Kok's Shining Moment

While the 2018 JBL rookie draft saw the first ever coin flip to decide who Idaho would pick at #1, the 2019 rookie draft is already more exciting and we don't even have the 1st pick yet.

While the2019/20 season hasn't even officially begun, we already have a monster trade to report. It's kind of like the NBA Free Agent period where teams were supposed to wait to talk to Free Agents until a certain date and time - but when that time arrived, players and teams already had multi-year multi-million dollar contracts in place. The Kok/Seoul trade fits the same mold.

With Zion Williamson being the clear #1 Fantasy rookie by a landslide everyone was going to the Kok looking to land the #1 pick. While we heard rumours of lowball offers I was thinking it would be silly for Bangkok to even consider trading this kid. He's being hyped as the best rookie since Anthony Davis and before that LeBron James. He set all sorts of efficiency records in college basketball this past season. Most of us have known about him since he was in grade 8. The kid could be a phenom. There was no way Bangkok could pass him up and I could only imagine that it would take the world to pry that #1 pick away from the Kok.

But then there was rumblings that Seoul was offering the world and then some. The rumour was all 3 of Seoul's keepers and the #4 rookie pick. The 3 players are Myles Turner, Donovan Mitchell and Pascal Siakam.

Siakam is on the books for $9 bucks and has 2 years left on his contract. Mitchell is $14 dollars and has 3 years on his rookie deal and Turner is $27 and is entering the final year of his contract. Those 3 players, at those prices, are undervalued. Siakam could be worth $40 at Auction. Mitchell is certainly in the $30-$40 range with the revamped Utah offense. And Myles Turner is likely worth $40ish as well as he was the NBA's leading shot-blocker last season.

While there is a significant drop off in this rookie class after the top 3 picks, Bangkok essentially gets his chance to find the next best rookie in this class. Zion, Morant and Barrett are the top 3 picks. There is no one else who can break into that group. But who is the 4th best rookie? Is it De'Andre Hunter who the Hawks gave up several assets to move up and acquire? Is it Darius Garland who the Cavaliers selected at #5? Or is Jarrett Culver who the T-Wolves moved up from #11 to grab at the 6-hole? Could it be Rui Hachimura who the Wizards selected at #9 and now there are rumblings that he will start right away and he's been fantastic this summer? Or is someone else? The Kok gets to decide who he thinks will the man. Huge opportunity here for Bangkok if he gets this right.

And I get why Seoul sold the farm. Zion could be special. You get him for 5 years with the starting price of $15 bucks. That means year 5 he'll be just $35 bucks. He's probably already worth the $35 so I see why Woo went all in. And if Seoul doesn't think there are any potentially good rookies at #4 then that part of the deal is a moot point for him.

So who would I rather have? As much as I love Zion and his potential, I take the deal and bring in Turner, Mitchell and Siakam and a rookie.

The key to winning the JBL is utilizing your $260 cap space to your advantage. If you have players at salaries well below what they are actually worth - you have a great chance at winning. Look at French last season. With his 4 keepers, his rookie pick, and a wicked draft, I figure he got over $400 bucks of value from his $260 salary. That's why he destroyed the rest of the league. The rest of us were working with $260 and he essentially had a $400 dollar budget.

So for Bangkok, this trade moves him in that direction. The 3 players he acquired cost him $50 bucks in JBL salary. But in terms of value, those 3 are worth over $100 bucks in value. Again, no brainer for the Kok. Instead of going for the slow rebuild, if the Kok drafts well, he is a contender. Yes, I'll say it again, a contender. It's all about 'value' my friends. There are 3 phases here for the Kok for this to have a chance. Step 1: He's acquired significant undervalued players. Step 2: Find the rookie who will out-perform his $9 dollar cap hit and Step 3: Nail the draft (which means focus on Bangkok and not serving scotch to the Doctor).

Bangkok wins the trade hands down, but Seoul has acquired a potential gem in Zion. How Woo handles the draft is his next step. Seoul's track record the past few years has been less than stellar but maybe Zion is the building block he needs to bring back a once mighty franchise who lately has been an also-ran.

Post-trade there are rumblings that there were better offers on the table for the Kok to consider. Namely that Chilliwack was interested and had a better package to offer. I don't have any details of what was the Wack was offering so we'll never know. Was the Wack offering KAT and the #2 rookie pick? Is one year of KAT and Ja Morant better than the Seoul package? Was the Wack offering 3 years of Bam Adebayo and #2?  For me, neither of those are better than Seoul's package. Now, if the Wack was offering KAT, Bam AND #2  - now we've got a debate. Because getting Ja Morant at #2 is very appealing and makes me want to dance! (FYI-I love Frankie!)

So there you have it gents. The Kok traded Zion. I never thought it would happen and I never thought Bangkok should do it. But I can't argue with the haul he received. Well done Kok.

JBL Auction Night - Saturday, October 19th @ 6pm PST
Location TBD (Kok's house or Golden's house or......)

The 2018 Rookie Draft Rewind

With the 2019 Rookie Draft not far off, I thought I would look at how all the JBL Managers did last season in the rookie draft.  As a reminder, here’s how last years Rookie draft went down. 

2018 Rookie Draft order (salary) 

1. Idaho $15 - DeAndre Ayton 
2. Brussels $12 - Luca Doncic 
3. Seoul $10 - Jaren Jackson Jr. 
4. Norfolk $9 - Trae Young 
5. Juan de Fuca $8 - Mo Bamba 
6. Manila $7 - Wendell Carter Jr. 
7. Arctic $6 - Collin Sexton 
8. Maui $5 - Marvin Bagley III 
9. Chilliwack $4 - Kevin Knox 
10. French $3 - Mitchell Robinson 
11. Vancouver $2 - Michael Porter Jr. 
12. Golden $1 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 
13. Bangkok $1 - Svi Mykhailiuk

The most memorable #1 pick in the history of the JBL Rookie draft occurred in 2018. Why? Well, if you remember, Idaho literally flipped a coin on whether to select Ayton or Doncic. The whole thing was filmed and the drama was awesome. Of course, it’s always nice that no matter what the coin reveals, you can be happy with your choice. 

Ayton is not as flashy as Doncic nor was he getting all the hype that Luca was seeing. Ayton was a throwback. Back to the basket center who could not survive in today’s NBA. Well, Ayton was a really good fantasy option and was ultimately the right analytical pick at #1. I don’t think anyone would ever call Ayton flashy or sexy or even say I’m here tonight to watch Ayton – but his numbers are very solid in the world of Fantasy hoops. Ayton was a 5 category guy in his rookie season (16 and 10) with good FG% and almost a steal and a block per game. He will get better in year 2. Sure, it would be nice to see him block 2 shots a game but he was just a rookie. Give him time. Ayton might never be a star, but for $20 bucks as a keeper this season he has HUGE value.

The merciful coin flip that landed Idaho Ayton also landed Brussels Mr. Doncic. This was the outcome that Timbo so badly wanted. There was an obvious man crush on Luca. He was buying Doncic jerseys for his children and they don’t even know who Luca us. Tim got a Doncic jersey for himself, his Mrs and even the family dog. Timmy loves him some Doncic. What Luka did in his rookie season was nothing short of outstanding. 21ppg, 8reb, 6ast. 1.1 steals. Sure, his %’s were low but we’re talking about a 19 year old kid in his first season in the best league in the world. He is must see TV as some of the stuff he does on the court is simply amazing. Is he worth as much as Ayton at Auction? No. Not yet. Nevertheless, over the coming years this kid is going to be amazing. You can just see it. As Dallas adds more players around him, the focus will move away from him and it should help him increase his numbers. Having Luka and Porzingis on the same roster should be really fun to watch. Add Dallas now to your NBA League Pass. I cannot see a situation where Brussels moves Doncic. 

Finally, at #3 we had a decision to make. Where would Seoul turn? He went with the hyped Jaren Jackson Jr. who was being portrayed as a future Defensive Player of the Year. We all know Seoul loves his stocks and it seemed like a perfect fit as JJJ would surely be a defensive menace. JJJ wasn’t the stud right out of the box like everyone thought. He’s young and skinny and was getting muscled. He also fouled at an amazing rate so he was unable to stay on the floor much in Memphis. As the season wore on, the Grizz were hit by injury and started to rebuild. Gasol was moved on to TO and the rebuild was on. JJJ is now the man in Memphis. He and Morant should be a dynamic duo. I’d like to see JJJ grab more than 5 boards a game and he could improve his ATO but the kid is going to be electric. I think that’s why Brussels made the bold move to acquire him from Seoul for Pascal Siakam. One of the best pure trades last season in my mind. Tim was thinking long term and pairing Doncic with JJJ as keepers was brilliant. Seoul loves Pascal and the Raptors so the move for him made sense too since Pascal was undervalued as well. And by the way, did Seoul always love the Raptors? Seems like he just jumped on their bandwagon as the NBA title was in site. And is Seoul a Kyle Lowry fan? Seems one day he loves the guy and the next he thinks he’s a fat tub of goo.

At #4 we saw the Doctor jump on Trae Young. This was going to one of 2 ways. The kid was either going to be really good or he was going to be Trajan Langdon. Well, after a somewhat slow start, Trae Young is on the cusp of being must-see-TV. In the 2^nd half of last season he averaged 23ppg and 9ast. OK, his %’s aren’t the greatest (44% and 35% at high volumes) but the kid was just a rookie. I really like Atlanta and what they are doing there. Young and Collins are an exciting pair. Trae Young, right now, is really just a 2 category fantasy stud. Points and ATO. His percentages need work and of course he could grab some more steals. But as a rookie he averaged 19 and 8 so the sky is the limit. As the Hawks get better, Trae won’t have to jack as many shots. His upside is huge. Norfolk has done really well here in nabbing Mr. Young. A great core piece to an improving Norfolk franchise.

At #5 Juan de Fuca grabbed Mo Bamba. The kid was being touted as a defensive beast. A shot blocking machine. The trouble for Mo was that the guy he was up against, Nikola Vucevic, was about to embark on a career season. And then there was the injury. I believe Mo can play in the NBA, the problem at the moment for his progression is that the Magic just re-signed Vucevic to a big deal. Can the two of them play together? I’m not sure. How will Bamba get enough minutes to be fantasy worthy? This is the first pick where the JBL owner has a tough decision on how to move forward with the player. The first 4 picks are slam dunk keepers – but Mo Bamba – at $13 bucks is going to be a tough decision. 

The now defunct Manila Ice took Wendell Carter Jr at #6. I liked this pick. Carter Jr had a path to the starting job as only Robin Lopez stood in his way. Unfortunately, Carter Jr. only managed to play 44 games due to injuries and his minutes were significantly limited by Coach Boylen who seems to use games of chance to determine who plays what. Due to his potential, French Lick made a bold trade for Carter Jr late in the season even though Wendell was injured at the time. French had the title won by about February so in order to keep himself amused he decided to get a potential great keeper for the 19/20 season. French can protect 4 players for next season and he currently has 6 studs all clamoring for jobs. Carter Jr. would have a $12 dollar salary for a starting Center who can score, shoot, rebound and block shots. Which 2 players French ultimately cuts should be of great interest to the rest of us JBL owners. Will Carter Jr. make the final roster in French? We’re a couple weeks away from finding out. Come on French, make those final 2 cuts.

At #7 the Arctic nabbed Collin Sexton. He had a really slow start to the year as the Cavaliers tried to figure out who they were. They figured it out – they learned they are not a very good basketball team. Sexton will give you 2 things – points and 3PT%. The 2^nd half of the season Sexton actually averaged 19ppg and shot 41% from downtown. He gives you nothing else. Nothing. I know Arctic is looking closely at who will fill out his 3 spots. Sounds like he will go the veteran route and look at guys like Westbrook and Harden. But Sexton is still there. He would be $11 bucks. Does Arctic believe he can better? Can Sexton co-exist with Darius Garland? Will the return of Kevin Love impact Sexton’s number positively or negatively?  Will be interesting to see if Arctic re-ups with Sexton. My guess is that we see Sexton back at Auction.

At pick #8 of the 2018 rookie draft, Maui somehow managed to select the actual #2 NBA pick – Marvin Bagley. Trev’s approach to the rookie draft is simple. If NBA GM’s have done their homework then they must know something. Trev takes the highest rookie available. This worked 5 years ago as well with Porzingis, the #4 pick, was bypassed by all of us and Trev landed him with the last pick in the lottery for a $1 salary. 5 years later Porzingis is about to finish his 5 year tour of duty in Maui. Personally, I’d love to see Brussels land Porzingis to pair him with Doncic. Back to Bagley. He came off the bench for much of the season as somehow the coach, was it Dave Joerger, thought Nemanja Bjelica was a better option? Oh wait, Joerger got canned. Go figure. Bagley averaged 17 and 9 while shooting 49% in the 2^nd half of the season and is poised for a monster season under new coach Luke Walton. This is a no brainer keeper for Maui and the rest of us can forget about acquiring his services – he’ll be in Maui for the 5 years. Unless a miracle happens.

At pick #9, Chilliwack took Kevin Knox. The Knicks also took Knox at pick #9. Both likely regret this pick. Don’t get me wrong, Knox had spectacular moments where he looked like a future star. But the bulk of his work was not impressive. Many experts call his rookie season one of the worst in NBA history. He averaged almost 13ppg but the rest of the numbers are not good. Like, really not good. He shot 37% and 34% and took a lot of shots. He had a negative ATO. He doesn’t steal. He doesn’t block. He can’t rebound. The kid has a long way to go. I wonder how much he will go for at Auction now that the Knicks have a 7-man rotation of big men.

At pick #10, French Lick took the chance on summer league standout Mitchell Robinson. He was drafted by the Knicks in the 2^nd round so for him to go at #10 in the JBL rookie draft was quite the reach at the time. Well, what do you know, Robinson becomes one of the best rookies, especially for Fantasy hoops, in a long time. French struck gold with this pick and I would expect him to be in French for many seasons to come. He’ll be just $8 bucks for the 19/20 season and will once again be one of the young, cheap, core players that French relies upon to chase yet another title. Can French win 4 in 5 years? If he does, Robinson will be a big reason why.

At #11 Vancouver took a flyer on Michael Porter Jr. As we all know now, this didn’t work out very well. Porter Jr. never saw the floor last season. I will say that I liked this pick at the time and Golden would have likely taken the same chance if he slid one more spot. Oddly enough, Porter Jr is now projected as a breakout candidate this season for the Nuggets. I’m not sure about this as the Nuggets are loaded with talent and I’m just not sure he can crack the rotation. But I am willing to say someone drafts him at Auction as a late round sleeper.

At #12, Golden grabbed the Canadian youngster Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Safe to say Golden finally got a rookie pick right. After years of taking guys like Wade Baldwin and Stanley Johnson I’m quite proud of picking up SGA at this stage of the game. SGA will be back in Golden this coming season for $6 bucks as he looks to become one of the building blocks of the Thunder. He appears to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. However, for a youngster, I like his potential.

With the final pick in the 2018 JBL Rookie Draft, the Bangkok Fighters selected Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk. The Lakers took him at #47 so this was a HUGE swing…..and a miss for the Kok. What can I say? You gotta go big with the 13^th pick but this one just didn’t work out. I can't really say much more about this pick. The Kok bet it all, and lost. Oh well, he was rewarded this offseason with the #1 lottery pick in the 2019 rookie draft and we all recently heard about what he was able to get for the pick. That's my next article actually - how the Kok's rebuild hit the turbo boost.

Some of the other rookies that probably should have been selected in our rookie draft included Miles Bridges, Mikal Bridges, Landry Shamet and Kevin Huerter.

So if we had to do it all again – what would the rookie order look like? How high would Robinson climb? Think of the talent in this rookie class when you have the likes of Doncic, Ayton, Young, Robinson, Jackson Jr, Bagley, Carter Jr, and SGA and others. I’m hoping the 2019 class turns out to be just as good but it certainly doesn’t look like it on the surface.

There you have it gents, the 2018 Rookie draft in rewind. With the 2019 Rookie draft so close (JBL owners just need to drop 14 players between them before we can begin) I always like looking back and see how we did in years gone by. Get dropping everyone (I still have 1 to drop myself) and then we can get going on the 2019 draft!!

Some JBL Ideas

I’m going to layout 3 scenarios that I’ve thought about as potential rule changes for the JBL. I’m not suggesting we put these to a vote at this time, I’m just here spewing out some ideas for the masses. 

Option 1

Rookie Draft – JBL Lottery

Currently, the JBL Rookie lottery is one of the most exciting things that happens all summer. Listening to TSN1040 has reminds me everyday that the sports world in the summer months, if you’re not a baseball fan, is slow and boring. The BC Lions are trash. The Whitecaps play horrible football. And there is no NBA.

The anticipation of the JBL rookie lottery keeps me going. Researching rookies from some small town College in Eastern Nebraska excites me. I’m still, to this day, amazed at these kids highlight reels on You Tube. Not because of their 3 minute videos of them just dunking – but because it doesn’t show any scouts (or a super keen JBL owner) if you can play in the NBA. Can you shoot? Can you hit a 3? I certainly can’t tell from your dunking video. I get it, you’re 6’10 and can dunk. Big whoop.

So this year’s rookie lottery was held at Talking Rock Resort, Shuswap. In attendance was Chilliwack owner Benny and Golden owner Johnny. Also there, former JBL’er and Dayton Yer Sista owner Cord. And finally, a fan favourite Deano R was the man holding the box o’ balls. The anticipation of who was going to get the 1^st pick was amazing. Would Kok actually get #1? I was definitely rooting against French being drawn early – his run of championships (3 in 4) did not need bolstering by winning the Zion sweepstakes. Would the trash talking Idaho be able to pull off another major coup? So many good storylines. 

We all know what happened and who gets to pick where. But my take on the Rookie Draft is that it should be 2 rounds. For a year like this with 14 JBL teams – that’s 28 rookie picks – essentially matching the NBA draft. All 2^nd round rookie picks in my universe would be $1. You could do a lot of things to make the 2^nd round more interesting. You could do the standard reverse draft. So Kok winning #1 also means he gets #28. Or, you could lottery up again for the 2^nd round. Maybe the Kok wins #1 and #15?

You would get to take a chance on someone, before the Auction, for just $1 and see how his pre-season shakes out. Maybe you’ve got a $1 dollar gem on your hands. If not, release him before auction.

And I get all the negatives – that no one wants to take a chance on some $1 rookie. Well, in my scenario, you could ‘PASS’ on your 2^nd rounder. Another negative I imagine would be that those true NBA fans (or JBL keeners) would have a huge advantage by potentially getting a $1 steal. Well, yes, but that’s the same for the Auction – do your homework and you’ll probably get some good players. Again, these players we would be picking in the JBL rookie round #2 would all be 1^st round NBA picks. Or, you could gamble on Bol Bol or other 2^nd rounders that may have slipped thru the cracks. And of course, as the JBL Auction date approached – if you didn’t like the looks of your 2^nd rookie pick – you could release him and send him back into the auction pool. 

So there is my first pitch to JBL owners – expand the Rookie Lottery Draft to 2 rounds.

Option 2

My 2^nd idea for the JBL, especially now that we’re back to 14 teams, is to eliminate the IR spot and just have 15 man rosters. 

With the current roster limits (16 players) and with 14 teams, that means we are drafting/holding 224 players from NBA teams. With 30 NBA teams, we are drafting roughly 7.5 players from every team in the NBA. 

Eliminating the 16^th spot (IR) would put 14 players back into the Free Agent pool. 

This would force teams to be a little more strategic around how they want to use their 3 bench spots. If you’re in the hunt for a money spot or a JBL title and you’re stashing John Wall in one of your 3 bench spots – can you really afford to keep him – or should you drop him and sign a FA that can actually help you?

This would also make it much harder for those teams that are going to draft and stash the likes of Klay Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Kevin Durant, and others. Currently, I can draft anyone of those guys and just put him in my IR spot right away and sign a Free Agent the first week of the season. Easy peezy. No risk. Lots of potential reward. Now if I only had 3 bench spots and I want to stash one of those long term injured guys that means I have to run my team with just 2 healthy bench players. And what if I get another injured guy? Do I run with just 1 bench option? 

The NBA now has 15 player roster limits – so maybe the JBL should follow them.

Option 3

My third and final idea for the JBL surrounds the idea of developing more dynasty teams and carry over from year to year. My idea stems from the current keeper model where depending on where you finish in the standings determines how many keepers you get for next season. 

So, to have the ability to build your JBL team from year to year, my proposal would be add a rookie spot to the current keeper allotments.

So, to use French Lick as an example. He finished 1^st so he gets 4 keeper spots. In my proposed model – he gets 4 keeper spots + 1 rookie. So he can keep Tatum, Curry, Nance, and let’s say Carter Jr as his 4 keepers but then he can also keep 1 more player as long as he was drafted as a rookie – so in French’s case that could be Mitchell Robinson in this example. So, essentially, French now has 5 keepers. 

This would work all the way down to last place. So, for poor Kok, if he finished last again this season (which of course won’t happen) – he would get 0 keepers but he would get 1 rookie keeper – so that would be Zion. 

The negatives to this rule change are of course that the best teams are actually getting stronger as they get 5 keepers instead of 4. But there is also the notion that the bottom teams at least get something. Again, using teams from last season, let’s use Chilliwack this time, he finished 10^th and gets just 2 keeper spots. In the new model – he gets those 2 plus 1 rookie. So currently he’s looking at KAT and Adebayo as his only 2 keepers. In the new model, since Bam is a rookie, Chilliwack could now keep KAT and Lord Covington as well as Bam Adebayo. 

This model of course places even more emphasis on rookies and the rookie lottery as my proposal would only be for players who were drafted in a rookie draft and had the ‘R’ status in their contract years. So it doesn’t have to be a rookie in R1 year – as long as he was drafted in the rookie lottery at some point in the last 5 years. It would not include those rookies drafted at Auction. 

The big thing in this model is that we are rewarding the last place team. So, a team finishes dead last but still gets to keep a top rookie?? Do teams sell out and trade an Anthony Davis for RJ Barrett because it doesn’t matter if they plummet to last place? There are definitely more risks associated with this potential rule change. 

So, there you have it, 3 ideas for the JBL. They all have things that I like and they all have pieces that I don’t like.

My favourite one is definitely moving to 15-man rosters – just easier to manage (less time for the Commish emailing owners reminding them to move a player out of IR); adds more players to the Free Agency pool; aligns to NBA roster limits; might deter stashing long-term injured players.

I also like having 2 rounds of a rookie draft. I’m fascinated by the rookie class every year and doing the rookie draft during the NBA pre-season gives you the feel of maybe winning the lottery again and finding a great rookie. And if you don’t like your 2^nd round rookie pick – drop them or even just PASS on the pick. 

The Option 3 I’ve gone back and forth on for quite some time. The strong get stronger in my opinion but the bottom teams also get something for their efforts. And do we want to reward the last place teams with a rookie keeper? I’m really torn on this one…

THE JBL CHRONICLES ARE BACK!

The last time I posted in the JBL Chronicles was December 15, 2015. It’s been almost 4 years since my last post. Crazy how time flies. Maybe I should be doing Podcasts or You Tube videos or TikTok’s but my preference has always been to write my thoughts down in an “old fashioned” blog. Call me old school.

So, shall we continue? Let’s cover the ground rules. I’m going to write about all things JBL, NBA, and whatever else suits my fancy. Some things you might like, some things you won’t like. As always, these are my opinions on various topics and you might not like what I have to say. This video clip from Ricky Gervais sums up my take on this….

https://twitter.com/afrovii/status/1124635242625736704?lang=en

2019/20 will be the 29^th JBL Season. I find that hard to believe but that’s the truth of the matter. 29 years we’ve been getting together and drafting Fantasy basketball teams to see who can win the year. It makes the NBA so much better knowing that I have a JBL team. I’m not sure I would even follow the NBA that closely if the JBL didn’t exist. Long live the JBL.

So where is the draft going to be for the 30^th year in the JBL? We went to Las Vegas for the 20^th year anniversary. And I would like to point out that’s still Golden’s worst finish ever in the JBL. I blame the Keg of Heineken that Benny rolled in around 10am for the Golden fiasco that year. It was also my year of Gay Love. You know, my theme team centered around Rudy Gay and Kevin Love, just so I could say Gay Love. Not the best idea I’ve had.  So where is the 30^th anniversary going to be? Vegas again? Phoenix for some sunshine and golf? Or back to the Kok’s palace for some ping pong and NBA2K? We have time to figure it out but start thinking about it gents.

So, let’s dive in to some things on my mind for the 2019/20 JBL season.

The Rookie Lottery was pretty exciting. Well, at least for Bangkok it was. I think it had been awhile since the last place team had actually won the lottery and got the #1 pick. Pretty sure we know who Kok will be picking. Chilliwack won #2 and Idaho beat the odds and took home #3. Idaho had the 1^st pick in last year’s Rookie Draft and selected DeAndre Ayton. Idaho can’t have any better luck in the Lottery. He’s like the Oilers of lotteries.

I’m a fan of this rookie class and think there are a handful of players that can make an impact right away. But I also think there are several rookies that will shine in March/April as the season winds down and teams give their kids a chance. Of course, I’m also the guy who believed in Stanley Johnson and Wade Baldwin – so what do I know. Trying to figure out who will be the most impactful rookie and also who has the best 5 year value can be very difficult.

As soon as all teams are down to their max number of keepers we can begin the rookie draft. Likely timeframe will be October 1^st to start the rookie draft. And we still need to land on an Auction date – looks like it’s either Saturday, October 19^th or Saturday, October 20^th. Need to pick a day soon just so people can block it in their calendars.

Big injuries are mounting this offseason. Benny will go nuts at this draft as we have multiple big name guys that are going to be drafted for cheap that will not be impacting the league at all this season. Kevin Durant. John Wall. Klay Thompson, Victor Oladipo. DeMarcus Cousins. Jusuf Nurkic. They will all be on the shelf to start the year but will be up for Auction. If they get drafted at Auction, they will be eligible for protection. Will be interesting to see how much people will be willing to spend on these guys just so they can maybe keep them for next season. 

We have 2 new teams this year coming in. We say goodbye to Manila Ice (the 2^nd time a team by that name has failed) and we say hello (again) to Marko and his 2 co-owners as well as the Kok’s buddy. Typically, expansion teams don’t do well in their 1^st year, so we’ll see how this time around unfolds.

Let’s look at keeper options for all the teams…

Arctic (3 keepers max) – he has big ticket options in Westbrook and Harden or he has cheaper options like Gallinari or Sexton. Arctic has been a BIG 3 model over the past few years and his auto-pilot draft technique once he has his big 3 players draws the curses of the crowd at past drafts. We’ll see what strategy he employs this time around. But I do like his keeper options. Plenty to choose from here. Arctic also has the #8 pick in the rookie draft and might be able to snag someone of value.

Bangkok (0) – the cupboard is bare but I think that’s a good thing. The Kok gets the #1 pick in the rookie draft and can build from there. Sometimes in order to build something up, you have to tear it all the way down.

Brussels (2) – while Brussels still has 5 players on his roster for just 2 spots, make no mistake about who his 2 keepers are. Doncic and JJJ are the picks and I love those 2 players. Both should be in Brussels for years. Well done Timmy. Off to a good start. Brussels has the #6 pick in the rookie draft as well and should be able to get a contributor from that spot. There are rumours of Timbo trying to move up in the rookie draft. With Golden’s poor history of rookie picks, Brussels might have his guy fall into his lap at 6.

Chilliwack (2) – another team where it’s pretty clear who the 2 keepers will be. It’s KAT and it’s BAM. Throw in the #2 rookie pick and Chilliwack is my one of my favourites for the JBL title. Could this be the Wack’s comeback year? It’s been 5 years since the Wack has won a JBL title. He sits 3^rd all time (1 behind Seoul and 1 ahead of French) with 4 championships to his name. The Wack must be loving that he gets KAT for $35. That was a major Golden error last season giving him up. But hey, we all make bad trades at some point.  

French Lick (4) – still has 6 guys on the roster for just 4 spots. Love the options here. The defending champ (and 3 of the last 4 titles) is loaded again for the coming season. French is another favourite already based on the keepers here. He does have some tough decisions to make though. Everyone keep your eyes on Steph Curry and whether French is keeping him at $72 bucks. 

Golden (3) – I’ve got my 3 guys that I like and I lucked out to get the #5 rookie pick. Good thing I like 4 rookies a lot. After that, it’s a bit of a crapshoot. But as mentioned above, picking guys like Wade Baldwin over Andre Drummond really builds my confidence about the rookies I like. I’m likely going to second guess myself about 1,000 times before the rookie draft even starts. 

Idaho (4) – Tuna has 6 guys left on the roster for 4 spots. I think 2 of the guys are locks – Ayton and Simmons. Despite the Nets bringing in DeAndre, I still like Jarrett Allen’s potential too. The Celtics don’t have many big bodies so maybe Kanter is a good guy too. Or will Idaho take a chance on Crazy Man Portis or Cedi Osman? And as mentioned above, Idaho has the #3 pick in a 3 rookie draft. Lucky dog. As many know, Idaho has probably offered that #3 pick to every team in the JBL 5 times over by now. 

Juan de Fuca (4) – Juan has 6 players still on the roster for just 4 spots. I can make a case for all 6 of these guys to be protected. The easy one for me, and the best value, is Malcolm Brogdon. Love this kid at a $9 dollar price tag. Whoever Juan protects is pretty much going to ensure that they have a strong core for next season. Did you know Juan was the last JBL champion that wasn’t Golden, Seoul, Chilliwack or French Lick? That was 18 years ago now since Juan won their title. 

Maui (4) – Trev still has 8 guys on the roster for 4 spots. I think 2 of these guys are absolute locks – Porzingis and Bagley. This will be the final year of Porzingis in Maui before he must go back to Auction next season. Not a bad run for a rookie that was a $1 pick 5 years ago. I think the 3^rd and 4^th spots are up for grabs. And remember, whoever Maui keeps, the chances of another team acquiring any of those keepers in a trade is slim to none. Maui certainly isn’t one of our more active traders.

Norfolk (3) – Dr. Dave is coming off a career best 5^th place finish and has his 3 keepers locked in. He’s got Bradley Beal ($46), Trae Young ($14) and Domatas Sabonis ($23). All good keepers in my view. And in the Doctor’s mind – Trae Young should have been rookie of the year. I now Norfolk is very high on the kid. Maybe he’s just jealous of Trae’s hair.  Could Norfolk now be a regular contender? Will the Kok continue to have to serve him scotch whenever the Doctor snaps his fingers? I’m curious to see if Norfolk can take the next step into top 4 contention or see if this past season was just some luck.

Seoul (3) – another team locked in with his keepers. Woo is keeping Donovan Mitchell, Myles Turner and his personal favourite Pascal Siakam. Seoul also has the #4 pick in the rookie draft so he should have a good base for the coming season. This will be Phil’s first JBL draft as a Dad – so will he be awake long enough to get those sleepers in the late rounds? Will he have any time to study for the draft? Let’s see how Father Woo handles this auction.

Vancouver (2) – with 2 spots up for grabs here I’m going to be honest, I don’t love the options. I think most of you know I’m not a Wiggins fan. At all. Kemba is nice but at $41 is that saving you any money? Hardaway Jr for $9? I’m not sold he’s worth that amount or how much he’ll play in Dallas. An aging Paul Millsap for $22 when they just traded a 1^st round pick for Jerami Grant? So, honestly, I don’t love the options. And maybe ultimately they don’t keep anyone from this group. You don’t have to protect anyone…but hey, if you want to keep Andrew Wiggins for $26 bucks. Please, by all means. 

So, that’s it for me for this post. It was all about the Keepers. But really, it was all about getting the creative juices flowing again to see if the JBL Chronicles should make a comeback. For my next post, I’m going to touch on potential rule changes I’d like to see in the JBL. So if you have any ideas you want me to discuss, just let me know.