Vegas and Week 1

Well, first off, let me apologize for a lengthy absence. In the JBL's 20th season I have clearly let the 4-5 readers down by not updating this blog sooner. Lots has happened...so let's get to it.

• The 20th JBL Draft was held in beautiful/sinful Las Vegas. The suite at Mandalay was awesome and we had 9 eager JBL owners around a 10 x 10 area all with laptops doing their thing. I guess for Golden this was a bad setting as clearly I was affected by these surroundings. Either it was Vegas, or it was not having 12 year old hot dogs nearby, or the fact that I started drinking again at 10am the day of the draft. Whatever it was, Golden screwed the pooch. I'll address the Golden issues later. For now, let's go around the JBL.
• There were some teams that should clearly be pushing for a Vegas draft every year. Bangkok and Idaho were both impressive and the Fighters squad is out to an early, yet monstrous lead. Idaho clearly used a Roulette high to stick to a game plan and he came away with maybe the best Idaho team we've seen in years.
• Another draft day success was the Arctic squad. Maybe all these years he's just needed some peace and quiet in order to be successful?
• On paper, I like the look of the Chilliwack squad. His Excel spreadsheet was the talk of Vegas for quite some time. We'll see how this team pans out over the year - but I do really like what Benny did.
• The 2 off season favorites - Bangkok and Brussels - are in good positions to make a run at their 1st JBL titles. Rick had the best 4 man core of keepers probably ever (or at least the last 5-6 years) in the JBL. He supplemented those guys with Brandon Roy, Josh Smith, Tony Parker, and others. Let me make it clear - Bangkok is my early favorite for the JBL title.
• Brussels had 2 awesome keepers in Durant and Evans. He added Granger and Brook Lopez to the mix and may have 4 All-Stars come February. Tim is counting on some breakout years from Augustin, McGee, Jrue Holiday, Splitter, T Williams, Toney Douglas, and others. So this is a team of All-Stars and breakout hopefuls. Tim will need to be right on 3-4 of these of guys in order to win it all. That being said, he's right in the mix at this early stage of the season.
• Seoul is back looking for a 3rd straight JBL title. His team is led by Dwyane Wade, a cast of aging (but still productive veterans), and the likely ROY in John Wall. Once again, Woo has done some good things and it appears he is a title contender. Veterans Ray Allen, Andre Miller, J-Rich, Garnett, and Luis Scola all appear sold on playing for this always successful JBL owner. Look at Scola's early season success!
• Arctic paid big $$$ for Rondo and Blake Griffin. There was some snickering in Vegas that $58 bucks for Rondo was way too much. Two points about this price. (1) Someone else believed he was worth it and (2) looks like this was a good move after all. Blake Griffin went for $49 bucks and again he is living up to the hype. The Circle Jerks are a big team and should have no problem being a top rebounding team with the likes of Camby, Love, Griffin, and Horford. OJ Mayo and Beasley will have to pick up the scoring load as this team isn't blessed with a 25ppg guy. Overall, Arctic looks to be in good shape to be a contender.
• Idaho is in the mix early on as well. His starting lineup consists of 6 players that everyone would want and then he has 6 players that apparently no one wants (because he has offered them all in trade to almost everyone in the league). The Boris Diaw and Reggie Evans for Carlos Boozer offers still exist. Idaho is counting on his big guns to keep him in the title hunt. He pulled off the first big trade of the season when he traded a happy and healthy Devin Harris for an under-achieving Chris Bosh. We'll see how this move pans out as this was pretty early to make a major move like this one.
• Yuma has again put together a very veteran squad led by Kobe and Nash in the back court. Despite a shitty 09/10 season from Al Jefferson Yuma was happy to have him back again this season. Yuma also has David Lee, Al Harrington, Jason Terry, Mike Conley and others to make up what is a very solid 1-12 lineup. Again, I said it last year, but what a great draft room guy Pat is. He had a very under-rated performance in Vegas for his sarcasm wit directed at Bangkok. Nicely done.
• French Lick is a team that should have been drafting from Vegas. Too bad he couldn't make it. French used big dollars to select Chris Paul - who I think is a great guy to build around. I also liked the twin tower pairings of Duncan and David West. French made an early season trade by grabbing Bargnani from CHWK for Paul Millsap. French may have the best $1 pick of the draft in Nicolas Batum. He has looked awesome early on. This is another deep JBL team for French and he's certainly in the mix.
• Belgrade is back for year #2 and his Zombies squad is built around the scoring machines Monta Ellis and Carmelo Anthony. A couple of crappy games from Bosh and Marko punted him to the land of little money winnings (Idaho) in exchange for Devin Harris. Even though Bosh was sucking, this move has left Belgrade on the 'small' side when it comes to rebounding. Lucky for him he has Odom and Shelden Williams picking up any slack in this area. The return of Bynum and Okur could also help ease the pain here. The Zombies squad also has the required European talent with Bellinelli, Dragic, Kleiza, and Okur. Marko clearly learned from his rookie year and the Belgrade squad looks much deeper than last season.
• The name may have changed but Trevor is back for his 20th JBL season. The newly christened Maui Ribs didn't spend much of his allotted $260 bucks on draft night but he does have some talent. There aren't many "stars" but there are some very good players. Andrew Bogut (who Woo regrets not keeping for $25), Jeff Green, Caron Butler, Trevor Ariza and others will hopefully lead a well rounded attack for Maui this season. Maui boasts 2 players who are clearly exceeding their fantasy expectations in Wilson Chandler and Beno Udrih. Both have had very good starts to the season. Maui does have 3 players whose starts are very disappointing though - Jason Thompson, Jamison, and Kirilenko. It's early days so we'll see how this Maui team fares over the coming weeks.
• The Juan de Fuca (JDF) team is well balanced with Joe Johnson $36 being the highest paid player. JDF went big for his young bigs by drafting Cousins and Hibbert to man the middle. Both appear to be legit early this season. JDF also has the ageless Jason Kidd in the back court and he showed on opening night he still has the potential to drop 18 assists with just one turnover. JDF has Troy Murphy waiting in the wings to assist Zach and Gerald Wallace in the front court. The JBL chatter says that JDF's back court is weak with Ridnour, Affalo, and Barbosa. At this early stage, I will disagree and say it's just fine. I like all 3 players and think they can be fantasy factors.
• Chilliwack has Lebron and Dirk. Those are the superstars. He also boasts the rebounding beast Joakim Noah, the up and comer Marc Gasol and Utah's new PF Paul Millsap. After that, there are some question marks in Chilliwack but I do like what he's done. Brooks, Carter, and Nelson are not the most appealing fantasy names but they can be productive. The knock on those guys is their lack of consistency. Benny also has 2 very large trade chips (LBJ and Dirk) to dangle if this 2 superstar method doesn't work. Could you imagine what he could get for one of those guys? Chilliwack has a reputation as a JBL title contender and despite the team's week 1 struggles I fully expect this team to climb the standings in the coming weeks.
• The expansion Ballers got off to a rough start. First off, let me say it's awesome having Bobby Hucul back in the pool. I think I can speak for everyone by saying it's great to have you back and your passion and energy for basketball exceeds many past JBL owners. Welcome back Bob! Now, let me tear into your team, er, I mean professionally and constructively analyze them. I liked where Bobby was taking this squad with the early acquisitions of Pau Gasol and Amare Stoudamire. However, after that, the Ballers are filled with mediocre talent (I can say this because my Golden team is filled with it). When Emeka Okafor is your 3rd highest paid guy - times could be tough. Bobby is hoping for big years from Ginobili, Baron, and Jamal Crawford. He will also need breakout seasons from Favors, Casspi, and James Harden - which could happen. Bob's tackled the most challenging part of the JBL - the draft. Now let's see how he handles the roster moves, annoying trade offers from Idaho, and Free Agency. Best of luck Bobby - and welcome back!
• Well, I've saved the best (actually worst) for last - the Golden Showers. What the fuck happened? I clearly must have been drunk, asleep, stoned, or otherwise to draft the crap my team is currently saddled with. I only spent $221 dollars on draft day. Idiot. Not since Crikker's rookie season have we seen such a stupid move. The Showers are filled with role players and breakout candidates. There is one 20ppg scorer. No one on this team will average 10 rebounds. The team has no established shot blockers. I will say it - this team is horrible. Looking at the standings we have some cream over 1000 points and the 11th and 12th place teams are in the 500's. Golden is at 200 fucking points!! They may as well not even be in the league. God awful. Can I blame injuries? Sure, a bit. Not having Boozer and Mo Williams obviously hurts for right now - but even when they're back this is still the worst team in the JBL. Half of my starters in week 1 didn't even average over 10ppg. Disgusting. So, what's the plan in Golden? Well, I want to see what happens over the course of a couple weeks without Boozer. Then, let's see what happens for 3-4 weeks with Boozer. And by Christmas I think you'll find Golden still in the basement and ready to prepare for next season. (I've already floated an offer to grab some keeper talent). Tuna - please don't offer me Amir Johnson for Derrick Rose. The obvious trick is to get out of 13th place as that won't allow me to keep anyone. In a way, this is actually interesting for me as I haven't been in this situation before. Maybe I should speak to Tuna about being last to get some perspective?

Anyways, time to run. Again, sorry my absence from the Chronicles. I will do my best to document the 12 teams that matter in the JBL over the coming weeks. For now, I don't think the Golden squad is even worth discussing. Best of luck JBL'ers. Have a great season! The race for the 20th JBL Crown is underway!

Cheers,

JE

Roster Moves

Well, it's Saturday morning, October 16th and the Juan de Fuca Yo Mamas are on the clock. I got an email from Ron this morning that the 3-headed MGMT team is working on the final 2 cuts. I guess the pre-season play of DeJuan Blair has made things interesting. With only 3 keeper spots I would have thought that Zach, Wallace, and Gallinari were locks. Now, with Blair stepping up his game and maybe even earning the starting nod in San Antonio - he could be worth a look. Anyways, he said he would have his drops to me by tonight.

So, what's going on in the JBL with just one week until the 20th Draft??

Golden hooked up with Chilliwack on a trade. Aaron Brooks for Andrei Kirilenko. I know why Benny did this. He is loaded with bigs and to get his hands on a potential 20ppg PG for just $16 bucks - no brainer. Why did I do it? Well, for one, I didn't see Brooks being in my top 4 at the time. I also liked AK47's potential in a contract year. Yes, I was concerned about his injury history, but this deal was a minor one when our rosters are less than 1/3 full.

After reviewing the state of the Center position in the NBA I decided it might be prudent to get a cheap Center prior to the draft. That's where the AK47 for Anderson Varejao deal came up. Trevor pulled the trigger from a Palm Desert house where he is relaxing before he makes the trip to Vegas. This deal certainly had some interesting "hair" involved. If anyone remembers the Center's I rolled with last season during the JBL this was a must move for me prior to the draft. Yes, Varejao is injured right now but he could be the starter for a really bad Cleveland team that is going to want to run as often as possible. I am hoping Varejao's upside is somewhere around 10ppg, 8reb, 80stls, and 80blks with some decent FG%. I'm not asking him to be Brook Lopez, just a #2 Center who can get me some all around mediocre numbers.

Why did I drop Josh Smith?? Well, based on all the other JBL rosters this is clearly a draft with loads of top notch talent and I didn't want to be sitting there for an hour without the ability to get some! Josh Smith is a fantasy beast - but at $48 dollars that represents his top end value. So he really wasn't a 'bargain' - just a good player at the right price. At least that's the way I see things at the moment. If he breaks the $50 dollar barrier I guess I might regret the drop.

Seoul is down to Nene as a keeper. The 2-time defending champ is looking for the 3peat and is going in with a fantastic bargain in Nene and all the money in the world to try and build another winner. The tendex is being reviewed and Woo is able to start from scratch in his attempt to pull off something that has only been once before in the JBL. The only question remains is can Woo survive all the temptations of Vegas (the ladies, the smokes, the beers, the gambling, and the farting)???

Yuma ended up keeping just David Lee and Brendan Haywood. He released S-Jax, Maggette and George Hill. No real surprises here. Maggette would have been option if he was healthy but he is always a guy available at the end of the draft for that price anyways. Even though Haywood is in a potential time share with Tyson Chandler I think he's still a bargain at $6 bucks because of his ability to block shots.

With the Manhattan Beach Ballers returning to the JBL this season - blocks will be in high demand. Quick - how many players in the NBA blocked over 100 shots last season?? 19. That's it. So, with 13 teams in the JBL it isn't difficult to determine that it's going to be difficult to get your hands on those precious shot-blockers. That's why I like the size of the Chilliwack team - he has 3 guys on his roster ALREADY that blocked over 100 shots last season.

Arctic has protected the 3 guys I thought he would - Horford, Love, and Beasley. It could be argued that Horford is near his peak value - but looking at his stats he's one great fantasy player. Love is looking like a double double threat every night and Beasley is out to prove everyone who doubted him wrong. The Arctic squad looks very well equipped heading into draft night. I like this team's foundation.

Bangkok is having a very quiet off season. He has his 4 keepers (Westbrook, Curry, Gay, and Kaman) and is apparently sitting back just waiting for the season to begin so he can claim his 1st ever JBL title. I have to say (again) that I am a HUGE fan of this roster heading into the JBL draft. Although the firing of Don Nelson in Golden State does hurt Curry's value slightly. That being said, he's still a great bargain and probably a top 10 Fantasy player this coming season. Kaman and Griffin appear to be getting along just fine in LA and Gay appears to be a 20ppg player. And Russell Westbrook looks like he's Rondo, Kidd, and Nash rolled into one. OK, I'll say it, going into the JBL draft, this is the best line-up..

So, in my mind, who are the top 5 teams heading into the JBL draft??

1. Bangkok
2. Brussels
3. Chilliwack
4. Arctic
5. Golden

So, one week to go. I am excited. Very excited. I can't wait. This is the 20th JBL season and I am really looking forward to the entire experience.

PRESEASON ARRIVES!!!

Finally! At long last! It's here! The NBA preseason is underway which means the JBL draft can't be far behind! OH boy am I ever excited. I can barely contain myself. In the 3 days since the NBA preseason games began I have already spent more time analyzing those boxscores than I spent all year on boxscores in the baseball pool (yes, that would explain my 12th place basement finish). Now I know how Pearl felt in the JBL and how the other baseball owners must have viewed me. I didn't make any trades. I hardly ever signed or dropped players. MLB players just died on my team. Oh well. Congrats to Crikker for winning the league. Apparently it was his 1st Fantasy league win. Well done then, well done.

Anyways, back on topic. NBA preseason rocks. What would John Wall do? Who would PHX start? What kind of line-up would Cleveland play? What can we learn from one pre-season game. The simple answer is not much - but maybe lots.

In Washington we learned Wall is the real deal. We learned that Coach likes to play a 3 guard set with Wall, Arenas, and Hinrich. We learned that Yi Jianlin is the only real big man on the bench. We learned that McGee's JBL Auction value just tripled.

Some others jumped onto the Fantasy scene in Cleveland. Jamario Moon, Daniel Gibson (Boobie!), and Ramon Sessions all became fantasy relevant again.

DeMarcus Cousins made his mark in Sacramento against a small PHX team posting a monstrous double double.

Brook Lopez showed he might be the 2nd best center in the Eastern Conference.

Michael Beasley is trying to prove he can be fantasy relevant again while Darko tries to make believers out of potential JBL suitors.

Lebron and Bosh showed they can play together while Wade's hamstring strain could affect his auction value. Also, it's very likely that all of Miami's bench will be drafted simply because of the number of blowouts this team will/should have this coming season. Might as well get Eddie House on the cheat sheet.

The Bucks proved that they may have too much talent to make any of their players super Fantasy studs. On any given night - they could have 6-7 guys lead that team in scoring. Yes, I am aware that Jennings and Bogut are their biggest stars - but look at tonight - Jennings is absolute garbage and they do just fine. The Bucks are not fantasy friendly.

Kyle Korver proved that he can shoot. And he will go for more than $1 dollar on draft night.

Yao played 12 minutes and will be on a strict time limit this season. That news crushes his fantasy value. The question remains - will Bangkok draft him still? And for how much?

Charlotte scored 72 points tonight. That's about right.

Blake Griffin was very quiet tonight. Was that by design? Or was that because of the now 20 pounds heavier L-Train (17 & 7) defending him? And Rudy Fernandez did his best job to peak the interest of all the other teams who were thinking about inquiring about his services that still wondered if he had "it". And Wes Matthews (for the moment) quieted all those people (myself included) who thought the Blazers severely overpaid for his services.

Robin Lopez interests me. He's the only true big man in PHX and could be a cheap source of rebounds. Turkoglu looked like the Toronto version. Jason Thompson reminded the SAC coaches he was still on the team. Tyreke gave Timmy a boner. I know it.

Still waiting for those final few drops to come in...
Who will get punted?
Just 10 days until the final cuts are made....

The Debate is On...Maybe

So, we've had lots of discussions about the JBL this summer. Simply stated, this is awesome. It's September and there are pennant races in MLB and the NFL is just getting going - and we're talking JBL hoops. Awesome. Can you really imagine another Fantasy Basketball league like the JBL? Anywhere?

Anyways, there has been a lot of discussion about how we deal with protected players in the off season. We recently completed a poll about when each team makes their 'final cuts' and gets down to their final roster decisions. This is being done 1 week prior to the JBL draft. I think this is a wise date for future seasons (but that should be voted on by the league - which will happen in Vegas).

Another off season date was to open off season trading on July 1st (after initial roster cuts)...this is another discussion for Vegas. So, before I go any further here, I wanted to post some issues that need to be resolved for future JBL off seasons...

1. After the season has ended and those players who are not eligible for protection have been released - when does a team need to make initial roster cuts? And what is that number? This year it was 5 players by July 1st.

2. When should off season trading be permitted? This year it was July 1st. And it should be noted there hasn't been one off season trade. Why?

3. What is the final roster cuts date (we have decided this season it will be one week prior to the JBL draft - October 16th). Is this something we want to establish every year?

4. And finally, what should teams be allowed to do with those final rosters in the week prior to the JBL draft? That is what has been brought up for discussion recently and is the focus of the JBL over the next couple of weeks. The JBL owners have already heard from Brussels while I have heard directly from Chilliwack, Seoul, and Bangkok.

So, in case you've been living in a cave - here's the issue at stake. On October 16th all JBL teams will make those final roster decisions. Golden has 5 guys currently and will have to cut 1 player. Yuma and Juan de Fuca have 5 players and need to make 2 cuts. Belgrade has 4 players and needs to make 3 more cuts. So, once that happens and our rosters are at their maximum number - what is a JBL team allowed to do in those remaining 7 days prior to the draft?

From October 17th to October 23rd - can a JBL team make a trade? Currently, the answer is YES.

Can a JBL team decide to drop a player - currently the answer is YES.

And what if one of your protected players gets injured? Can you drop him? The answer is currently YES. And that's what's up for discussion.

One side of the argument is that once those "final" roster decisions are set - they cannot be changed. If you decide on 4 players - those are your 4 players. If you protect a player and he blows a knee and is out for the season - tough titties!! You should have to keep him (because that's what the NBA team would have to do).

The other side of this argument would be that even after you have trimmed your roster to the maximum allowable players - you could still 'release' players prior to the draft. This has been going on for years - with some JBL teams releasing players just prior to the JBL draft (which is a real pain for teams trying to put together a draft strategy)

So, what are some key points to think about...

- having to keep players (regardless of injury) may affect JBL owners mindsets when it comes to protecting expensive players (example: Josh Smith at $48 bucks - if I protected him and had to keep him if he blew an ACL - that is risky because of the consequences on my budget. If teams had to protect players after an injury they may stick to cheaper options because of the risk - this means more superstars available on draft night {a good thing})

- what if you protected 4 players for $125 dollars - leaving you $135 for 11 more - and then all 4 players have season ending injuries (I know, I know, highly unlikely but still possible). So, would this JBL owner really want to spend $100 bucks to enter the pool? What are his chances of winning?? I'll tell you. None. Do we really want to have teams out of the running before they have even drafted a team?? That doesn't seem right or fair. The one thing I like about the JBL is that on draft night - everyone still has a chance.

- whatever the decision is - it needs to be something that all the JBL owners can live with. They may not love it or completely agree with it but can live with it. And for that - we need a majority decision.

So, I do have one "twist" that might be somewhat of a compromise on the issue. So, let's say that we implement a rule where you must keep those players after the final roster cuts. Now, here's the twist...let's say one of those players gets injured and is out for the season. My suggestion is that the JBL team can drop the player but must pay a penalty. My proposal is that the 'penalty' is half of the players protected salary. (Example: I keep Josh Smith for $48 bucks. He blows a knee and is out for the season. Golden can release him but it will cost me $24 bucks off of my $260 budget so now I would only have $236 to buy my remaining players).
Also, my proposal is that any odd $$ salaries would be 'rounded up'. So a $15 dollar player would cost the team $8 bucks off their total $260 budget.

So, in my mind, this does allow a JBL team to 'bail' themselves out of a potentially bad situation - but not without penalty.

If you have any other ideas on this subject...I urge you to post a JBL article or comment here on the JBL Chronicles.

I know there are other 'twists' we could discuss...but at the moment we have 3 options

1. HARD line - once you make your 'final' roster - those are your players. No drops.
2. MIDDLE ground - players can be dropped but have to pay a 50% salary penalty
3. SOFT and easy - players can be dropped after the deadline without penalty

so...let the discussions begin....
Any other ideas???
I want to hear them - this is your league!

Some More Rookies...

#6 - Ekpe Udoh - Warriors. I'll be honest. I know nothing about this kid other than he's 6'10, 240, and can play defense. Sounds exactly like what the Warriors need. The problem? He's injured and will miss 2-3 months of the season. He has some long term potential as the Warriors PF though as he would be the much needed defensive stopper beside David Lee. Not sure he gets nominated on draft night but he could be a good pick up in January.

#7 -Greg Monroe - Pistons. I really like this kid. He's apparently a bit like Lamar Odom but a bit more physical. I don't think he's as fluid as Odom is but he will have the chance to play immediately in Detroit. His competition?? Ben Wallace. Jason Maxiell. Charlie V. Jonas Jerebko. So Monroe is going to get some minutes and I expect him to be the starting Center for the Pistons for many years to come. A sure fire pick on JBL auction night.

#8 - Al-Farouq Aminu - Clippers. Another player I don't know much about. Because the Clippers don't have much talent at the SF position (sorry Ryan Gomes) I think Aminu has an opportunity to play some minutes this season. He's not going to be a dynamic scorer but I think he could be a defensive stopper and a good player. He should be drafted in the JBL draft.

#9 - Gordon Hayward - Jazz. I completely get this pick from the Jazz perspective. Hayward's white and he's going to Utah - perfect. The Jazz have lost Brewer, Korver, Mathews, and Boozer this summer so they need some players. The aging Raja Bell can't play 35-40 minutes at SG so the kid is going to have to play. I think he will be a complete hit or miss prospect. He'll either be great or turn out to be Joe Alexander. That being said, I think the Utah system is absolutely perfect for him. I can see him ending up in Arctic this season.

#10 - Paul George - Pacers. As much sense as the Jazz pick made, the Pacers pick is the exact opposite. Why did the Pacers select a SF when they have a guy named Danny Granger? Don't get me wrong, I'm all about selecting the 'best player available' when the talent is unquestionable but was George really the best player left at #10? George could be great but I just don't see him being an impact Fantasy player as long as Granger is around. Unless something changes in Indiana, I don't see him being selected on JBL draft night.

Some other significant picks...

#11 - Cole Aldrich - Thunder. I like this pick for them. They are weakest in the middle and having Aldrich, Ibaka, and Krstic should allow them to find the perfect man in the middle. Ultimately, I think they want Aldrich and Ibaka to share the middle as both big men can play defense and rebound. Aldrich is a great shot-blocker and he's likely to be picked on JBL auction night.

#12 - Xavier Henry - Grizzlies. He's still unsigned but apparently he's a great offensive talent. The reason I like the pick for the Grizzlies is their real lack of bench depth. He has a chance to be the team's 6th man and maybe even score in double digits - assuming he gets signed. In the next 6 weeks he needs to get signed and have a good pre-season. If that happens, he'll have a home on JBL draft night.

#13 - Ed Davis - Raptors. Watching his highlight package doesn't scream Karl Malone. However, he's on a Raptors team whose starting PF is Amir Johnson. Conclusion? Ed Davis could be a fantasy factor this year. He's big. He plays defense and he hustles. That could be enough to get some minutes this season. I don't see him as a star but he could be a good role player this season.

There are some other rookies that I like (Patrick Patterson and Larry Sanders) but find themselves in tough to get any playing time. There is sure to be some other rookies make a name for themselves in October in the pre-season so this list will certainly be expanded.

Happy Labour Day everyone. The kids are back to school tomorrow!

Introducing the Rookies

The 2010 draft class was described as weak after consensus #1 pick John Wall. There weren't too many other 'nuggets' that were sure fire All-Stars like Wall. So, let's go through a couple of them and see what I think about their potential in the world of Fantasy Basketball. Now, to be fair, this column should really be written by Bangkok owner Rick Eng because of his ability to find the best rookies each year.

Here we go....

#1 - John Wall - Wizards. OK, this is the easy one. I don't have to say much. The guy is going to be good and is the new face of the Washington franchise. As good as he will be, he's on a bad team, will have to play with Gilbert Arenas, and is going to force the issue a lot an commit a lot of turnovers. That being said - he can play for Golden anytime.

#2 Evan Turner - 76ers. The College Player of the Year had a rough summer league and expectations for him have significantly dropped. He's been compared to Brandon Roy but he appears to be a long way from reaching that potential. That being said, it's rumored that he is going to start in the 76ers back court with Jrue Holiday. If that happens, he's going to have some value.

#3 - Derrick Favors - Nets. The arrival of Troy Murphy has significantly reduced Favors' fantasy value. He's young and raw and has a lot to learn before becoming an impact Fantasy player. If he's drafted this year it's for his potential long term. He could have impact if Murphy or Lopez get injured.

#4 - Wesley Johnson - Timberwolves. Mr. Johnson has the potential to be a pretty good NBA player. But how he fits in with this squad is still unknown. There are 6 players in Minnesota who are between 6'6 and 6'8 so its really unknown if he's going to be the starter right away or not. Plus, without a significant low post presence I don't see him being wide open for 3's in Minny.

#5 - DeMarcus Cousins - Kings. He has All-Star potential but he also has Chris Washburn potential. Will he be a head case? Will he keep his weight under 300 pounds? Will he listen to Paul Westphal? The good news is that he only has Dalembert and Thompson to battle for minutes so he should get plenty of time. He is the epitome of a risk/reward pick. And frankly, I believe he's worth the risk.

Picks 6 to 10 coming up soon...

Random Long Weekend Thoughts...

Well, we're still waiting for Bobby Hucul to select a team name. I can't imagine that my temporary name of 'Hollywood Hucul' would be acceptable. I sent him a message today reminding him that the JBL fanatics are anxiously awaiting his decision...

It looks like the new Free Agent system will go through. Technically we need 10 YES votes to pass the rule. However, it's 8 yes votes so far - no one has been opposed to the new rule - so it's safe to say it will happen. I think it will be good for the league. It makes signing Free Agents quite easy now when the bids are under $10 bucks. It will also give those teams near the $300 salary cap some flexibility to bring in some players when needed. I like it - glad the JBL boys agreed. Thanks to Timmy for coming up with the idea - all I did was tweak it.

We still have to work out a new protection system. It was discussed several times during the summer but nothing was ever solidified. I think the actual number of keepers per team based on where you finish in the standings is perfect. I like that rule a lot as it keeps those teams near the bottom of the league interested as they try to gain more keeper spots. The Idaho situation this past season was a great example of how it works. Tuna made 2 deals that netted him 2 potentially great keepers in Lopez and Jennings. However, he couldn't avoid the 12th place finish and doesn't get to keep anyone. So, you can dump all your talent to get cheap guys - but make sure your team doesn't fall to the basement in the standings.

So, what will the new keeper system look like??
Currently, we have a 3 year system with $5 dollar bumps in salary each season.
Other suggestions have been a 4 and 5 year keeper system with varying bumps in salary.
In the recent JBL podcast, we discussed reviving the Restricted Free Agent type system where players go back into the auction but the last team has the right to match any salary demands. Its been years since we used this system. I kind of like it...

Let me throw this idea out there then...
How about a 4 year keeper system (with $5 dollar bumps) and then, after the 4th season, the player goes back into the auction but his previous team retains his rights and has the ability to match the winning auction bid? This would be very similar to the NBA's Restricted Free Agency rules in theory.

An example....John Wall gets drafted for $20 bucks this season by Bangkok (he always gets the good rookies). He is protected for $25 (year 2), then $30 (year 3) and then $35 (year 4). After that, he goes back in the auction and goes for $42 dollars to Seoul. (This is the offer sheet in NBA terms). So at this point, Bangkok now has to decide whether he wants to match the offer or give him up. Bangkok can keep Wall for $42 or let him go to Seoul for $42.

My proposal would be to incorporate this idea immediately (if approved by the league). So, it would be applied to all current protected players as well as all players being drafted this season. If a player was in year 3 of his contract, he could be protected a 4th year. Pretty simple I think.

I think the biggest concern of extending the length of time that players can be protected is the concern that one team ends up with 4 super duper keepers at cheap prices. I think this was a valid concern when the league had the Rob Nelson, Jeremy Wilson, and Dave Davies of the world. In other words, the uneducated NBA followers. I think with the passionate group we have now that it would be less and less likely that one or two owners could grab all the bargains. So, in summary, I am OK with extending the keeper length to a 4th season as well as re-instituting the RFA-type of matching system. What do you guys think? Like it?

So when should the final roster cuts be made?? I think the most fair is one week before the JBL draft. So, that would be Saturday, October 16th. Why this date?? Because it give owners a chance to see some players in the pre-season as well as be able to drop players that get injured in the pre-season. JBL teams shouldn't have to protect a player if he's out for the season with an injury sustained in the pre-season. I know we're trying to mirror the NBA as much as possible, but I think the NFL system/rule (where a NFL team can cut a player and not have to pay him) is more applicable here. After the Oct. 16th date - then I say the rosters are locked and you MUST keep the player through the draft. Your thoughts?

And finally, it looks like Vegas could be a huge success! We have 9 owners coming now so it should be amazing. (Gong show might be a better term). All JBL owners must bring their laptops as we will attempt to use the online auction draft system again (same as last season). Hopefully it will work and we'll be able to have 9 owners on the hotel line...if not, we'll have to revive the live auction and use MSN messenger for the 4 teams not in Vegas (French, Juan, Arctic, Belgrade). We'll have to test this out asap once we get there and put the other owners on notice of what we'll be doing.