ITT: Ask a Fantasy Basketball Expert (srs) Anything...

[chipotleking]

Is john salmons worth picking up? 14 man league. standard 9 category. I'm dropping james johnson, because gary neal is probably going to have more of an impact. right now he's giving over 1 3 pointer and 1 steal per game, and i think he'll get better.

And also, should i drop ginobili?

[DeanCainGainz]

Hi Dean,

This is my 3rd year playing Fantasy Basketball and I am a huge fan of the NBA, playing ball as well as Fantasy BB.

I have always had many thoughts on strategies...approaches to take when playing FBB but I would love to hear your thoughts as an expert.

I have a lot of things I'd like to get your input on but am at work at the moment so will write another reply later. What do you think of my initial draft results and current roster. I will also list the order I drafted and price I paid for them, and subsequent trades.

$200 Auction Draft

1. Lebron James - $86
2. Kobe Bryant - $44
3. Steve Nash - $25
4. Carlos Boozer - $12
5. David West - $10
6. Joe Johnson - $9
7. Michael Beasley - $6
8. Darren Collison - $4
9. Ben Gordon - $2
10. Andre Miller - $1
11. Sam Dalembert - $1



Next I immediately trade David West, Carlos Boozer, Michael Beasley for Carmelo Anthony, Devin Harris, Jamal Crawford.

I dropped Jamal Crawford for Amir Johnson.
I rode Andre Miller for 3 games and dropped him for Spencer Hawes.
I currently will drop Sam Dalembert to pick up Brandon Rush.

Current Roster

1. Lebron James
2. Kobe Bryant
3. Steve Nash
4. Carmelo Anthony
5. Spencer Hawes
6. Joe Johnson
7. Amir Johnson
8. Darren Collison
9. Ben Gordon
10. Devin Harris
11. Sam Dalembert

Please let me know

1. Your thoughts on my draft results, what I should have done. My initial strategy was to pick up top value stars to carry the team as well as identify undervalued stars at a discounted price(especially those that may have underperformed last year but I believe may approach closer to career performance)

2. Thoughts on my current roster and moves.

3. What I should look out for when looking to improve my roster through trades or FA

Thanks alot Dean, I am a huge fan of the game and would just like to hear professional advice/input and how I can improve to destroy my league! >

Psyko Merc. Love your enthusiasm. I too have been a die hard NBA fan since a young age. One thing I can tell you is that having a strong passion for the sport WILL help.

As much as I'd love to lie and say I'm an all around expert. I'm a little shaky when it comes to auction drafts. The important thing is that most championships are won DURING the season. Drafts are highly overrated.

I'm not big on Amir Johnson but I would say that his value can't get much worse. Hopefully he picks up some more minutes.

I wouldn't normally advise dropping andre miller but for who you picked up I wouldn't advise otherwise .

Just keep your eye open for injuries and try to think outside the box.

Edit: Also, some more general advice...Try to stay away from cluttered, confused, young, non playoff teams. They will leave you in more frustration than satisfaction. Ex. Look at detroit. A lot of their players could be fantasy studs individually (daye, stuckey, gordon, knight, monroe, jerebko etc.) but aside from maybe Monroe most of those players will give you a lot of aggravation.

The raptors are another one.

[DeanCainGainz]

Is john salmons worth picking up? 14 man league. standard 9 category. I'm dropping james johnson, because gary neal is probably going to have more of an impact. right now he's giving over 1 3 pointer and 1 steal per game, and i think he'll get better.

And also, should i drop ginobili?

Salmons typically goes highly unnoticed and tends to provide decent value but I'm just not sold on him this year. It all depends on who else is out there and who's on your roster. Picking up Gary Neal for James Johnson is probably a pretty good move which is really hard for me to say considering how high I've been on James Johnson.

As far as dropping Ginobli...what type of league? h2h with no position limits I would lean towards yes depending on how you're doing so far. If it's a roto league with position limits then stash him on your bench. Ginobli WILL come back. He's a fighter and don't be shocked if he comes back ahead of schedule.

[skizz]

With Eric Gordon out, who will benefit the most on the Hornets, Belinelli/Jack/Ariza?

[PsykoMerc]

Psyko Merc. Love your enthusiasm. I too have been a die hard NBA fan since a young age. One thing I can tell you is that having a strong passion for the sport WILL help.

As much as I'd love to lie and say I'm an all around expert. I'm a little shaky when it comes to auction drafts. The important thing is that most championships are won DURING the season. Drafts are highly overrated.

I'm not big on Amir Johnson but I would say that his value can't get much worse. Hopefully he picks up some more minutes.

I wouldn't normally advise dropping andre miller but for who you picked up I wouldn't advise otherwise .

Just keep your eye open for injuries and try to think outside the box.

Edit: Also, some more general advice...Try to stay away from cluttered, confused, young, non playoff teams. They will leave you in more frustration than satisfaction. Ex. Look at detroit. A lot of their players could be fantasy studs individually (daye, stuckey, gordon, knight, monroe, jerebko etc.) but aside from maybe Monroe most of those players will give you a lot of aggravation.

The raptors are another one.

Thanks alot for the input. Now I can respond with a little more detail since I am out of the office.

1. I agree with you that the championship is won during the season because I have learned there is a HUGE value gained through free agency/adding/dropping and manipulating your roster as needed weekly or against different teams etc. To me FBB has alot of aspects to look at with a lot of things you can do that will improve your results. But I wanted to begin with....the beginning of every game, the draft =) I know it doesnt define your team, but it surely cannot hurt if you draft very well with some luck as you can gain a huge edge. Ex. Last season I drafted Wade($56), CP3($68), and Kevin Love($21) STEALLLLLL due to the season before I liked Love's talents plus I tracked his per minute production...PLUS tracked him in the Olympics just to confirm my belief that he was a rebounding Machine...little did I know the glorious heavenly blessed beauty i would really acquire....

2. Thanks for the advice regarding staying away from "cluttered, confused, young, non playoff team" , I actually started to think that way this season...except for someone like Ben Gordon, I felt he was going to be a starter with big minutes, and he's had good production in the past with minutes...so I felt he was worth a $1 gamble.

3. Re: Dalembert...maybe I am acting hasty, but I've owned Dalembert for stretches during the past 3 seasons!!! and he almost always gives me a headache!! so I think I am biased towards him. I was thinking he may not be grabbed, and Brandon Rush may return similar numbers to him with more consistency(with chance at other category upside) especially with the train wreck that is Stephen Curry. I am extremely bearish on Curry this season, extreme injury risk that will cause you frustration, headache and basically lock up your roster flexibility.

Right now I haven't had the time to set down and try to create a defined stategy, I know my roster has serious weaknesses but so far I have drafted for value, and acquired for value rather than have a defined strategy to go for points, blocks, rebounds etc. I was thinking that if I owned valuable players, that would give my roster a high total value that I can always adjust through trades for other equal valued players to mesh into a coherent team with a strategy. I could post my league's rosters for further evaluation if you want.

[Favrelicious]

Psyko Merc. Love your enthusiasm. I too have been a die hard NBA fan since a young age. One thing I can tell you is that having a strong passion for the sport WILL help.

As much as I'd love to lie and say I'm an all around expert. I'm a little shaky when it comes to auction drafts. The important thing is that most championships are won DURING the season. Drafts are highly overrated.

I'm not big on Amir Johnson but I would say that his value can't get much worse. Hopefully he picks up some more minutes.

I wouldn't normally advise dropping andre miller but for who you picked up I wouldn't advise otherwise .

Just keep your eye open for injuries and try to think outside the box.

Edit: Also, some more general advice...Try to stay away from cluttered, confused, young, non playoff teams. They will leave you in more frustration than satisfaction. Ex. Look at detroit. A lot of their players could be fantasy studs individually (daye, stuckey, gordon, knight, monroe, jerebko etc.) but aside from maybe Monroe most of those players will give you a lot of aggravation.

The raptors are another one.

Since i have Stuckey on my team, and he's only been doing decent, should i drop him for Iman Shumpert?

[DeanCainGainz]

With Eric Gordon out, who will benefit the most on the Hornets, Belinelli/Jack/Ariza?

Well Jack will be the best fantasy player but if you're asking who will GAIN the most value rationally than def. Bellinelli but Jack is 3 times the player that Belli is.

[anonymous]

Prob too late but I would pull the trigger immediately on his offer. Unless he knows something about Bogut that the rest of the fantasy world doesn't.

Balls, he got cold feet with Lowry. The trade ended up being Tyreke/Hawes for Conley/Bogut. I figured with ZBo out, Conley will have to step up and he looks good coming back from his brief injury, Bogut is also pretty reliable once he sorts out his personal issues.

Did I done goof or good call?

[DeanCainGainz]

Balls, he got cold feet with Lowry. The trade ended up being Tyreke/Hawes for Conley/Bogut. I figured with ZBo out, Conley will have to step up and he looks good coming back from his brief injury, Bogut is also pretty reliable once he sorts out his personal issues.

Did I done goof or good call?

Prob dun goofed...Lowry is a top 10 fantasy player right now...It's all good though. Best of luck. Sorry for the late response.

[DeanCainGainz]

Since i have Stuckey on my team, and he's only been doing decent, should i drop him for Iman Shumpert?

Hmmmmm...tough one. I'd hold onto stuckey at least through tonight. See how Shumpert does tonight then get back to me.

[DatFatWhale]

current team:




got 2 trades accepted yesterday

Trade 1

i give:
KG, parker, beasley, varejao

i get: Hedo, Bynum, weak ankle Stephen curry

trade 2:

i give:
Ben Gordon, J-Smooth

I get:
IGGY, Ryan anderson



hows my new team? i got whooped in 3's last week and lost my 1st match up of the season. So i traded the guy who whooped my ass since he needed blocks. think i gave up too much in jsmooth?


Also i traded bosh for aldridge in my 11 team roto league and the commissioner went berserk accusing me of having 2 teams cuz it was a trade between my friend and i. i know aldridge is a better fantasy player but i dont think it was by a lot. think the guy was on dat dere ****gy time or should i trade back to shut his pie hole up? no1 else in the league complained. what's funny is this ******* offered me sum retarded trade offer too. he even locked my friends and mine team and then unlocked it lol

[The Gootz]

Looking for some trade advice. I need a G on my team (have too many F's and C's), so I posted up in my league and have been offered the following trades. Are any of these in my favor or at least solid trades?

1. Joakim Noah (on my team) for Chauncey Billups (offered player)
2. David West for Chauncey Billups
3. Amar'e Stoudemire for Jarrett Jack and Ryan Anderson

Reps for good advice.

[DeanCainGainz]

current team:




got 2 trades accepted yesterday

Trade 1

i give:
KG, parker, beasley, varejao

i get: Hedo, Bynum, weak ankle Stephen curry

trade 2:

i give:
Ben Gordon, J-Smooth

I get:
IGGY, Ryan anderson



hows my new team? i got whooped in 3's last week and lost my 1st match up of the season. So i traded the guy who whooped my ass since he needed blocks. think i gave up too much in jsmooth?


Also i traded bosh for aldridge in my 11 team roto league and the commissioner went berserk accusing me of having 2 teams cuz it was a trade between my friend and i. i know aldridge is a better fantasy player but i dont think it was by a lot. think the guy was on dat dere ****gy time or should i trade back to shut his pie hole up? no1 else in the league complained. what's funny is this ******* offered me sum retarded trade offer too. he even locked my friends and mine team and then unlocked it lol

I like both trades in ur favor. The Aldridge for Bosh trade is pretty fishy and should be vetoed in most leagues but good try lol.

[PsykoMerc]

current team:




got 2 trades accepted yesterday

Trade 1

i give:
KG, parker, beasley, varejao

i get: Hedo, Bynum, weak ankle Stephen curry

trade 2:

i give:
Ben Gordon, J-Smooth

I get:
IGGY, Ryan anderson



hows my new team? i got whooped in 3's last week and lost my 1st match up of the season. So i traded the guy who whooped my ass since he needed blocks. think i gave up too much in jsmooth?


Also i traded bosh for aldridge in my 11 team roto league and the commissioner went berserk accusing me of having 2 teams cuz it was a trade between my friend and i. i know aldridge is a better fantasy player but i dont think it was by a lot. think the guy was on dat dere ****gy time or should i trade back to shut his pie hole up? no1 else in the league complained. what's funny is this ******* offered me sum retarded trade offer too. he even locked my friends and mine team and then unlocked it lol

Wow...trade 1....just wow....First of all value wise, you already won out huge...even if Curry is in and out...second of all if there's one thing I learned in Fantasy its always to trade UP. Meaning its always better to trade 2 ok for 1 great. Its better in many ways, One you get the same value of the 2 players in ONE player ONE slot. You have that free slot that you can now fill....even to rotate players during a week or to grab a significant FA. 2. Bigger names/ better players are much more flexible when you need to trade or rearrange your roster. People place higher value on names, and 1 valuable asset you can always trade back down if you need to.

Also love your trade 2.
And that bosh for aldridge trade....come on dude thats rigged right there lol.....Any competitive league should veto that.

[DeanCainGainz]

Looking for some trade advice. I need a G on my team (have too many F's and C's), so I posted up in my league and have been offered the following trades. Are any of these in my favor or at least solid trades?

1. Joakim Noah (on my team) for Chauncey Billups (offered player)
2. David West for Chauncey Billups
3. Amar'e Stoudemire for Jarrett Jack and Ryan Anderson

Reps for good advice.

The 3rd one is the closest out of all of them. Jarrett Jack has had 2 great games and the owner is probably trying to sell high when in reality the latest Eric Gordon news (out 2-3 weeks) only adds to his value. Ryan Anderson is one of the top 5 fantasy players right now. Again he is probably trying to sell high. I might be a sick **** but I would actually take it. Maybe wait and see how Jack does tonight but remember that could actually hurt you (like if he balls out again).

Stoudemire is too inconsistent for my taste and, while may put up top 10 fantasy numbers for a week or 2, he will often put up duds. Also remember how much he loves to take games off...

Here's the deal, even though it's a risky trade, I kind of like it. Although, if it's his first offer you may have the ability to milk him for a little more (you should usually never accept the first offer cause he most likely thinks he is lowballing you even if he isn't). Maybe add another one of your players and request a another on of his that will tilt it more in your favor. If he declines, then go back to the original.

Then again, if there have been some negotiations then maybe you should just accept it. Hope that helps. If you want to maybe show me who he has I can help you further. Good Luck.

[PsykoMerc]

The 3rd one is the closest out of all of them. Jarrett Jack has had 2 great games and the owner is probably trying to sell high when in reality the latest Eric Gordon news (out 2-3 weeks) only adds to his value. Ryan Anderson is one of the top 5 fantasy players right now. Again he is probably trying to sell high. I might be a sick **** but I would actually take it. Maybe wait and see how Jack does tonight but remember that could actually hurt you (like if he balls out again).

Stoudemire is too inconsistent for my taste and, while may put up top 10 fantasy numbers for a week or 2, he will often put up duds. Also remember how much he loves to take games off...

Here's the deal, even though it's a risky trade, I kind of like it. Although, if it's his first offer you may have the ability to milk him for a little more (you should usually never accept the first offer cause he most likely thinks he is lowballing you even if he isn't). Maybe add another one of your players and request a another on of his that will tilt it more in your favor. If he declines, then go back to the original.

Then again, if there have been some negotiations then maybe you should just accept it. Hope that helps. If you want to maybe show me who he has I can help you further. Good Luck.

I pretty much agree with what he said here about Stoudemire, Anderson and Jack. I would like to add one thing I would look at, do you think Jarrett Jack will retain any value after the assumed return of Eric Gordon. If he drops to medium value, then its essentially Ryan Anderson for Stoudemire, which is risky. Stoudemire is proven to bring stats, Anderson is great upside, and I've always liked his historical production with what role he is given. So actually as I'm typing this...I do like Anderson alot more, Jack is the one you should think about here. He should give you great value the 2-3 weeks that Gordon is out, and you can always wait a day like Dean advised.

[DatFatWhale]

Wow...trade 1....just wow....First of all value wise, you already won out huge...even if Curry is in and out...second of all if there's one thing I learned in Fantasy its always to trade UP. Meaning its always better to trade 2 ok for 1 great. Its better in many ways, One you get the same value of the 2 players in ONE player ONE slot. You have that free slot that you can now fill....even to rotate players during a week or to grab a significant FA. 2. Bigger names/ better players are much more flexible when you need to trade or rearrange your roster. People place higher value on names, and 1 valuable asset you can always trade back down if you need to.

Also love your trade 2.
And that bosh for aldridge trade....come on dude thats rigged right there lol.....Any competitive league should veto that.

Lol guess i'll trade back just to shut this ******* up. im #1 in the league wif/wifout alridge anyway

to my defense i did try to offer my friend something else but he wanted it straight up lol also look at their stats

aldridge:
Pts 23.2 Reb 7.8 Ast 2.0 STL: 1 block: 0.8

Bosh:
Pts 20.6Reb 8.6Ast 2.0 stl: 1.1 block: 0.9

[chipotleking]

What's up with the Net's rotation today? Why is deshawn stevenson starting over gaines? And I know marshon brooks is injured. If gaines is getting so little minutes, does this mean morrow is a worthy pickup?

Should i pick up John Salmons or Morrow? I already picked up belinelli btw.

[DeanCainGainz]

I pretty much agree with what he said here about Stoudemire, Anderson and Jack. I would like to add one thing I would look at, do you think Jarrett Jack will retain any value after the assumed return of Eric Gordon. If he drops to medium value, then its essentially Ryan Anderson for Stoudemire, which is risky. Stoudemire is proven to bring stats, Anderson is great upside, and I've always liked his historical production with what role he is given. So actually as I'm typing this...I do like Anderson alot more, Jack is the one you should think about here. He should give you great value the 2-3 weeks that Gordon is out, and you can always wait a day like Dean advised.

Jack actually had one of his best games, last game, with Gordon back. Jack is the solidified starter at PG. I would be shocked if Eric Gordon got any PG minutes. His value gaining cause Gordon is out is simply theoretical. His value is still very high with/without him.

Edit: ok maybe I'm underplaying slightly as it seems like the Hornets will use Jack at SG a little with Gordon out but Jacks value is still pretty good.

[DeanCainGainz]

What's up with the Net's rotation today? Why is deshawn stevenson starting over gaines? And I know marshon brooks is injured. If gaines is getting so little minutes, does this mean morrow is a worthy pickup?

Should i pick up John Salmons or Morrow? I already picked up belinelli btw.

Read above for players on teams like the nets, cavs, pistons etc. They will give you permanent headaches. Gaines didn't start cause, although decent, is a borderline D-League player. Morrow may be worthy but he will be one of the most inconsistent players you ever deal with. Especially when Brooks comes back.

[DeanCainGainz]

What's up with the Net's rotation today? Why is deshawn stevenson starting over gaines? And I know marshon brooks is injured. If gaines is getting so little minutes, does this mean morrow is a worthy pickup?

Should i pick up John Salmons or Morrow? I already picked up belinelli btw.

Honestly all 3 are pretty miserable but I'd go with Salmons...

[neelyboy]

10 team league, ESPN Head 2 Head, 8 categories (no turnovers)
*What else does my team need/what are my weaknesses??
I have a bunch of PGs so I'm trying to trade Andre Miller or Holiday for another PF/C. I'm also trying to trade Ryan Anderson for DeAndre Jordan possibly. Thoughts on this? Would I lose too much on threes or is it worth it? Thanks.
My current team:
PG: Westbrook
SG: Marcus Thornton
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: Ryan Anderson
C: Dwight Howard
G: Steve Nash
F: Serge Ibaka
UTIL: Jrue Holiday
UTIL: Andre Miller
UTIL: Marcus Camby
------BENCH-------
Eric Gordon (injured)
Batum
Ben Gordon

[DeanCainGainz]

Beasley out. Grab Derrick Williams especially in deep leagues. Don't go nuts in 12 team or less leagues.

[chipotleking]

These were all proposed to me by the same guy. Which one, if any, should i accept?

dj white, tyson chandler for my bargnani.

dorell wright, tyson chandler for my bargnani.

dorell wright, tyson chandler for my chris bosh and norris cole.



dorell wright, tyson chandler for my nowitzki.

[Xnightwing]

These were all proposed to me by the same guy. Which one, if any, should i accept?

dj white, tyson chandler for my bargnani.

dorell wright, tyson chandler for my bargnani.

dorell wright, tyson chandler for my chris bosh and norris cole.



dorell wright, tyson chandler for my nowitzki.

none lol

[Favrelicious]

Ok i guess I'll hold on to Zach Randolf for now... but I'm thinking about dropping Stuckey for Shumpert, and I'm also thinking about dropping either beasley/ marshon brooks for people to fill in each day. Any thoughts on this after tonight's games?

[DeanCainGainz]

These were all proposed to me by the same guy. Which one, if any, should i accept?

dj white, tyson chandler for my bargnani.

dorell wright, tyson chandler for my bargnani.

dorell wright, tyson chandler for my chris bosh and norris cole.



dorell wright, tyson chandler for my nowitzki.

yeah none but this is where you can get tells. He obviously wants to get rid of Chandler and Dorrell...send him an offer back

[DeanCainGainz]

Ok i guess I'll hold on to Zach Randolf for now... but I'm thinking about dropping Stuckey for Shumpert, and I'm also thinking about dropping either beasley/ marshon brooks for people to fill in each day. Any thoughts on this after tonight's games?

Dude don't drop Beasley. Also Shumpert looking more studly after tonight. Especially after he started the second half. However, also consider that Brandon Knight hurt himself again so that could mean more value for Stuckey...

Edit: Just heard Shumpert will continue to come off the bench. IDK man. I'd still stick with Stuckey.

[chipotleking]

I have toney douglas on one team, and landry fields on the other team. 14 man league, 9 category. What to do?

Waiver wire people: John Salmons, Byron Mullens, alec burks, klay thompson, greivas vasquez, chris singleton, rashard lewis, jodie meeks, dante cunningham

[DeanCainGainz]

I have toney douglas on one team, and landry fields on the other team. 14 man league, 9 category. What to do?

Waiver wire people: John Salmons, Byron Mullens, alec burks, klay thompson, greivas vasquez, chris singleton, rashard lewis, jodie meeks, dante cunningham

That's a pretty miserable waiver wire. You sure there's no one else? Out of those John Salmons would be my pick but I'm not sure he'd be an upgrade over either of those guys.