@miles-linde OK. Time for a more detailed response.
First and foremost: I hate that I was even put in a position to have to recommend that you drop any of those guys. How dare you draft so well!
Second: how the heck are Green and Smart on anyone's waiver wires? That's the former and reigning Defensive Player of the Year! They're starters on contending teams! I'm very passionate about this.
You're going to be very scary in AST, PTS and REB once everyone is up and running. There is a bit of a drop-off with PTS at the end of your roster, but I think you've got enough quality at the top with a couple of upside plays in Smith and Washington. The issue with those two is more likely to be efficiency.
On that note: you're probably fine in FT% but there's a wide range of players who could sway you in the wrong direction on FG%. I wouldn't fight to preserve my FG% if I felt I had a strong chance of locking down PTS and 3PT, which you probably do. You should already have a strong base in 3PT production, but I'd be very confident in your chances if you were able to add Green and Smart, in particular. You'll take on some extra risk in TO if you add either player, but I think you can make that sacrifice if you're producing the counting stats to back it up. If you are concerned about TO, then I think Jones will prove to be a worthwhile addition that still boosts one of your better categories.
Can this team play defense? Absolutely, regardless of whether you dropped the players I recommended for the Green-Jones-Smart trio or not. You're certainly not losing ground in STL, no matter which combination of players you add or drop. BLK could backslide a bit, unless Green was the only player you added. I did mostly recommend that you drop BLK specialists, but I think the risk is worthwhile. Regardless, these categories should be strengths and if needed, you can try to address BLK with future moves.
You're pretty strong across the board and I'm only really concerned with your efficiency stats, minus FT%. If that's your biggest concern, then I think you'll be okay. I think your team will generate ample amounts of AST, PTS, REB, STL and 3PT, so I think that lessens any efficiency concerns. If it comes to streaming and you can control your competitiveness in FG% or TO, I probably still wouldn't try to. If anything needs topping-up, it will be BLK or PTS. Focus your energy there if you need to, but your full-strength roster doesn't leave you much flexibility.
Since you have 13 players and I'm assuming at least a few of them can -and likely will- occupy the IL simultaneously now and infrequently moving forward, I will recommend some waiver wire targets. However, I'm not recommending you add any of the players that follow at the expense of any of your currently-rostered players or the Green-Jones-Smart trio, if you have them. That said, you could look at players like Bobby Portis, De'Anthony Melton, Ivica Zubac, Jalen McDaniels, Jalen Williams, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kevin Huerter, or any of the players you may have had to drop.
I'm not sure if you'll need it with this squad, but good luck!
@ecorey4 Yuck to Bamba right now, to be honest. I get the upside and maybe we'll see it this year, but I'm not plugged-in to the Magic and it doesn't seem from the outside that he will get much of a chance, so I'm selling my stock in Bamba for now. He could be worth a hold in a 14-team league, so I'll yield to your judgement there.
Some of these players would be good streamers, in my opinion: Bones Hyland, Chris Boucher, Darius Bazley, Deni Avdija, Evan Fournier, Jalen McDaniels, Justise Winslow, Kevin Love, RJ Hampton, Tyus Jones, Will Barton and Zach Collins. I'm not sure who's available, and I factored out a lot of players that I wouldn't expect to be available in some 12-team leagues, so this isn't an all-encompassing list.
Try to maximize your weekly schedule with your streamers. I will almost always stream the player with more games than the (arguably) better player, if I find myself in that scenario.
I write a weekly article that can help you figure out which players/teams are best to stream on what dates. Here's a link to the latest one, if you haven't seen it: https://sportsethos.com/articles/hoop-ball-fantasy-basketball-features/the-week-ahead-round-three/
@bufanda I'm nervous about that one. Those are two players I like very much. I tend to believe that Vanderbilt will be better when all is said and done, but there is an argument for Dosunmu. He is the higher-ranked player at present. You need another guard, so that could be the tiebreaker.
I'm 51% convinced that you should go for it.
@indo Suit yourself! There's no harm in that.
Johnson is tradeable, if not Giddey. I like Zubac for this team, so I'm less convinced there. There's a different range of trade candidates for all three players. See below.
* = Not helping FT%
Giddey: Alperen Sengun (*), D'Angelo Russell, Draymond Green (*), Evan Mobley, Keldon Johnson, Scottie Barnes (*) or Tobias Harris
Johnson or Zubac: Andrew Wiggins (*), Ayo Dosunmu, Bobby Portis, Brook Lopez, Gordon Hayward, Jalen McDaniels, Josh Hart, Kyle Kuzma, Kyle Lowry, Malcolm Brogdon, Monte Morris, Onyeka Okongwu (*), Tre Jones or Trey Murphy
@dballbball Hey Derek! Thank you for the feedback!
Quick recap on my current team: Cody Martin, Oubre, Hart, Bron, Giddey, Bridges, Poeltl, Adams, AD, Vandey, Looney, Butler, Barnes.
Currently have a claim on Horford for Looney so hopefully my bid is high enough.
I am actively on the trade market right now, my team is 3rd ranked in the league but I need some help. Like I’ve mentioned im punting 3PM and FT% and a soft punt in points because if Davis Butler, Or Bron go down I’m not competing there anyway. To my knowledge my team is Pretty strong in FG#, TREB, STLS, BLKS, and TO. You said I should choose between PTS and ASTS so I’m gonna favor assists for the aforementioned reason about my stats being injury prone.
Im in desperate need of PG’s since I currently have none eligible. I have a plethora of small forwards and centers which I would like to try and move some of them.
Players Im looking to move off of to boost my team: Giddey, Bridges, Poeltl, Oubre, Martin.
I think these are some of my best trade candidates either for their value or because they aren’t in the best situation. But you may think otherwise so I’m open to feedback on that.
What should I do? I’m horrible at gauging players values so if you have any guys I should target or package suggestions I am all ears. I was thinking of guys like Smart, or Draymond, but again, I struggle with the value of players sometimes.
Thank you again! I really appreciate it. Trying to lock down my teams identity early on so I can cool it on the trades and brace for injuries to my stars lol
@dballbball I ended up flipping Horford for Brogdon, so thankfully I'll be able to keep Cam, Zubac and Giddey. Though I'll probably try to move Cam as I'm not competing in 3s or points.
Thanks again for all your help!
@unclemao Wow! That's a strong group of snipers. You clearly went into the draft with a strategy, and I think you executed it well.
You're definitely winning 3PT as often as your team's health will allow. PTS may be very close behind. There has never been an elite-shooting guard stats team that also didn't do well in FT%. Those are your core strengths by a mile.
AST is a strength, but less so than the two categories above. Curry, Lillard and Murray might have been good enough to carry you through the Garland injury, but I think you'll probably need the four of them producing in order to consistently win this category.
REB is out the window. Go ahead and punt here. Hartenstein and Horford are your only hope, and that's not saying much. Ditto for BLK.
I know what you're definitely good at and what you're definitely bad at, so every category not yet named will be filed into the mid-level area. While STL is good-to-great, I do think it's the sort of category that can be continually addressed due to how relatively common it is to find producers on the waiver wire as opposed to other stats. Garland and Melton will drag your FG% down a bit, but most of your team hovers around an average level of production in that area. You're probably not beating the teams with elite FG% producers, but this is a category that I can see you streaming to success and regularly beating other "guard stats" teams in. Reducing TO at the bottom-end of your roster will help, but your team has a relatively high usage rate and I think this category will turn out similar to FG%: you're probably only putting up a fight against teams that may match your strengths.
From a positional eligibility perspective, I think it would be nice if you could add another center-eligible player. This is extra true if there are two starting spots in your league, in which case I would typically argue that you should have four or more center-eligible players. I hate to see teams missing out on games due to positional concerns. If you agree, I think you could consider looking to flip Powell for someone new. He's in the "buy low" zone right now, so you could look to trade Melton while his stock continues to rise. Please note that Melton is more likely to give a higher return on investment if you retain him throughout the season.
If possible, I think you should try to stream in players that can help you build in these areas: FG%, STL, TO and 3PT. Your top picks will carry most of your offensive production, so the keys for you should be to address the often-overlooked categories and continuing to shore up your STL production. Players that could help in this area include: Chris Boucher, Grant Williams, Jaden McDaniels, Jalen McDaniels, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Josh Richardson, Kelly Olynyk, Kevin Love, Marcus Morris, Patrick Williams, Royce O'Neal, Seth Curry and Zach Collins.
Good luck!
@brandonbourassa It's my pleasure!
OK, so we're building for AST, BLK, FG%, REB, STL and TO? I can work with that. First and foremost: do not trade Bridges. He works way too well here, and Poeltl isn't far behind him.
I'd be lying if I said that Giddey doesn't help you in AST and REB, so keep that in mind while you shop him. If he goes, you absolutely need to recoup some of your losses in AST, at the least. That's why I said before that you should consider trading him for a point guard, if at all.
If Martin and Oubre are out on your team, you'll probably only feel the pinch in STL. I'm not convinced either player will net a positive return in a trade, but you never know what another manager is looking for. They seem like ideal candidates for a package deal, whereby you could offer both for a clear upgrade and sell the other manager on a 2-for-1 deal that can help them hedge against injuries. Since both players have top-100 upside, I do think that's a viable option. The key with trading either or both of them is that you are making an upgrade in one or more of the six categories you want to compete in. Don't be shy with the waiver wire - it's possible you can find players in free agency that can offer equal or greater value to these guys. Sometimes it's easier to solve these problems without involving another team.
Here are some approximate averages you can look for with players on the market:
AST: > 3.6 APG
BLK: > 0.7 BPG
FG%: ~ 47 FG% w/ 10+ FGA
REB: > 5.9 RPG
STL: > 1.0 SPG
TO: < 1.8 TO/G
Draymond Green and Marcus Smart are both great trade candidates with a rock-solid floor of fantasy production. I'd feel very safe in acquiring either one, so that's a good place to start. Add them to those groups of players I suggested in my last reply. It's not unrealistic to trade Giddey for Smart due to your positional need, but I think the other manager would be the winner in a vacuum. You'd probably need to involve multiple players on both sides if you're looking at swapping Giddey for Green (ex. Giddey plus Martin for Green plus low-end point guard). Remember: filling your gap at point guard is your priority.
Hi friend,
What do you think about this trade?
Melton for Venderbilt [H2H points league, 12 players, Espn].
Thanks!
please rate my team
9 cat h2h 10 man league - auction.
Trae
Jaylen Brown
DSJ
Frans
wendall carter
Jalen mcdaniels
trey Murphy
Gobert
mathurin
dame
Hali
Scottie
Claxton
jabari smith
Hey @dballbball
Here’s my team - abit more clear.
9cat h2h 10 man auction draft.
Currently 2nd.
Guards: Hali / Trae / DSJ / Dame
Fowards: Scottie / Jaylen Brown / Frans / Mathurin / Jalen McDaniels / Trey Murphy
Bigs: Gobert / Wendall Carter / Claxton / Jabari Smith
Any help much appreciated!
@brian23wilson Hey Brian! Punt accomplished.
First: Melton isn't a streamer. You should be able to get by with two streamers anyway.
Second: you're punting big man stats. Don't stream big men that specialize in those areas.
Are you able to flip Conley? He's a perfectly good player to roster but I expect a dropoff over the course of the season. I'd try to sell before Christmas, if possible. That's a good way of shedding 3PT to boost another category. I don't think BLK is the one though. You should be very competitive in 3PT, so I tend to agree that you can make sacrifices if needed. It's a very replaceable category.
PTS should be solid here. You're probably struggling a bit right now, but I expect improvements from players like Edwards and Poole, while the returns of Middleton and Vassell should also give you a boost. Keep streaming in scorers if you're punting big man stats.
Can you top up AST? If so, that makes Conley more valuable. This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I could be talked into trading Mathurin for a more reliable (read: non-rookie) guard that could boost AST while still producing 10-plus PPG. My reasoning for Mathurin: the looming rookie wall, non-value in AST, BLK, REB and STL, and an uncompetitive Pacers squad. This could bite you if one of the rumored trades (Hield or Turner) occurs. He's definitely going to get you some good offers, and I think they're worth considering, since Mathurin is a trendy name despite still being outside the top-100 in 9-cat.
I have no concerns about STL for this squad. Any number of players from top to bottom on your roster can give you value there, with the exception of your two center streamers. That's a category that you can afford to sacrifice a bit if you need to bump up another area. It's easily-replaceable on the wire, so I don't think there's a single player worth protecting solely for their potential in STL.
Edwards and Siakam probably aren't helping your FT% much right now. Hopefully they level out and give you a bit more of an edge in that category, but it can't really be considered a strength while two of your most productive players are pulling in the opposite direction. I doubt you're shipping either one to another manager, so it's something you'll have to try to shore up by adding players with high volume and accuracy from the charity stripe when and where possible. Remember: accuracy is second to volume when trying to influence shooting percentages.
TO will be a coin-flip category every week if you're building for guard stats. You didn't collect any players that I find particularly damaging in that area, so I don't see it as a punt category. You can't do much to address it other than to reduce the amount of extra TO you take on with streamers and trades.
If you need to convert one of your weaknesses to a strength, it will have to be a combination of FG% and TO. You're past the point of no return with BLK and REB, so the others win by default. In order to become more competitive in these areas, you may be looking at an "addition by subtraction" scenario. Moving players like Conley, Melton, Poole and Vassell can improve your competitiveness in one or both of these areas, although each of them are or can be top-75 fantasy players and trading them comes with risk. Am I advocating for it? Depends on who's coming back in the deal. You'd be trading players that are good at your strengths in order to protect your weaknesses, so there would have to be some corresponding boost in a category you plan to win regularly.
You're obviously into streaming, so I'll try to give you a long list of players that could help you this year: Bones Hyland, Bruce Brown, Caleb Martin, Caris LeVert, Chris Boucher, Derrick White, Dillon Brooks, Grant Williams, Grayson Allen, Jae'Sean Tate, Jalen Suggs, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Jose Alvarado, Josh Richardson, Kevin Love, Larry Nance Jr., Malcolm Brogdon, Malik Beasley, Marcus Morris, Max Strus, Reggie Jackson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Tim Hardaway Jr., Will Barton and Zach Collins.
@dballbball thank you. And Keegan Murray for Vaderbilt?
