Nevertheless, let's have a look at these JBL teams.
I'm going to try and go short and sweet with some highlights for each team. Now, of course, I've had the luxury of 2 weeks this year to see how some of these guys are performing. And in some cases, some rosters have already been altered with 3-4 moves, Anyways, I'll cover things such as what I liked, what I question, you know, the usual stuff. So, let's get to it.
Seoul Brothers
Phil already had Brunzy on board and decided to add AD, Fox, and FVV as his major studs. AD is making his case for Fantasy MVP so far. Always good to have those kinda guys on your team. I was jealous of the big man pairing of Nurkic and Big Dick Nick Richards but Nurk's start to the season hasn't been great. Big Nick though? Oh yeah, Love it. Seoul must love the Buddy Hield ($1 pick) hot start but it looks like Alex Caruso's stud fantasy days might be over. As usual, Seoul is a very stock heavy team and looks well 'stocked' to defend his title.
Favourite pick - Nick Richards for $1 buck!!
Norfolk-in-Chance
It's not often I've found myself in bidding wars with the Doctor - but prime targets like Haliburton and KAT were good hauls for this rebuilding franchise. That said, someone needs to check on Tyrese. Is he OK? Is it being in Norfolk and not in Bangkok. He's off to a frigid start after getting a $60 dollar contract. Adding Jaylen Brown, Devin Booker, and Cam Thomas for more scoring firepower were also good picks. But will Norfolk get enough from guys like Clarkson, Harrison Barnes, Olynyk, and others? And can the Blazers please just let Clingan play some minutes?? Monster per minute guy but that doesn't help when he only gets 12-16 mins. Long road ahead and the Doctor has already signed multiple FA's to try and improve his squad's chance. The Doc is making the moves. Love to see it.
Favourite Pick - Golden favourite KAT for $54
Maui Ribs
This Ribs squad is really good. Maybe it's because he didn't have Golden distracting him at the Auction table this year and Maui could focus on his picks! Having Evan Mobley already on your roster is a good starting point. Adding Chef Curry, the HeadMaster Murray, long time Maui fave Desmond Bane, DeRozan (getting better with age?) and Mikal Bridges to your core and you can see why this squad has already spent some time in 1st place. And anytime Maui gets good games from Grade A Dick you know the chatroom will light up. Maui also has some nice role guys like Herb, PJ, Coby, and John Collins. A very deep team in Maui but he needs to avoid the injury bug (Curry already tweaked his ankle, Bane hurt, Herb now hurt too) like he had last season. Maui is locked and loaded in attempt at JBL title #2.
Favourite Pick - DeMar DeRozan $26
Juan de Fuca Yo Mamas
Well, someone had to draft Embiid. High risk, high reward days ahead. This can be a good team if everyone is healthy. Having Kyrie, Scottie, Franz, and Garland are a great core. Looks like RJ Barrett is continuing his fantastic play in TO since the trade from NY last year. Juan also drafted Ben Mathurin (who some claimed was the steal of the Auction for $1). Juan will need stellar play from role guys like Portis, Podz, Nembhard, and recent FA signee Toumani Camara. Juan also has the rookie PG that I wanted at #14 when I traded with Seoul. Bub Carrington is looking very solid so far with the Wizards and dare I say may be favourite for the rookie of the year?
Favourite pick - Darius Garland $25
Idaho Udapimps
This Idaho squad, as currently constructed, would shatter all previous JBL scoring records. Through almost 2 weeks, this team boasts 8 guys averaging over 20ppg and another at 19ppg. Every year I type the same thing about Idaho because we all know that only a handful of his current roster will make it to Christmas let alone the entire season. He's already moved one big scorer in Kelly Oubre for the more well rounded Christian Braun. You'd think, oh, nice one, until you realize that Idaho also surrendered his 2025 JBL 1st round rookie pick. Sure, that pick could be in the 10-14 range. It could also land in the top 5 of the deepest rookie draft in umpteen years. Anyways, Idaho will make his moves in the coming weeks and months and needs to look at improving his stocks and percentages. An engaged trading Idaho is always best for the JBL. Idaho will climb the standings again and be in contention whether we like it or not. Idaho has the kahonas to make the moves, shake his team up, and try to contend every season.
Fave pick - Kevin Durant $43
Golden Showers
Drafting while on hydra-morphine worked out OK apparently. Golden landed many of his targets for a change and almost spent the entire budget. What Golden didn't expect was the worst shooting ever from almost everyone on the roster. Shooting in the mid 20% from deep is both shocking and disappointing while also being really difficult to recover. Both rookies Edey and Sarr appear serviceable but the Big Maple isn't rebounding and Les Sorcier is shooting 29% and 24%. Golden's best player so far, who's already nursing injury, appears to be another $1 gem from ATL in Dyson Daniels. Through almost 2 weeks, Golden is top 4 in 4 categories and bottom 3 in 3 others. Bam is averaging 11/7 and shooting 39%. Tobi Harris is shooting 40/18. Zion is shooting 44%. It's brick city right now. Lots of work to do around the edges with this Golden squad but the core group really just needs to play up to their potential. Vibes are still high in Golden.
Favourite pick - Dyson Daniels $1
French Lick Legends
French is coming off a disastrous 4th place finish last year. I'm not sure if he's lost his touch or mojo or what - but how can he finish 4th after being top 2 for 9 years straight. What a disgrace to the French Lick community. Anyways, the Legends are poised again to make another title run. I think we were all shocked when Giannis landed in French for just $69 dollars. The other shocker was when French grabbed Kawhi for $21 to stash away for better days. Will it pan out though? If it does, look out. The other stash and grab that was a real bargain was Devin Vassell for just $4 bucks. French is also benefitting from a resurgent Jakob Poeltl in TO. While the names maybe aren't as sexy, trust me, French is a real contender yet again this JBL season.
Fave pick - Devin Vassell $4
Dayton Yer Daughters
The student becomes the master? Dayton is off to a roaring start in 24/25 thanks to the efforts of LaMelo, Sabonis, Zubac, Suggsy and of course the future DPOY Chet Holmgren. Can I also state my allegiance to 6th man candidate Tre Mann. I'd throw a tenner on him right now the way he is playing. All that and I haven't even mentioned the gun wheeling Ja Morant who has already dropped a 3x2 for the Dayton squad. The Kid also took a flyer on Big Ben Simmons that hasn't crashed and burned already so that says something. Could this Dayton squad be a true contender? It looks like the 3PT% could be challenging but the other categories all appear strong and balanced.
Favourite pick - Tre Mann $1
Chilliwack Offs
Joker and Luka. Luka and Joker. The BIG2. The Wack will go as they go. And so far, it's just been OK I think. Luka is shooting 39/29 so we know that won't last. Loved the Jeremy Sochan pick and the Santi Aldama FA signing. The role players are really going to be put to the test and the Wack will need good seasons from Sexton, Jabari, Reaves, Jonas, and Brook to stay in the hunt. I know, it's not rocket science, but having good players, play well, all the time, is what's required to win the JBL title. And also, Wack is already in arrears for 3x2 by Joker. Keep up Wack!
Favourite pick - easily Jeremy Sochan $4
Cali Fornication
Dare I say the preseason favourite going into the Auction? Dare I say still the favourite as JBL34 gets underway? I dare. Cali is off to a solid start considering Wemby's really only exploded in one game and he has nothing yet from Paul George. Protecting Jarrett Allen was perfection. Bringing back Spida Mitchell for another run was smart as was knowing that Julius Randle was going to really enjoy playing in Minny. The Jaren Duren $42 dollar experiment is about the only thing that hasn't worked out just yet for this squad. The mid-tier guys like Cam Johnson, Naz Reid, and Jerami Grant are all pulling their weight as well. Cali is good. Cali's a contender. The big target is on Cali's back now (and will likely be there as long as Wemby is in town).
Fave pick - Rui for $5
Brussels Muscles
Sshhhh. Be very quiet. Brussels is really, really good. Timbo always likes to fly under the radar but this squad is very balanced and should be commended since we know Brussels was battling the auto-pilot picks for much of the draft. The 3-head Center protection group of Kessler, Lively and Sengun has worked out very nicely so far. Adding Siakam, Maxey, Porter Jr and Dejounte was crafty too. And who knew that Brussels would be the one to unlock Jordan Poole and Andrew Wiggins? Both are enjoying hot starts to the season for sure. This looks like a very traditional Brussels team and should be a top 3 contender in my books.
Favourite pick - Andrew Wiggins $7 (need to confirm if this was an auto-pilot pick - if so - I like it even more)
Bellingham N Eggers
What a start to the season for Ham! Jayson Tatum is using the Olympics snub to play angry and put up 30ppg. Nikola Vucevic came over from Arctic in an early trade and found his form from 10 years ago and is averaging 21/11. Dennis Schroder is the best German point guard ever averaging 22ppg and Zach LaVine has returned with 23ppg. Haven't even mentioned Trae Young, CJ, or the strong performances from Giddey and Carter Jr yet. Ham also has the best JBL 2nd round rookie pick EVER since we moved to 2 rounds a couple years ago in Ryan Dunn. This should be rewarded in some shape or form. And if Ham can hang around with the big boys until Xmas, he has Porzingis waiting in the wings. Ham is coming off his best ever finish (7th) and could be poised to break past that if these guys can keep it up.
Favourite Pick - Dennis Schroder $2
Bangkok Fighters
The Kok is coming off a season where he was the favourite to win most of the year. Now, he's coming in under the radar and he's probably happy the spotlight isn't on his team. But this is a good team, mostly because he seems to have hit on a lot of his role players. Coulibaly is breaking out in WA. Ivey, Powell, and Scotty Pippen Jr are all playing fantastic. So getting great seasons from those guys and adding them to SGA and the King means this team can make another run at a title. The team took a hit to promising youngster Hendricks but Kok found a FA gem, so far, in Derrick Jones. Can the Kok get enough rebounding from Myles and Okongwu? Will Mark Williams ever play a game for the Kok? Can Norm average 25ppg? Lots of exciting questions to answer in Bangkok this season.
Favourite pick - Scotty Pippen Jr for $1
Arctic Circle Jerks
Land of the giants? Big and tall only? What was going on in Arctic on draft night? Maybe it was the House of Horrors flooding or loud and creepy music in the background? Regardless, Arctic went with the "I'm only going to draft big guys that can ONLY play Center strategy." It resulted in adding Claxton, Vucevic, Gobert, and Ayton to his group which already included Hartenstein. 5 guys for 3 spots. The math ain't mathing. While I actually really liked getting OG for Vooch - no one could have predicted that Vooch would become the 25 year old version of himself. Anyways, I still like OG on this squad. Arctic has other good core pieces in Herro, Markkanen, and Hart but is still dealing with the disasters known as Westbrook (shooting 24/20) and Smart (24/17). Lots of time to right the ship so he's not staring up at anyone's nuts. And he still has all his lottery balls for Cooper Flagg (and he should probably hold onto those just in case).
Fave pick - Tyler Herro $14
There you have it Gents. A little later than usual but the tradition lives on. Good luck to all in what is shaping up to be the most competitive JBL season in a long time.
