What a night. So much fun. Chez Golden had 5 JBL owners (Golden, Dayton, Maui,
French and Idaho) and Chez Bangkok had another 4 owners (Kok, Seoul, Norfolk,
Bellingham) in attendance. The draft went smoothly with limited auto-pilot slip ups. We
used a 20 second nomination time and a 20 second bidding time. All told, we drafted
158 players in under 3 hours. Last year was 2:55 and this year was 2:58. Well done everyone.
As usual, everyone wants to know what the Godfather thinks after the auction. Who’s
the favourite? Who drafted poorly? How does their team stack up against everyone
else? Well, let’s look at all 14 JBL teams and get my early thoughts on each. Again, I
can only go on the roster as it currently stands and I’m very aware that all these rosters
will change dramatically over the coming weeks and months.
All that said, this is your canvas. There are 5 steps to winning a JBL title. Not all of them
are as important as the others – but, like an onion, there are layers.
Step 1 – Keepers. Teams with great keepers set themselves up for great drafts and JBL
seasons
Step 2 – The Rookie draft – Lady luck plays a big roll here but landing top shelf rookies,
for cheap, can be nice building blocks
Step 3 – The JBL Auction. Drafting solid players form the backbone of your roster for
the year
Step 4 – In season free agents and trades – you don’t have to do either but making sure
you address your team needs and take advantage of waiver wire gems is always
important.
Step 5 – in season roster management – making sure you have 12 healthy bodies each
week is important while also making those tough decisions of whether one guy’s 3
game week is better than another’s 4 game week.
So, the auction is your Bob Ross moment. Did Bob Ross take 1-2 hours to lay the
foundation down (keepers and rookies) and you are just working with him to paint the
masterpiece? Did Bob do a quick outline of what to do but is leaving all the heavy lifting
to you? Or did Bob fail to show up at your house and you’re stuck with a blank white
canvas?
This is your starting point for the JBL 35 season. Let’s goooooooooo.
Up first is my “LET’S JUST PUT A NICE LITTLE TREE OVER HERE” draft group.
Golden Showers – A team loaded with great keepers drafted well and Golden should
be back in title contention (barring injury setbacks). The Showers should be able to
compete in 5 of the 7 categories. A little lacking in ATO and 3% - but those can be
addressed over the year. I hate to say it, but LaMelo is the x-factor of this team. If he
can stay healthy and improve his %’s – Golden is very strong. If LaMelo jacks 12 threes
a game and shoots horribly – some major adjustments will have to made. I wanted KAT,
got him. I wanted Duren, got him. I wanted KD, got him. So overall, I’m pleased with the
draft – even if I STILL left $13 bucks on the table. Fun fact – Golden employs 3
Wizards.
Brussels Muscles – Maybe my favorite draft of the night. This team is stacked with
talent from 1 to 15. Brussels success comes down to one thing. HEALTH. Zion, Kessler,
JJJ, Edey, Keegan, McConnell, Kyrie. Studs and valuable contributors who are already
injured, nursing injuries, or are injury prone. If they stay healthy – Brussels is strong
across all 7 categories. This squad should invest heavily in bubble-wrap, bandages,
physios, icy hot, ankle braces, knee pads, steam showers, ice baths, masseuses, and 4
leaf clovers. Fun team that is a strong title contender. Fun fact – Brussels employs 3
Rockets.
French Lick Legends – Another team stacked with talent from top to bottom and
needing some health luck (Kawhi, Lively, Mark Williams). Otherwise, a very veteran-
laden team with experience and history of producing fantasy totals. Gobert, Maxey, and
Bane are all really solid pickups. The late-night values of Grayson, Tobias, Eason, and
Aaron Gordon were all good additions. This roster feels very much like the same 12
guys can just be rolled out week after week. It also looks competitive in all 7 categories.
What a surprise, French will be in contention again. Yawn. Fun fact – the smile on
French’s face when he got Jayson Tatum for $9 bucks was worth far more that that.
Arctic Circle Jerks – Maybe it was the matinee start time that allowed Crikker to draft
players instead of auto-pilots like Cautious Carl, Frenetic Frank, Anxious Andy or
Random Ralph. I like this team. This is a punt-points team that can be likened to the
Brussels squad that won a title a few years. Arctic only drafted 4 centers this year (last
year it was 6 center-only guys) and ultimately one can be moved for more assets.
Leaving $20 bucks on the table could be costly but we shall see. But this is just a
steady-eddy team that can be competitive in all categories outside of points. Outside of
Harden, it’s the ultimate glue-guy and role-players squad. No other player on this roster
is going to make the All Star team – but they will all contribute to maybe the best Arctic
squad in several years. Fun fact – no one has left more money on the table since the
Golden days of old.
Cali Fornication – Is this is the best Cali squad assembled after draft night? Quite likely
based on the names on the roster. Scoring, blocks and 3% are all very strong. Looks a
little light in rebounds, steals, FG% and ATO (which Cali always punts anyways). Strong
top end guys like Antman, Wemby, Brown, Randle and LaVine should score at will. And
there’s lot of blocks with Wemby, Myles and I-Jax. Year 3 of the Wemby journey is
underway and there are a lot of solid role players (Beal, Cam Johnson, Naz) along for
the ride. Fun fact – the JBL record for team blocks in a season is held by Maui Ribs
(2016) when they blocked 842 shots. I’m thinking this squad has a chance to take the
all-time record.
Chilliwack Offs – What a night for the Wack. It took him 89 nominations before he was
able to secure a player. And the laughs and giggles in our draft room every time
someone sniped a player from him was very entertaining indeed. All that said, Benny
just needed to draft any 10 guys to be able to put himself in the contender bucket. This
team looks good across most categories. It appears the Wack can just go ahead and
punt on the blocks category. I like this squad because it would be a fun team to
manage week in and out (see Step 4 above). There should be a lot of $1 FA’s in and out
of the lineup each week. For someone who likes to ‘set it and forget it’ – this roster
wouldn’t be much fun at all. Fun fact – our draft room very much enjoyed the Jordan
Poole snipe by Maui over the Wack.
Bangkok Fighters – Our defending champs held up well during the auction considering
it was his first time drafting after a JBL title. Maybe the pressure is off now a bit in
Bangkok. Between pouring the Doctor more scotch and strutting around in his custom
fit Kok champion shirt – the night went well. A lot of solid picks during the night that I
really liked (mostly because I was bidding for the same guys). I always wondered if
Giannis would be back – and he is (more on that shortly). The core here looks very
strong with the keepers (Giddey, Okongwu, Pritchard) and now Giannis, Scottie,
Bridges, Gaffy and Herb Jones. Not sure any of the late night $1 dollar guys should be
buying any property in town. I could see 4-5 of those guys not lasting long in town
(which again makes Free Agency so much fun when you can rotate through guys and
try to find hidden gems). The Kok is very solid in 5 categories already so expect the Kok
to make a strong title defense. Fun fact – Giannis went for $80 to Bangkok. Golden said
$79 and said if Kok bid $80 that would be it. Of course, in the chat moments later, the
Kok said if Golden had said $81 he would have passed. A couple of bucks either way
would have greatly changed the draft directions for both teams. Bonus fun fact –
Bangkok has the youngest team in the JBL (25.2 years old)
Dayton Yer Daughters – Fun team from the youngster here. Going into the auction he
already had 8 players rostered so the draft list was pretty short. Grabbing 2 of his main
targets (Curry and Butler) was good business. Grabbing 2 Blazers (Camara and Jrue) to
go with Avdija means Dayton is cheering hard for Blazers success. Our household has
a combined 4 Wizards, 4 Blazers, and 2 Hornets. Not sure that’s a good thing but it
certainly makes our TV viewing more streamlined. The squad needs some more blocks
but otherwise appears quite competitive in all other categories. And Dayton does have a
big chip to play if needed – a $3 dollar Tyrese Haliburton. Fun fact (for Benny) – no one
drafted Fred VanVleet or Damian Lillard so they will NOT be eligible or protection
(unless they play 20 NBA games).
Up next is my “OH YA, THOSE ARE PRETTY COLOURS. BUT WAIT, I STILL HAVE
TO PAINT THE BUILDINGS, RIVER AND THE SKY??” draft group…
Norfolk N Chance – yup, that’s right. Norfolk. Right here. I like what he’s done here.
SGA, Derrick White, Brunzy, Norm, and Ware were all great pickups. His role players
(Grimes, PJ, and Westy) are all fantasy contributors (usually). The rebounds look light
but the other categories appear to be competitive. There are a lot of questions with this
group. Will Brook get enough minutes in LA? Will Queta win the Celtics center job? How
do Monk and Keon fit in with the Kings deep backcourt options? Overall, good start for
the Doctor this time around. The big question, and I would say this happened about
multiple ‘sleeper’ guys, if Queta had been brought up even later – would he have gone
for less than $10 bucks?
Seoul Brothers – The Brothers drafted a lot of guys I like. We all know Bam has spent
a lot of time in Golden. I do like Porzingis for $23 bucks. Can he stay healthy? I had
Donovan Mitchell on my list too. OG? Yup. Like him. Little surprised McDaniels went for
$25 bucks. That was a head scratcher at the time. This team has boatloads of scoring
and should be very strong in steals. But my oh my, the %’s look ugly to start the year.
The ATO also appears on the low side. But we all know that Seoul loves a good trade.
And we know that 2-3 of these drafted guys will be heading to the waiver wire very
soon. Fun fact – as a Caucasian fellow, showing up at Earls for a reservation under the
name ‘Phil Woo’ draws some questions.
Maui Ribs – Trev got his guys – Sabonis and Jamal Murray. Add in emerging Franz
Wagner, aging DeMar DeRozan, and everyone’s favourite twin and breakout star Ausar
Thompson and his squad has some horses. I like role-players Donte, Davion and
Wendel as well. And Jordan Poole brings me new joy and will always be remembered
for the Maui snipe off the Wack. Who will block shots and rebound on this team? And
can they shoot? Some questions to answer but there are some good core guys there.
Fun fact – no one takes more pride in late-bidding up a player in the auction than Maui.
Love it. Team guy.
Idaho Udapimps – If I told you that there was a team that can score like crazy but they
shoot like a blind kid trying to pee into a toilet from 5 paces – we would all know it’s the
Idaho squad. As always, the names are there. Mobley, Banchero, AD, LeBron, Trae,
PG13, Markkanen, Dejounte, Cooper. How those guys contribute to the 7 categories
that the JBL uses for scoring is always the challenge. Don’t need to do much analysis
on an Idaho roster after a draft because most of the guys will be traded by Christmas.
As always, Idaho can score. On paper, it looks like a fun scoring race between Cali,
Idaho, and Juan de Fuca. Fun fact – Idaho drafted 3 of the first 5 players nominated
(Markkanen, LeBron, AD).
And finally, my last bucket is “HELLO BOB, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO COME
OVER AND HELP ME PAINT TODAY. WHERE ARE YOU?” draft group…
Juan de Fuca Yo Mamas – This team can really score. So, there’s that. I’m just not
sure what other category they will be super strong in. I have many questions about this
roster. Outside of Ayton and Claxton – who will get rebounds? And is Ayton really
projected to be the team’s best shot-blocker? Can Claxy have a bounce-back year and
not just commit flagrant fouls on anyone who looks at him? Can Ingram stay healthy in
TO? Will Fox find his form in SA? Can Mathurin truly break out? Can Risacher improve?
It’s a long season ahead, so maybe this squad can answer all the questions. Fun fact –
it’s the 25 th anniversary since Juan de Fuca won their only JBL title.
Bellingham N Eggers – you can pretty much cut and paste my comments above down
to here. I have so many questions about this squad. The biggest one – which will greatly
impact the success of this team – lies with Joel Embiid. If he stays healthy and plays 50-
65 games – his $35 dollar salary is going to be an absolute steal. The other guy who
needs to stay healthy is Ja Morant. If Embiid and Morant can play 50-65 games each –
this whole summary can just be deleted. It’s a huge risk/reward situation for Bellingham
and someone was going to have to do it. Well done Ham. Josh Hart ($35) was the most
intriguing bidding war of the night for me. I had to go back and check to see if the Knicks
hired Thibs back as coach. We’ll see if Hart can replicate his amazing season from last
year. There are a lot of guys I like on this roster – Buzelis, Jarrett Allen, Garland, Ace
Bailey, Brandon Miller. Regardless of how 25/26 works out, Bellingham is building a
strong core of young guys to build around for upcoming seasons (see Step 1 above).
Overall, someone was going to have to be at the bottom of this list. So, prove me wrong
Ham and shock the world.
Fun fact – none of the Godfather’s preseason projections mean diddly squat.
BONUS MATERIAL – a Q&A with myself:
Q. Which players went for way more money than you thought they would?
A. Jaden McDaniels for $25 ; Josh Hart $35; Ausar Thomson $46; Toumani Camara
$34
Q. Give me a list of some of your favourite bargains based on their auction price?
A. Porzingis $23, Edey $12, Tobias $10, Jerome $1, Middleton $1, Donte $9, Tyrese
$3
Q. Give me 3 guys who should have been drafted at auction.
A. Luke Kornet, Duncan Robinson, and Alex Caruso
OK boys, that’s it for me. Remember to get your Free Agent bids in by Thursday. Good
luck to everyone. Thanks for continuing the JBL legacy. JBL 35 – here we go.
