb, 2.4 blocks while shooting 69% from the field. He also has 17 steals and his ATO (24/28) is far superior than many of the other big name centers. Jordan is probably a $60+ dollar player depending on when he comes up at Auction. He’s a cornerstone piece and I’m looking forward to the bidding war in October 2016.
• OK, now I’m just pulling topics from wherever, but I will continue. Remember the Chilliwack and Arctic trade where the Wack got Kevin Love and Jae Crowder and Arctic got Rondo, Jabari Parker, Josh Smith and Luis Scola? Man, what a trade. 6 players involved and 5 of them have been impactful. I’m going to exclude Josh in this discussion because he’s really become an afterthought in Clipperville. I’m amazed by this deal and how good it’s been for both teams:
• Love is averaging 19 and 10 and shooting 48/42 for Chwk
• Crowder is 14 and 4 while shooting 47/40 and getting lots of steals
• Rondo is 13/12/7 while shooting 49% and getting a bunch of steals. He’s back to his old form and is probably a $50 dollar player again
• Scola’s put up 11 and 5 while shooting 50%
• Parker is averaging 12 and 5 while shooting 48%

The fact that 5 of 6 players involved in the deal have done really well is amazing. It’s clearly a win-win for both teams. Remember, Benny essentially turned Myles Turner into Kevin Love and the Arctic improved his depth tremendously. I love this deal for both teams.

That’s all for me today…up next…I’m going to give all of you my top 5 potential keepers on each team. Stay tuned…Johnny’s got the Chronicles mojo back!

Christmas Wish Lists

A recent comment by the young Idaho owner that he needed a Christmas miracle for his squad inspired this posting. He hoped that JaVale McGee could average 20-10-4. While that would certainly help, JaVale hasn’t averaged those type of numbers since 5th grade. But with the Christmas season approaching…why shouldn’t we make those wishes? Let’s look at each team and see what they should be asking for from Santa this holiday season.

Arctic

• LaMarcus – can you please average 20+ points again? This team concept and reduced stats in San Antonio is great for the Spurs, but makes for lousy Fantasy production
• Jabari – can you please get healthy? Remember when you were a rookie and looked like you were going to be a star? Come on man, get it going. Besides, you were part of the Myles Turner trade. All eyes are on you still!
• Dwight – remember 5 years ago when you could play every night and rip of 20 and 15 games all the time? How about you just play every night and averaged 15 and 10? I’m sure Arctic would appreciate that.
• Tony Wroten – yes, you, Tony, can you come back healthy and score 16-18ppg? Last year, in 30 games, you averaged 17 and 5. Sure, you can’t throw it in the ocean from a boat – but Arctic could sure use some scoring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZR2Euju2fI
• Pekovic – either get healthy or retire from the NBA and just cruise dark alleys and scare the bejeezus out of people.

Bangkok

• MCW – really? 9-3-4? Those aren’t your rookie year numbers. Has Kidd done something to you? What’s up my hyphenated name friend?
• Speaking of which, Rick wants more hyphenated last name players (Carter-Williams, Hollis-Jefferson, Cauley-Stein) – talk about a theme team. Odd. 
• Rick needs a breakout star. He needs one of Hood, Winslow, Hollis-Jefferson, or big Willie Cauley-Stein to become a GREAT player. Not a good one, a great one. 
• Nurkic – another breakout candidate – can he do it? Please, anyone. Help the Kok.
• And he needs Lebron to average 30-10-10. Please and thank you Santa.

Brussels

• JCVD needs KG and Tayshaun to retire so that Gorgui can start and play 35 minutes a night
• Mirotic – can you please play like you did in week 1 – and not this current chucker (39/33%’s). Cause if you’re not playing awesome, the beard if a little creepy. He must use the Keith Hernandez beard colouring solution
• Hello Phoenix, can you please trade Markieff to Detroit so my boy TJ Warren can get regular minutes? Much appreciated, Brussels.
• Dear Mr. Kidd, Please just let the Muppet Man (John Henson) play 35 minutes a night for 5 straight games. If you don’t like what you see, go back to current state. 
• Dear Chandler, get better soon. I traded Reggie Jackson for you so you better get healthy!

Chilliwack

• Dear Portland, please start Ed Davis. 
• Dear Deron, please stay healthy. We know you have ankles of glass, but you are doing great. Keep it up.
• Dear Jonas, you are so important to the Wack. Your rebounding and blocks are exactly what we need. No pressure either, we only had to give up Danny Green for you. 
• Dear Myles, the entire JBL is watching your progress as you have been traded so many times already. You could be a superstar so we want you to show everyone what you can do.

French Lick

• A shooting coach to teach these guys how to hit the mark. Danilo, CJ, Ariza, and all you other guys – focus and shoot straight!!
• More scoring. With 4 20ppg guys already the entire JBL wants to see more 20ppg guys on this roster. Why? Because we all want to see a 250 point scoring night from a team.
• Big man blocks – hey, Randle, Faried, Leonard – jump and block more shots. Follow Jerami’s lead. And hey Jerami, keep up the great work (38 blocks) – you’ve been a big surprise, although maybe stop shooting so many 3's (9/47 = 19%)

Golden

• Dear Markieff, figure it out. You don’t always need your brother by your side do you?? Can’t live without him? Please. Grow up. 
• Dear Goran, it’s OK to be good again. I know you’re intimidated by the man-child Hassan in the showers – but it’s OK, you’re a white guy. It’s supposed to be that size. Just go out and play basketball. Lob the ball to Hassan. 
• Speaking of Hassan, how about passing the ball a couple of times? Your 4/33 ATO is Yinka Dare like. http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/dareyi01.html. Yinka had 0 assists and 72 turnovers in the 95/96 season. Impressive, I know. You would think just one time you would pass to someone who would immediately score. Weird. 
• Dear Brooklyn, please recycle Jarrett Jack so young Mr. Larkin can have a go. On a side note, wouldn’t Jack be the perfect type of player for Philly to lead their group of youngsters? They have no veteran presence on that team and a guy like Jack would be perfect in my mind. Philly should acquire Jack and Tayshaun Prince (won titles, veteran presence, doesn’t need to play much) to teach…
• Hey Stanley Johnson – remember how you played in pre-season?? Play like that.

Idaho

• Dear Danny Green, why do you suck so much? You had a monster year last year and got paid this summer. Is that why you suck now? You went for $29 bucks at Auction and should probably be on the waiver wire. Please Santa, make Danny care about his JBL stats. 
• Dear Nerlens, please stop pretending to be in a Kid & Play You Tube video and get back to stealing and blocking. http://kentuckybasketballforum.com/site/posts/453/nerlens-noel-kid-can-play/
• Hey Cody Zeller, you realize you’re playing time is being blocked by Marvin Williams? It’s only Marvin Williams – it’s not Pau Gasol. Why can’t you be better than Marvin Williams? Come on Cody, pick it up.
• Dear Santa – please allow Jeremy Lamb to continue this ridiculous performance. He was once traded as part of the James Harden deal and has never amounted to Jack Squat before this season. Please allow him to continue to shoot 51 and 36 so that Idaho can continue to offer him in trades. 

Juan de Fuca

• Hi Santa, please allow this crop of Forwards to produce at unsustainable levels.
• Mr. Covington – carry on your pursuit of MIP and get 24 steals in a 4 game period.
• Dear Dr. Scholls – please continue to provide great arch support to Brook Lopez so he doesn’t have any foot issues. Your new comfort gel packs are obviously working wonders.
• Kyrie, please come back healthy to join one of the all-time JBL great 5-man guard lineups in recent memory (Kyrie, Harden, Knight, Lowry and Clarkson). Holy cow. 

Manhattan Beach

• Dear Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown) and all back to the future characters – please allow MBB to use your time machine so that we can go back in time to when Kobe, Rose, Noah, Mayo, Joe Johnson and Big Al were all fantasy forces. This is anywhere from 3-5 years ago depending on the player.
• Dear Nick Young – never stop jacking shots and celebrating (even when you miss) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JG_wClmLUh8
• Andrew Wiggins – stay healthy and continue to get better - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCx43VS-9Do
• Dear Will Barton – keep up the surprisingly good work

Maui

• Dear St. John’s Ambulance staff – please send more bandaids for this roster. We’ve lost man games to AD, Rubio, Calderon, Gobert, Jones, Teague, Ginobili, Oladipo, and Korver. 
• Mr. Porzingis – keep up the great work please. With a $1 dollar price tag and a 5 year rookie contract he could be one of the best keepers in the JBL. His last 10 games? 16ppg, 10reb, 27 blocks while shooting 46/43%. Holy moly JBL fans.
• Father time – please continue to support Dirty Dirk with his very slow gradual decline. He’s averaging 17 and 7 while shooting 50/45/91. I think many of us thought he would regress big time this season. Father Time had other ideas.
• Hey Unibrow – 24 and 10? That’s it? Santa knows you can do better.

Norfolk

• It was all very rosey until Harrison got hurt. Please come back soon Mr. Barnes
• Hey Ty Lawson – do whatever you need to do to get back to your old ways. Do we need a beer advent calendar for you? Would that help?  http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/prosecutors-want-alcohol-monitoring-for-nuggets-ty-lawson/
• Aaron Gordon – this was supposed to be your breakout. It’s only Channing Frye and Andrew Nicholson – you can beat them. Can’t you?
• Hey Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – Bangkok’s calling. Your last name is intriguing to them. 
• Hey Kemba – keep shooting 44/37 because those career averages are a long way down
• Mr. Duncan. You are the greatest PF to ever play – but 9 & 9? We were hoping for a little bit more scoring. Alas, you are awesome. Whatever you can provide, we’ll take. Stay healthy. Cheers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZLLZU0OzI

Seoul

• D’Angelo – can you score more please? That goes for you too Horford, Wade, Wall and others.
• Mr. Wade – can you please stay healthy? And as mentioned, score a little more.
• Dear Thabo – please keep it up. You are the new Danny Green
• Mason Plumlee – you are awesome. Stocks, stocks, stocks. I love stocks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovUkATL4l_g
• Santa - Please bring me a 3 point gunner. 

South Surrey

• Dear Mr. Curry. While you are averaging 32-5-6 and shooting 52/56/94 with 2.4 steals per game and having probably one of the greatest fantasy seasons in recent memory – would it kill you to get a couple more blocks? You only have 3. Of course, we’re kidding. Just keep being the MVP every night.
• Jrue – time to suck it up and play more than 20 minutes a night. Take the bubble wrap off. Either you’re healthy or you’re not
• Luol and Tyson – yes, we know you’re getting old but seriously – time to play
• Jared Sullinger – keep eating those Subway sandwiches because you are still a very large man
• Hey Zach Randolph. You have 1 block. Clearly, you cannot jump. http://www.sbnation.com/2013/5/21/4354252/zach-randolph-matt-bonner-jump-ball

So, that’s it for me and the JBL Christmas wish lists. Enjoy the weekend.

The Penn & Teller Show...

So, figured it was time for another JBL article. Why not right?

What’s going on the JBL these days? Well, let’s get at it.

Juan de Fuca is leading the way. He was close to 1100 points the other night and is simply on fire right now. I projected him out to be a top 4 team but this is something else. And he’s doing it with a surprising cast of forwards. The list includes Aminu, Covington, Tristan Thompson, Porter and Iguodala. All 5 of those guys were drafted at Auction for the combined price of $31 bucks. Read that again. $31 bucks total. Covington just had 24 steals in a 4 game week and Juan is running away with that category. So why is Juan in 1^st? Probably due to his strong Guard play (Harden, Lowry, Knight) with the surprising Jordan Clarkson ($1) and FA wonder Ish Smith. Plus, the resurgence of Brook Lopez (20ppg, 8reb, 2.3 blks). The scary thing about this team is that he will be adding Kyrie Irving back to the fold soon. Not a bad Christmas prezzie for Juan.

Manhattan is bringing up the rear. The whole Kobe and Rose experiment didn’t work. Kobe has announced this will be his last year and MBB has done the right thing by benching him. How the mighty have fallen. I will say this about MBB, he’s trying. Lots of trades and attempts to shake the tree. Is it getting him anywhere? Who knows, but at least he’s trying. The news that Big Al will miss 2-3 weeks certainly doesn’t help his quest to get out of the basement.

My pre-season favourite Maui is tied for 6^th currently. He’s been hit by injuries so far this season. Does Anthony Davis get injured every game? Sure seems like it. Gobert and Jones have certainly been disappointing this year. I have more faith in Gobert than I do in Terrence now that the Rockets have fired McHale. I loved Terrence at Auction and was right in the mix for his services. His anticipated breakout year seems to be put on hold right now. The star in Maui has to be Porzingis. How good has this kid been? He’s embraced the big city lights of New York and become a legend already. And Trevor drafted him 13^th in the Rookie Draft. Maybe Phil Jackson does still know what he’s doing. I thought Phil was foolish for taking him at #4 but what do I know.

The Warriors are 19-0 and are seemingly unstoppable. The trio of Curry, Green, and Thompson are amazing. Curry is probably worth over $100 bucks at Auction and Draymond Green is a 7 category player. Benny could have protected him for $14 bucks but ended up bringing him back for $44 bucks. Regardless, Draymond is really, really good.

LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 15 and 9 while shooting 43% and the Spurs are 14-4. Just the way they planned it. They are

CJ McCollum is WAY better than I thought he would be. I think everyone knew he was going to have a breakout year – but I don’t think many would have projected 20ppg. I was thinking 14-16ppg. He’s probably already won the MIP award.

Who got the better of the most recent JBL trade? Chilliwack acquired Reggie Jackson and Festus Ezili while Brussels picks up Chandler Parsons and JJ Red dick. I see it pretty even – the Wack winning 3 categories (Rebs, Blks, ATO) and Brussels winning PTS, FG% and 3PT%. I see the Steals as even.  Of course, this is all dependant on Parsons returning to last year’s form though. He’s under performing right now due to the off season surgery.

Who is the most dangerous team right now? Chilliwack (and Maui). Maui’s injury woes were documented above. I think they’ll be alright once those guys get healthy. The most dangerous team right now is the Wack. The forward lineup of Durant, George, Love, and Green is unmatched. Now Benny adds Reggie Jackson and his 19ppg to the mix and this team can really score. The addition of Jonas Valunciunas (and Ezeli) will also play a huge factor as this team really hasn’t gotten anything from the Center position (thank Mr. Henson and Mr. Len). The 2 other surprises have been Avery Bradley and Deron Williams. I had Deron on my Auction board for $20 bucks. Why we all stopped bidding and allowed Deron go for $4 bucks is beyond me. Maybe we’ve all been burned by Deron too many times. While he’s never going to be a superstar again – he is quietly averaging 14 and 6 with 25 steals and a good 3PT%. And Bradley is averaging 16ppg while shooting 47/42 and has 27 steals. He went for $3 bucks at Auction. Danger, danger, here comes the Wack!

In our recent online chats there is talk about who is the angriest JBL’er. I would think many owners would be angry at some point during the JBL season or over the course of their JBL tenure. Bad trades. Missed opportunities. Stupid decisions. Lack of preparation. Bad luck. Really bad luck. The wrath of JBL Gods. But who is the angriest? Maybe the anger factor has something to do with where you finish in the JBL standings? Let’s look at this theory a little closer…

Let’s look at the last 5 years of standings and see where each team has finished.

Golden                 1-5-1-1-12          

French                  2-8-12-2-4          

Juan                       3-4-3-3-10                          

Maui                      4-3-6-12-9          

Arctic                     5-7-2-8-5                             

Idaho                    6-9-7-7-3                             

Bangkok               7-11-9-9-2          

Wack                     9-1-4-4-6                             

MBB                      10-12-11-11-11 

Seoul                     11-10-5-5-1        

Brussels               13-2-10-13-7      

So, does this tell us anything about anger?? No. I’m not sure it tells us a damn thing, but it was neat to see how everyone has done over the last 5 years. Anything surprising by looking at the last 5 years? But to determine the angriest JBL’er? That’s still up for debate…

My comments based on this 5 year glance:

·         Maui got really good when he won the lottery and Anthony Davis

·         Juan has been in the money 4 straight years (longest streak going and it doesn’t look like it will end this season)

·         Everyone has finished in a money spot over the last 5 years except for MBB (it appears unlikely that streak will be broken in 15/16)

Usually around Christmas we start talking about the best potential keepers out there. Since we’re still a few weeks away, I thought I would start small and look at those $1 dollar players that could be the best bargains. This year, there aren’t too many $1 dollar gems, but here are a few at the bargain basement price (ala Mr. Whiteside from last year)….

Zach Lavine, Jordan Clarkson, CJ Miles, Kristaps Porzingis, Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to name a few….

All $1 buckaroos. Which one would you want as a keeper for next season? My top 3 right now would be Porzingis (because he’s the next Dirty Dirk), Clarkson (because Kobe is leaving) and Lavine (because K-Mart is over the hill and likely to be traded).

As I go to post, Juan is back close to 1100 points. Wowzers. Impressive.