Off-Season Rebuilds

We're used to a lot of movement before keeper declarations due to teams trying to dump their "extra" players for draft picks. Often that has resulted in spectacular value deals, such as last year's pre-keeper pickup of Ty Lawson and Ricky Rubio for mere draft picks. This year had plenty of moves too, but all through two teams, Funk Coalition and Jedi Knights, as they completely revamped their keeper cores.

• Jedi Knights trade 2013 RD1, 2014 RD4 to Pogiboys for Amare Stoudemire
• Jedi Knights trade 2013 RD3, 2014 RD2 to NJ All Stars for Luis Scola, DeAndre Jordan

Coming off the heels of last year's controversial Dirk Nowitzki trade, GM Chris was looking to shore up his keeper roster. (Considering Andray Blatche wasn't even kept, Dirk will have essentially be moved for two first rounders.) Jedi Knights moved early for Amare Stoudemire, bringing a star back in the fold. Even still, his top six included Alonzo Gee and Jerryd Bayless, neither of whom starts for their NBA teams. After pursuing a few other avenues, Chris sent off another pair of picks for Luis Scola and DeAndre Jordan, who will provide some REB/BLK and shore up the roster. Now Chris' keepers look like this: Amare Stoudemire, David Lee, Wesley Matthews, OJ Mayo, Luis Scola, DeAndre Jordan.

As for Funk Coalition, GM Jon woke up one morning to news that Rajon Rondo was available from 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps. Springing into action, he quickly secured Rondo's services and then set about building his team around the mercurial guard. After much discussion and some internal dissension, it was decided to punt FT%, ditch 3PT, and go all out Rondo-style. With that in mind, GM Jon set off to acquire Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin, and any other star who can't hit the rim from fifteen feet away.

After a lot of finagling, Funk Coalition pulled off three trades post-Rondo, and almost came away with both Dwight and Blake. While that didn't quite happen, Jon did secure the services of Marc Gasol to pair with Dwight on the front line. Funk Coalition's new top six looks like this: Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Marc Gasol, Tony Parker, Tyreke Evans.

• Funk Coalition trade 2013 RD1, 2013 RD2, 2014 RD3 to 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps for Rajon Rondo
• Funk Coalition trade Al Jefferson, 2013 RD4 to Squirtle Squad for Blake Griffin, Jeremy Lin
• Funk Coalition trade Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, Kenneth Faried to 2005 NBA All Stars for Dwight Howard
• Funk Coalition trade Chris Bosh, Jeremy Lin to LA Buffy for Marc Gasol

In the end, Funk Coalition paid a hefty price -- many would say way overpaid -- for this new team, but GM Jon is delighted to have Rondo forever, even if it means having to pair him up with a gross Laker. Rumors already abound about locker room tension and Dwight's people have been exploring trade opportunities. How does that adage go? Never trust a Laker?