Where to Begin?

How do you start writing a blog when you've been away for 2+ weeks and so much has happened in the JBL and in the NBA? I don't know...so, I'll just ramble, point form, for as long as I can handle it (the beauty of having the Friday off once you've returned home when your son is back to school and the wife is back to work...I will blog).

• The JBL trade deadline came and went. No last minute deals. Nothing. As we predicted, most of the fireworks had already happened and the big moves were done 10-15 days ahead of schedule. We didn't see Seoul move Lebron as he's suddenly a contender. In just 2 short weeks Philly Woo has become a Fantasy factor again
• The NBA trade deadline brought us some action. Jamison became a Cavalier (and killed his Fantasy appeal)
• Salmons became a Buck (and he's relevant again)
• Stoudamire stayed put and keeps his Fantasy value for one more year
• Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood are Mavs (making them contenders). I watched them up close on Feb 19th when they were in town to play the Magic. Haywood and Butler are just the defensive-minded players that team needed.
• Josh Howard becomes a Wizard and hopes to rebuild with them and then promptly blows a knee (his fantasy glory days are over)
• Camby becomes a Blazer (too little too late for the injury depleted Blazers in my opinion); the Clippers are idiots for the deals they did - they got nothing for Camby
• Tyrus Thomas (at long last), finally gets moved to a team that has limited big men and is averaging 13 and 7 with 3+ blocks per game. Now, finally, I can see why Tim held on to him all year
• McGrady becomes a Knick, has a monster game, then injures his knee (come on, we all should have seen that one coming)
• Kevin Martin becomes a Houston Rocket. This move is more about next year when Yao comes back. Having Yao and K-Mart as an inside-out threat could be huge. Cause so far, K-Mart is chucking bricks.
• Carl Landry becomes a King. The trade of Martin officially gives the keys to Sac-town to Tyreke Evans. The kid is a star in the making and Landry is just another bargain big man for them to use. He's averaged 15 and 6 (same as Houston) since his arrival.
• The Grizzlies traded a 1st rounder to get Ronnie Brewer out of Utah. I thought this was a high-price to pay for a role player. Of course, Brewer quickly tears a hammy (done it, it hurts) and is gone for the season.
• Al Thornton becomes a Wizard and gets a chance to revive what's left of his career. Once a blossoming Fantasy star he now has to "revive" his career?? He's been in the league for what? 3 years? Not a good sign when you are at this stage already.
• Yes, there were other deals...and other players Fantasy values have been affected...I'll get to those if I can....
• As I look at the Standings this morning I see 7 teams within 100 points of 1st place. Looks like all 7 teams have a chance to win it. Heck, you could be 1st one day and 5th the next. Just quickly looking at some of the top teams it appears that most teams could move up (on average) about 100 points and they could also lose about 100 points (this is trying to look at about a 2 week period). Looking at my team, I think I could move up 150 points but I could also lose 106 points. So, we have lots of jockeying still to do.
• I looked at our 7th place team - of course - the Bangkok Fighters to see what his potential point total is. I see the Bangkok squad as a +91/-33 squad in the next couple of weeks (he could move up 91 points or lose 33 points). So, that puts hims up to 858 or down to 734. Well, you know what? 858 would be 1st place right now so he's a definite contender.
• I see Juan de Fuca as a +78/-93 team so he could be 926/755. The potential swings are huge for all the top teams.
• A huge factor moving forward will be injuries. I look at my team and I see medical signs beside Bosh, Deng, Shaq, and CJ Watson and these are all guys who could be factors moving for my team moving forward. I am only 28 rebounds ahead of French Lick and I am starting the injured Bosh last week and this week. He's missed 3 games so far (that's 33 rebounds) so every little injury hurts.
• While I was away in Orlando I had limited Internet access. Our condo at Reunion Resort was wi-fi friendly, it's just the people we rented it off didn't leave the log in or password for us. However, near the end of the 2nd week I did find a little corner of the main hotel (a short 5 minute drive away) where I could log into the site and see some box scores. One of the things I noticed was the numbers of Darren Collison. He's been outstanding in NO since Paul got hurt. In his last 10 games he's averaged 21ppg, 8ast, 4reb, shot 49%, and had 20 steals. The problem - the Hornets are just 4-6 in those 10 games. But is it all Collison's fault? Or could it be that they play guys like the 46 year old Morris Peterson on a regular basis? Let me throw this idea out there....what if the Hornets traded Chris Paul? What on earth could they receive in a deal for him? Paul is set to make 15 million next season while Collison will make a little over 1 million dollars. Couldn't they get a monster deal for him? Wouldn't he be worth the world to another franchise? What if you could get Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Corey Brewer and 3 future 1st rounders from the T-Wolves? Is that enough? I don't know. The Hornets have made deals to get under the salary cap so this isn't altogether a completely stupid idea (yet I know it would never happen - I just like to think of things you know)
• As you know, I took Ryan to the Magic vs. Mavericks game. It was an 8 o'clock start which I found a little strange. We got there late as we were at the water park all day. We arrived at 7:45 only to get stuck in the world's most secure NBA building. It took us 40 minutes to get through the security check points. We missed almost the entire 1st quarter as we were body scanned, felt up, cavity searched, and x-rayed from all angles. The good news? My colonoscopy came back clean (surprising, I know). Anyways, we had really good seats and Ryan really enjoyed the game. But the part he enjoyed the most? The ice cream with sprinkles of course. I have created a 6 year old basketball fiend who now owns 16 NBA jerseys but he is after all still 6 and nothing beats a big bowl of ice cream. The game was pretty good despite some off-shooting nights (Dirk was poor). Howard was a monster and Ryan was pretty happy with that as he was wearing his D12 jersey loud and proud. A pretty cool arena overall but it obviously doesn't have the history that the United Centre has. Also, the crowd was more 'social' than I anticipated. It seemed like there were a lot of people there who were just there for a night out or something to do. Of course, it did have the die-hards as well but it just seemed that there were lots of people there because they had the tickets or they had nothing else going on. In the 4 seats to Ryan's left were a family of 4. The Dad, late 40's, had his 3 daughters with him. The youngest was probably 8, then 10, then 14 maybe. Those 3 girls could have cared less to be there. The 14 year old spent the entire game texting. Anyways, just my observations....

• Thought I would quickly have a look at the last 14 days (my time away) from each team to see what's been going on.
• Arctic - Did you know that Dwight Howard has gone 29/16 with 4 blocks per game over the last couple of weeks? Studly. On the other end, Ben Gordon has averaged just 8ppg over that time. He's had a really disappointing season in Detroit and I know that Crikker has thoughts of him as a potential keeper (or at least he was selling him as that)- but I would disagree - I don't think he's worth much at all. He's been absolutely terrible this season.
• Bangkok - do yourselves a favor. Go to the JBL site, go to stats, click on Bangkok, click on last 14 days, Fantasy, for this team. You'll find team averages of 18ppg, 7.4 rebs, 48% shooting, over 1.20 steals. This team is on fire and on a role. I've already discussed their potential above. Rick did the right thing and cashed in his Tyreke chip. If Bangkok gets to the promised land (anywhere above 7th) then he will need to send thank you cards to Yuma and Brussels.
• Belgrade - you look at his team averages (14ppg, 6.8reb, 49% FG) and he's actually done OK. The problem has been the hole he dug. This season has been a really learning experience for our rookie owner and I know he'll come back with the knowledge and fire to improve on his likely basement finish.
• Boston - limping to the line. Wade now hurt. Iverson mailing it in again. I can bet that Trev won't say $2 dollars when Iverson is brought up for a buck next season. This train wreck season will get a cherry on top though when Trev gets married in Maui at the end of April. And the silver-ling? From 1995 to 2000 you didn't find the Golden team on the gold medal podium. However, I got married in 1999 and have captured 5 titles in the 10 years since I got married. So, maybe Trev can start the same type of streak.
• Brussels - As I sit here typing I am wearing my "Oden - The Legacy Continues..." t-shirt I bought when I was in Portland a couple of years ago. Little did I know that "The Legacy Continues..." referenced the constant reminder that they chose Bowie over Jordan and now they chosen Oden over Durant. Long segway to say KD has been awesome. He may be the 2nd best Fantasy player out there right now. And when the Wizards blew it up Andray Blatche finally became relevant. He's been a stud over the last couple of weeks (25 and 10). Tim's team is putting up decent numbers - it's just too little too late.
• Chilliwack - the team is climbing in the standings despite averaging just over 12ppg over the last 14 days. In fact, most of the teams' numbers are quite average, but Benny is hanging in there and is currently in a money spot. Benny's draft prep and calculating moves throughout the season always keep him a contender. While I was a away he pulled off a couple of deals - landing T-Mac and Hibbert - while trading away Lewis and Biedrins. Benny's also brought in Eddie House and Sergio Gonzalez so he's got a Knicks love affair going on.
• French Lick - another team struggling to score (12.62ppg) but still in the hunt. Chris could sure use a healthy Paul Pierce back in his lineup. Rondo continues to be a stud Fantasy guard and should be a top target for all teams in next years JBL Vegas Draft. The JBL Celtics will have to get healthy and hot to make a run for the money. Dalembert, and his 2 Martin's both need to get hot again.
• Golden - injuries are mounting and without a healthy Bosh I don't think I can win it all. Numerous players are hot right now including Collison, Brooks, Rose, Josh, and Dirk. The tightest categories for the Showers are 3PT%, ATO, BLKS, and STL's.
• Idaho - Brook Lopez will be this team's only keeper. The rest of this team is like a kick in the nuts. Unwanted but funny to see as long as it doesn't happen to you.
• Juan de Fuca - our current 1st place squad. He's riding the hotness of Anthony Morrow's 3pt shooting right now and has really climbed in that category. The last couple of weeks for Juan has produced really average numbers actually. Gerald Wallace has been on fire. He's a sure-bet keeper for this team next season.
• Seoul - Lebron, Lebron, and Lebron. The 3 reasons this team is now a contender. 35.1 and 40.4. What are those? Tendex numbers for Lebron on the season and in his last 10 games. He is the best Fantasy player on the planet right now and could actually improve his numbers with Shaq out of the paint. I have to mention Andrew Bogut as well. He's been amazing in Seoul. His last couple of weeks - 17ppg, 12+reb, and over 3 blocks per game.
• Yuma - our 8th place team. Really good numbers over the last couple of weeks. Rip, Lee, and S-Jax have all been hot. Super role players Haywood, Taj, and Captain Kirk have also stepped up their games. I'm still curious to see how many points Yuma will finish the season with.

Well, that's all for me for right now...glad to be back in the land of the Internet and the JBL groupies.

Friday Nighter...

So, big news. PODCAST!! With much excitement, Chris and I did the deed last night. Well, we recorded a podcast. What we do on our own time is really our business. We spent over an hour talking about the JBL and reviewing what's transpired to date. We talked about each team, some trades, some keepers, what's gone right, what's gone wrong, and what's ahead in the 2nd half of the season. Very exciting stuff. Well, at least we thought it was...

I challenged Chris and his Arctic squad during the podcast in regards to his lack of trade activity. So what happens today??? He makes 2 trades. One of those trades involved the infamous Ramon Sessions, the one player he has apparently resisted trading all season long (also see Tyrus Thomas from Brussels). But today was the day - he moved Sessions for Martell Webster. Then he moved Felton for Al Harrington. Are these deals enough to make Arctic a true contender?


I chatted with Woo tonight. He appears set to keep Lebron and play the role of spoiler. Phil knows that his potential trade partners for Lebron are limited due to the number of teams maxed out on the salary cap. I did question him what it would take if I offered Dirk and ____. He wanted that to be Dirk and Josh Smith for Lebron and Marion. This was the end of our discussions for Lebron.

I watched the Bulls vs. Hawks game tonight. Josh put up a triple double. 18 pts, 14reb, and 10 assists. What did I learn? Josh is good and the Bulls cannot shoot. And they really miss Joakim Noah.

And with Jayne and Ryan out of town I was going to write a blog post tonight....but then I started watching American Wedding. And oh my goodness, I forgot just how funny it was. Sorry JBL fans, no blog post tonight, I'm watching a movie...wow, haven't been able to watch a movie like this in a long time. Kinda cool.

It's Coming...

Oh yes, it's time to bring it back...a Podcast. It's close. We're back baby!

Golden Times Two...

Well, I had a busy Monday to start week 15. I made 2 deals today in my efforts to keep up with the Jones's...or in this case, the Yo Mamas, Offs, Celtics, and Circle Jerks.

I started by venturing to Yuma for a deal where I could get Aaron Brooks and hopefully Brendan Haywood. Our discussions were brief and my efforts for Haywood faded as our 3-4 emails went on. The key to this deal, like so many others, is understanding what your trading partner wants. Yuma was 10th in FG% and 10th in rebounds. So I offered up Mr. Landry (again) and again he was rejected. As it worked out, it was Scola and Hinrich for Brooks and my choice of Dunleavy, Rasheed, Al Thornton and Nate Robinson. I chose Nate because he has the most potential once he's moved from his current situation in NYK. I look at this deal in a couple of ways. I really need another PG who can score, shoot the 3, and get some ATO. Yes, I give up a power forward who is 15 and 8 with 50% shooting - but you have to give something to get something. I know Brooks doesn't steal as much as I would like, but he's a quality PG and he may even have some keeper value at just $11 bucks this season.

When I made this deal there were a few of things I could do with Nate...

1) acquire him, wait for him to be moved from NYK, and reap the rewards of another 15ppg guy in my own lineup
2) acquire him, wait for him to be moved from NYK, and then trade him for a big man
3) immediately try to trade him for a big man to cover my now lack of size

So, that leads to my 2nd deal of the day. It was with Idaho and was actually done in about 10 minutes. I started with Nate for Hawes. He countered with Nate for Gibson. Tuna explained he couldn't move Hawes because he was right up against the salary cap floor. I offered Duhon/Nate for Hawes/Gomes (assuming he wouldn't want to give up both Hawes and Gibson). He countered with Nate/Duhon/Nelson for Hawes/Gibson. I countered with Nate/Duhon for Hawes/Gibson and the deal was essentially done. Tuna provided some of his always accurate analysis --- "Taj is 10 and 10 every night" --- which of course is why Taj averages 8 and 6 on the year.

Anyways, I needed some size with the trade of Scola this morning and bringing in Hawes and Gibson should help there. I still haven't addressed my steals issue and currently sit, statistically speaking, near the bottom of the league now. So, we'll see how that plays out.

I did sign Darren Collison last night for big bucks. I bid $34 bucks for his services as I figured he would be a top notch option in NO for the next 4-8 weeks. Did I overpay for him? Yes. Did I absolutely have to have him. In my mind, yes. Tonight, he showed why I went after him so hard as he had 16pts and 14ast (4 TO). I am hoping for an ATO, 3PT%, and steals move this week with the addition of Collison, Brooks, and Brewer to my line-up.

I still have one issue to address here this week as once Jameer Nelson returns from injury (which should be this week), I will have 16 guys and once again need to make a 2 for 1 deal. Maybe with this 2 for 1 I can finally get some steals...we'll see what I can work out.

Sunday musings...

Well, Juan and the Wack after established themselves as the front runners with Golden, Arctic, French, and Bangkok still in the hunt. The Seoul Brothers are still hanging around but without a major move they don't appear to have the horses to get back in the thick of things. Now, that being said, I saw an online offer last night of Nene for Dwayne Wade. I then saw Chilliwack jump in with a Marc Gasol for Dwyane Wade offer shortly after that. It's that type of move that could help Seoul get back in the race and win it all for the Wack. I don't know if 'official' offers were made but both of those would have huge impact on the JBL standings. As for Boston, both of those offers have to be intriguing at least. The Pancakes aren't winning the title this year but they also have been trending upwards, are finally out of the basement, and actually can think about who he will protect for next season. Adding Nene or Gasol to Channing Frye could be a good move.

Gasol continues to be the #1 keeper out there in my books. In his last 10 games he's averaging 17 and 10 with 19 steals and 21 blocks while shooting 58% from the field. He's a stud. If I was Boston, I'd be taking Gasol over Nene.

I wonder if Seoul would be interested in a Nene for Chris Bosh deal? I wonder if I really would? I'm still in the hunt but I'm going to need a lot of things to go right if I want to catch Juan or Chilliwack. The downside for my Golden squad at the moment is a real lack of keepers for next season. I really only have Luol Deng (keeper value $17 bucks) that makes sense. On the year, he's 18 and 7 with 43 steals and 47 blocks while shooting 46 and 43 and he has a positive ATO. And with a tendex over 18 (more than his salary) he has to be considered. However, after Deng, the cupboard is pretty bare. I could consider Casspi but things need to get sorted out in Sac-town. Omar would have to be a starter for me to consider keeping him. Which brings me back to Nene. If I can't win the title this year - why shouldn't I try to acquire Nene? Do I really care if I finish 3rd, 4th or 7th? I've always been an all or nothing type of Fantasy owner. No one cares who finished 2nd or 3rd (unless of course you've never won a title and cling to the old "Well, I have finished 3rd two times you know"). It really doesn't matter does it? So, if you can't win this year - why not focus on next year...and Nene (or Gasol) would certainly do that. The biggest hurdle I see - the salary cap issues in Seoul. Chilliwack could handle a big salary player - but does it make him any better?

As I quickly check the JBL live scoreboard this morning I see Chilliwack is now the JBL leader!

There were a couple of late trades this week as well...

1. Brussels traded Granger to Bangkok for Chris Kaman. Makes sense for both teams and Tim gathers cheap talent for next season. And Rick hopes that Granger's "off" season can be saved in beautiful Bangkok. Moving Kaman's horrendous ATO is a big bonus for Rick but the %'s than Danny brings are equally bad. I mean he's shooting 40 FG% and 35% from downtown. He could improve on those though. Big drop in rebounding for Bangkok as well.

2. Brussels then traded Jeff Green to Bangkok for Jason Thompson. This trade was within an hour of Brussels email the league commish advising he was aware he was under the $200 salary cap floor and would make the necessary moves to get over the cap floor. Jason Thompson has struggled as of late but his inflated $24 dollar salary made him very attractive. Plus, it's not like he's horrible. But he is in a bit of a funk. He's 13 and 9 with 44 blocks. Not too shabby. Bangkok acquires another versatile forward who is also having an 'off' season in Jeff Green. He's the 3rd option in OKC and is averaging 14 and 6. He has also chipped in 47 steals and 39 blocks. His downside, 29% from behind the arc and he takes a lot of them.

3. Brussels traded John Salmons to Idaho for Roy Hibbert --- for 9 minutes. Then an email was sent to the league office requesting the trade be reversed as Brussels hit the wrong button. OK, I'll buy it. But how long should the JBL owners have to declare, "I hit the wrong button"? I'm not saying that either of these deals (Lebron) that that didn't happen...I'm just wondering what the limit should be. If I "accept" a deal at 11pm on Saturday night I should know right away because of the email confirmation that the deal went through. Correct? So what if I don't check my email and then Sunday morning I realize, holy cow, I hit the wrong button. So, now 10 hours later is it (A) I hit the wrong button or (B) I slept on it and I don't like the deal for me. I think, it the latter case, it will take an email from both owners to reverse that deal. In the first case, I think 10-15 minutes is adequate and the owner requesting the reversal must advise the other owner. And again, in both these cases, there was NO argument from Bangkok or Idaho.

So, what direction does Golden take in the next 14 days? And think about this JBL owners -- the current 3rd place team is actually considering making moves towards next season...
If I am going to challenge Chilliwack and Juan I will need to improve in 3PT%, ATO, and steals. How do I do it? I was hoping Chris Duhon would be a possibility. Turns out he's worse than I thought. Yes, his ATO in week 15 has been good (28:2) but his shooting has been equally brutal (3/14). So, do I play him? Drop him? Bench him? I don't know. His 3PT% has been ugly too (2/9) so he only helps me in ATO but hurts me everywhere else. I've tried moving a forward who is 16 and 5, shoots 55%, and has 39 blocks - but there is no interest. On paper he sounds pretty good. But then you tell people he's Carl Landry and no one wants the guy. Oh well.

I could consider a big shake up and try to improve for this season while looking at next year as well. That type of move would be a Bosh for Nene or Bosh for Gasol type of trade. But I haven't looked at the numbers so I don't know if it's even worth my while let alone those teams. I can see why Seoul would want Bosh as Philly Woo is currently 9th in scoring and could move up 60-80 points with Bosh's big scoring numbers. But I would also lose close to 500 points in total scoring as Bosh is 24ppg and Nene is 14ppg. But then again, do I care if I finish 2nd or 7th? The biggest problem I have making a deal with Seoul - salary cap issues.

And what about Bosh for Marc Gasol? Why would Benny do this? He would gain in PTS and REBS - that's it. Is it worth it for him? He would probably gain 40 pts in scoring as he would catch Idaho and Arctic. But he would lose in steals and blocks and ATO...so this deal would never happen...unless I added something to it. Anyways...something to think about.

Our big keeper deadline is Feb 14th and I will be in Orlando at that time. So, I'm not sure how much I will be online during that day for last minute deals. With the midnight PST deadline I have a feeling I will be up a little later than usual....good times ahead.

Holy Crapola

OK, seriously, I go away for one day and all hell breaks loose. My day started today with a 4:30am wake up call to catch a 7am ferry to Victoria. A group of 8 of us execute a warrant on a Rehab provider and spend 6 hours searching and seizing documents. 15 hours, 2 Pacific Buffets, 2 ferry rides, and 8 cups of coffee later I'm at home and I see 2 more trades (1 of the monster variety) in my email inbox.

I was warned about this monster trade via Timbo in the afternoon...when he said that Juan de Fuca just won the JBL. Once he texted me the details of the trade - I'm probably going to have to agree. But I do have some comments...

Juan CLEARLY got the better of this deal. He gets Okafor/Parker AND Monta Ellis. He gives up Brook Lopez, Jose Calderon AND Earl Watson. OK, seriously, was Earl Watson the key to this deal? Would it have gone down without him included in the package?? This is almost a 3 for 1 deal as Calderon is a shell of his former self. Anyways, on the surface we think HOLY COW this is sooo one-sided - and it is. However, the obvious category wins for Juan de Fuca really have no bearing on the current standings. We say wow, look at all the scoring and rebounds Juan gains. Well, actually, they're already 1st in both categories so he gains 0 points. Yes, Juan gains in steals and could move up 3-4 cspots adding Monta to his mix. Juan didn't gain any blocks as Brook has 85 and Okafor has 75. What about ATO? Did he really gain enough to move up? I haven't crunched the numbers so I don't really know. FG%? I'm assuming so. 3PT%? I don't think so as Monta jacks them up for 30%. So what did Juan really gain in here? We know for sure he has PTS and REBs wrapped up - but he did anyways. Let me say that Juan de Fuca is the clear favorite (at this point) to win the JBL title but this trade doesn't help them as much as it may appear. As for Idaho, with that bunch of players he's putting out there now he will be lucky to remain in 9th place. His goal is clear - he wants Lopez and Jennings for 10/11. Can he avoid falling in the standings though? We'll see.

And I see French and Brussels hooked up on a 3 for 1 deal. French is taking the chance on Kevin Martin and gave up Salmons, JR Smith, and Jonny Flynn. I can see this from both sides. French is hoping KMart can find his 20+ scoring form again while Brussels desperately needed depth and potential keeper(Flynn). Immediate help on its way for Brussels while French has to hope Martin turns it around.

Last night, after the Woo trade debacle, I spent about 30 minutes on the phone with Tricky Dick. We discussed the Woo blunder by hitting accept instead of reject. This has happened before in the JBL and Woo called me within 20 seconds of me reading the email that Lebron had been traded for David Lee and Richard Hamilton. When I read it, I knew it had to be a mistake. And it was. Even Rick had a chuckle over it - for a second or two anyways.

Rick and I discussed the JBL, the state of his team, the value of players, the value of keepers, life, Woo, trade offers, and other random things over the half hour. Awesome chat. Really enjoyed it. Unfortunately (for Rick), I wasn't willing to part with my guys and he wasn't willing to part with his. I think right now Rick is going through the classic phase when you over-value your own players. We all do it. I do it. You do it. The guys on your team, because they are on your team, are worth more than the what the rest of the league think their worth. Rick has a little bit of this right now (in my opinion). If he can get past it, then the trades will come.

Rick has the envious position of having 5 quality keepers to choose from. What he has to realize is that even if he wins the JBL title he can only keep 4 of them at most. So, he may as well move one of them anyways. In my books, Curry and Evans wouldn't go anywhere, they both appear to be studs in the making. Kaman, Lee, and Westbrook should be up for grabs though for the best offers. Lee seems like a good keeper but he does have his drawbacks. Namely, someone please tell me what Lee will average in NY next year (if he's even there still)? What if he stays a Knick and they sign Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson and one more guy? Now what will Lee average? What if the Knicks get Lebron? Now what does Lee average? It's an unknown for sure. A little bit of the same logic can be used on Kaman....what effect does Blake Griffin have on Kaman's numbers? Does Camby return? How do the 3 co-exist? Can they co-exist? And Westbrook's 2 biggest drawbacks are FG% and 3PT%. The kid is a stud and the #2 option in OKC right now. He has good ATO, can steal, rebounds well for a PG and can score. But he can't shoot a lick and this is the 2nd year with that trend. So, can he learn to shoot? What does OKC do this off season? So Rick has the keepers - but the ones he should move all come with question marks. I made an offer for Westbrook. Rick doesn't think it's enough. My question to him is - has he had a better offer for Westbrook? I don't know the answer to that. Does the offer I made him improve his team? That's up to him to decide - but I know it does address one of his weaknesses. Anyways, Rick has 2 weeks to decide the direction of his team for this season and next. With Juan's recent trade can anyone catch them? Should Rick be holding on to all his keepers?

Man, what a day....

More Thoughts

OK, I'm on a roll now...another blog post. Here we go...

• We saw a couple of big trades over the weekend. Let me tell you my thoughts on those. Golden trades Amare and Channing Frye to Boston for Dirk Nowitzki. If there was ever a case to be made that an NBA player knows where he plays in the JBL - Frye is the case. He was very much average (at best) for his short stay in Golden. The moment he gets moved out of town and into Pancake-land he erupts for 21pts and shoots 5/10 from downtown. There, point proven, NBA players know exactly where they stand in the JBL world. So, why did Golden do this deal? Well, I needed a 2 for 1 to get under the roster limits for starters. I also see Dirty Dirk as a slight upgrade on Amare (especially in ATO). Why did Boston do this deal? Well, I can think of a couple of reasons. Boston really doesn't have anyone as a potential keeper so there is the value in Frye. Amare and Dirk are similar but there are a couple of categories that Boston could push in with Amare on board - FG% and REBS - both of which Amare is stronger than Dirk in. And really, when you're in 12th and you can get Amare and another player with value for 1 player - why not - nothing else has really worked in Boston this year (and I'll bet Trevor never forgets his laptop cord ever again).
• Then we saw Brussels and Chilliwack hook up on a 5 player deal. Chilliwack gets Jamison and David West. I get this move for the Offs. Benny gets 2 top-quality forwards and there are rumors another deal is coming. As for why Brussels made this move - this is a little harder to figure out. Timmy gets Granger, Green, and McGrady. How on earth does Brussels move Jamison and West and not get a keeper in the deal? And come on, no one honestly thinks T-Mac for $6 bucks is an option for next season do they? Granger is $50 bucks and likely the best player in this deal but he certainly isn't a bargain at that price. Jeff Green, in my books, is having a disappointing season and is destined to be back in the JBL draft next season. Maybe Brussels is hoping he can move up so he can protect Durant and Rudy Gay (who I think is a bargain at $24 bucks keeper value by the way).
• We also got to see one half of a Tuna trade message posted to the entire league. It read a lot like jibberish, which I understand because I've been to Jibber and it's lovely there this time of year. So, who was that post supposed to be for?? He was offering Okafor, Parker and Richardson. Was it Arctic perhaps? Unknown....
• Looks like there is quite a group of potential waiver wire pickups this week. Yes, I'm gonna post them right here and let the cat out of the bag. But come on, you guys are sharp, I'm not revealing any super secrets here - we all watch the box scores. So, who's out there this week? How about Marcus Thornton becoming the starting SG in New Orleans? How about Udonis Haslem? What about Aaron Afflalo? Goran Dragic? Boobie Gibson? (Yes I know his name is Daniel - but you honestly didn't think I was going to pass up the chance to type 'boobie' did you?). Lots of choices out there this week. I expect all of them to go before the weekend. And let me throw one more out there...Anthony Tolliver in Golden State. He had back-to-back double doubles for an injury depleted Warriors team. Now, remember the last part of that...Warriors team. We, the normal thinking public, think that Tolliver's performances are fluke because he got those with all the injuries in GS...but then, think again, this is a team coached by Don Nelson who loves to play weird line-ups and seems to get boners off of the odd NBDL guy. So, watch what Tolliver does this week and see if he's worth a flyer.
• So we've seen some of the top teams make some significant moves over the last couple of weeks. Juan, Golden, and the Wack have made some drastic changes. Will French, Bangkok, and Arctic respond? What about the 7th place team - Seoul? Which way will he go? He either has to cash in his chips and make a big move to get back in the race or he throws in the towel and trades Lebron and focuses on 2010/11.
• Speaking of 2010/11 - my #1 ranked keeper, Marc Gasol, had one of those nights that can give a grown man a big chubby. 19pts, 8rebs, 4stl, 3blks, 5/8FG....oh yeah, that's it baby, just like that...
• With the JBL keeper deadline 3 Sunday's away (Feb 14th) - what kind of last minute activity will we see? There are a couple of factors at play here. The first is that this is Valentine's Day and I'm thinking that some of the guys won't be online all night making those last minute deals. Secondly, I think that some of the teams have already blown their wads and might make a run with what they have (ie. Golden). Juan de Fuca still has a nice shiny Mercedes (Brook Lopez) just waiting for a rich SOB to come in and not even look at the sticker price and just say "I'll take it" without even worrying about what it costs him. The big question remains will Arctic, French, and especially Bangkok make a big move. Bangkok, I think, has the most chips to play. He has 5 legit top keepers for next season and has to make a move...doesn't he? And finally, the team with maybe the biggest chip to play is still Seoul. He has Lebron and Lebron may just have the keys to the storage locker where the JBL keeps its championship trophy. What Philly Woo decides to do with Lebron could ultimately decide the fate of the JBL title. Who will step up with the best offer? I know I don't have the chips for the King so I look forward to hearing about all the offers. It should be exciting. The worst part (or best part) for me is that I will be in Orlando from Feb 11th to Feb 26th enjoying some well-deserved R&R and I won't be privy to that last weekend prior to the keeper deadline. But I know Philly Woo will make it exciting. I know it...

Well, that's all for now...other than I am very pleased with the Golden squad tonight. I had a good night with my 9 guys and that was without my big 2 studs (Dirk and Bosh) playing tonight. As predicted, my ATO took a tumble...but everything else was just fine. Cheers.