Conference: Chamberlain

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Let's take a look at our two conferences starting with Chamberlain, in our newly restructured setup. Take note of the two teams that were shifted over from the other conference, Spade and So Buckets. [Russell Conference]

Team Spade (2-19, 12-7)
Coming off twelve wins in 2017 and back-to-back division titles in 2015-6, Spade had never missed the playoffs. Well, that all came to a crashing halt in 2018 didn’t it? Injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul Millsap tanked this team, and maybe Randall threw in the towel?

Still, with one of the best keeper cores around — all six of Leonard, Millsap, Eric Bledsoe, Al Horford, Kevin Love, Devin Booker return — Spade is a constant threat to win a title. All of it basically comes down to injuries, as Booker is already out to start the year. The return of Minnesota Love will be a huge boon to Spade and despite having draft slot 1.3, Randall chose to trade the pick for Will Barton, and the proceeded to roll the dice on Danilo Gallinari in RD2. If the Rooster can stay even somewhat healthy, he could be a top sixty player. Big “if” though.

The mix and match bench of Kelly Olynyk, Spencer Dinwiddie, Ryan Anderson, and new Spurs' point guard Bryn Forbes brings some spare shooting but if they get a lot of minutes, that probably means Spade is dealing with too many injuries again.

LA Buffy (3-16-2, 7-11-1)
Another team at its very bottom, Buffy has also seen much better days. The good news is that a youth movement is afoot, and GM Roger is squarely on the rebuild path. Gone are old keepers George Hill and Serge Ibaka, along with Danilo Gallinari, Isaiah Thomas, and Khris Middleton. The new keeper core is headlined by 2017 #2 overall pick Brandon Ingram, who should be ready to come into his own now. The late season swap of Middleton yielded Klay Thompson and Nikola Mirotic, while Kyle Kuzma and Derrick Favors were the return from cashing out on Isaiah Thomas. Add in preseason monster Domantas Sabonis and we’re looking at a brand new Buffy core.

And who to lead all the new guys out on the floor? How about RD1.4 Trae Young?! While Young has a long way to go to fulfill his Steph Curry comps, there’s no doubt that Young will get all the shots he wants to throw up, and will add tons of nifty dimes. And should he falter, Roger drafted Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lin, and Malcolm Brogdon with successive picks to really shore up the lead guard position -- plus Bojan Bogdanovic and Allen Crabbe for some shooting. Will that be enough to take Buffy out of the cellar?

IL Conceived (8-12-1, 0-18-1)
After inheriting a winless team led by Jeff Teague and Jrue Holiday, Frank has fully transformed the former Jedi Knights into a promising playoff team. After a handful of trades and a dispersal draft, IL Conceived’s keepers now look like: Donovan Mitchell, Dennis Smith Jr, Draymond Green, Dario Saric, Marc Gasol, and Will Barton (since moved). Add that all together and we’re looking at a promising young core, plus the veteran savvy of Draymond and Gasol in the middle. Not bad!

With the potential to win now, IL Conceived still invested in youth by using their Toilet Bowl runner-up to grab RD1.2 Luka Doncic and then traded Barton to Spade to get 1.3 and nabbed Jaren Jackson Jr. Could he have scored two more prizes in another loaded draft? Looks like it! Another rookie, athletic Miles Bridges came on-board in RD2, followed by hometown shooter Eric Gordon and then Willy Hernangomez. Plus Aaron Holiday, the um, replacement Holiday brother. With a fast ascent ahead, IL Conceived will look to fully shed its dark past and take this formerly sorry franchise to the top!

Hilt the Stilt (9-11-1, 4-15)
Taking over for Sager’s Suit and Ties, new owner Dave would have inherited a veteran laden team pre-dispersal. However, during the three-team dispersal, Dave eschewed anyone remotely old and their “team elder” is twenty-six year old Victor Oladipo, the most recent NBA Most Improved Player. Here’s the rest of the keepers: Andre Drummond, Steven Adams, and Josh Richardson are all twenty-five, while Aaron Gordon is twenty-three. Throw in possible blow up sophomore Jarrett Allen at twenty years old and Hilt is looking very future forward.

And to prove that Hilt the Stilt is building for the long haul, they reeled in rookies Kevin Knox and Mikal Bridges with their first two picks, plus nabbed coveted Derrick White after Dejounte Murray went down to injury -- but now White is out, ouch. While there is bit of a hole at point guard -- unless uber-subs Terry Rozier hit or Fred VanVleet get more minutes -- this team is not only super young but also very likely quite competitive. Oladipo, Drummond, and Gordon can all be multi-category monsters and we’re thrilled to see what Dave can do for this year and many years to come!

Squirtle Squad (9-10-2, 8-11)
Upended in the first round one year after getting runner-up in the Toilet Bowl last year, Squirtle is thirsting to get back into the playoffs after two years spent as a number-one seed in the Toilet Bowl — and three years removed from a division title. With a big upgrade at the end of the keeper core with Lonzo Ball and Dejounte Murray over Marquese Chriss and Thon Maker, Squirtles were looking to re-ascend. Only problem: injuries. Ball is coming off knee surgery and Murray was just hammered with an ACL tear. With Zach LaVine just returning to full strength, it must be frustrating for Brian.

The good news is that Giannis Antetokounmpo is a leading MVP candidate and Nikola Vucevic somehow morphed into a 1+ 3PT/STL/BLK player, and he’s only twenty-seven! Is he the most underrated fantasy asset around? There’s a bit of age on keeper staple Goran Dragic but he’s coming off his first All-Star game so there’s likely still plenty of fire left in Dragon.

During the draft, Brian nabbed Mo Bamba at RD1.8 and can afford to wait on him. A pair of shooting guards, Evan Fournier and JJ Redick, will provide offense next to Giannis and frankly, this team is better constructed around Greek Freak than the real Bucks. DeMarre Carroll and Al-Farouq Aminu are low-end swingmen and rookie Mitchell Robinson also was pickd up. Now if only Squirtles can kick the injury bug...

Sour Snails (10-11, 17-1-1)
Never one to rest on his laurels, former multi-champ has already shoot up his keepers by moving Damian Lillard for Kemba Walker and Tobias Harris. A keeper core that was sharply divided between three top fifteen stars -- Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Lillard -- and some toss ups now looks much deeper. Kemba and Tobias add nice depth to the Curry/Durant combo and Brook Lopez and Julius Randle are now both freed form the shackles of Lakerdom. We’re not sure what Isaiah Thomas has left but he’ll at least score in bunches.

With rumors swirling that Snails was working on another mega-deal during the draft, the ex-defending champs are looking to return to title contention. RD1 pick Caris LeVert could be on the verge of a breakout and once again, Nerlens “Dwight-bola Jr.” Noel returns to perhaps redeem his career. Trieu scooped up Pascal Siakam, JaVale McGee, and Trey Lyles to round out the bench. After just a ten-win regular season and a low playoff seed, we thought we were rid of the Snails’ dynasty, but with last year’s upset Finals run, and a slight rejiggering of keepers, Snails is still a threat to win it all.


So Buckets (14-6-1, 11-8)
With two playoff appearances in a row and a Voltron division title to boast about, So Buckets were getting so good that they were shifted over to Chamberlain to help balance the conferences! The tight core of Joel Embiid, Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan, Rudy Gobert, and CJ McCollum (plus Jabari Parker replacing Dario Saric) recently ranked as one of the best in SlamNation. Having collected all that talent mostly through the draft, So Buckets is now primed and ready for a title run.

And doesn’t Josh know it! Their draft has reflected their title aspirations as they took known quantities like Harrison Barnes, Dwight Howard, and Carmelo Anthony RD1-3. Yes yes, we know it’s Dwight and Melo, but both still have their uses. Howard is a huge double-double and Melo will bomb 3PT in Houston. Barnes isn’t an exciting player but he’s a steady point getter. Add in young prospects like Montrezl Harrell and Frank Ntilikina waiting on the bench and the only question for this ring chaser is how many games Embiid can play this season. If it's more than sixty-five, So Buckets should be a strong title contender once again.

Another Bad Creation (15-5-1, 9-10)
Coming off three straight Transformer division titles, Another Bad Creation led Chamberlain in regular season wins last year but continued their disturbing trend of getting upset in the first round — twice by Fat Jubas, last year by Snails. The entire keeper roster has been overturned, save for Russell Westbrook and LaMarcus Aldridge. Tyreke Evans was a beast last year, and here’s hoping he stays that way in Indiana. Enes Kanter has found Internet fame and a home in New York, and TJ Warren just gets buckets. We’re not exactly what Reggie Bullock is doing being kept but apparently he's the the way to a breakout?

There’s no questioning that Oliver knows what he’s doing though, as their rising win total suggests. Building a squad around Westbrook serves as an interesting challenge and the draft brought in Elfrid Payton, Kyle Anderson, Rodney Hood, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. All four have some room to grow, as well as redemptive paths. Maybe Suns rookie Elie Okobo will grab a role in Phoenix, or Jonathon Simmons increases his in Orland, but really all ABC needs is Westbrook to stay healthy to lead them toward a first round playoff win.

Conference: Russell

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And welcome to the newly constructed Russell Conference, with two brand new teams, Fat Jubas and Fob Stars! [Chamberlain Conference]

Team Cameltoe (5-15-1, 7-12)
Accruing only a combined twelve wins since entering SlamNation two seasons ago, Cameltoe had seemed poised for immediate success behind Anthony Davis. Instead, fellow dispersal draft pieces Carmelo Anthony, Brook Lopez, and Mike Conley have all been traded off, while Derrick Rose and Elfrid Payton were left to wilt in the wind. The new-look Cameltoe is squarely positioned for a fresh future, but how long can The Brow wait for playoff contention?

Three 2018 rookies were retained on Cameltoe’s new keeper core: Josh Jackson, Malik Monk, and Harry Giles. Only Jackson flashed anything last season, but Monk and Giles should have bigger roles in their sophomore year. They’ll be joined by more rookies, Marvin Bagley III and Michael Porter Jr, who were Felipe’s 2019 RD1 and RD2 selections. Throw in keeper Buddy Hield, who has cut out a nice role in Sacramento, and steady point guards in Darren Collison and DJ Augustin -- plus Marcin Gortat and Wes Matthews -- and we’re still probably looking at another run in the Toilet Bowl for Cameltoe. But hey, playing the rookie lottery is exciting! We’re going to watch this developmental team closely and hope Davis and the kids can show some marked improvement this season.

Snack Bears (6-15, 4-15)
Since hitting a surprise playoff year in their first season, 2016, Snack Bears have undergone a name change, a few tough seasons, some hit-and-miss picks, and now finally, a dispersal draft that should move them away from the big ball that had both served them well and also let them down. The old core of Andre Drummond, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, and Marcus Smart are gone. The new dispersed core now consists of Kristaps Porzingis, Bradley Beal, Blake Griffin, Jaylen Brown, last year’s RD1.4 pick De’Aaron Fox, and Tim Hardaway Jr. Given the chance for a soft reset after inheriting a weak team, GM Brandon is prepped to take Snack Bears back to its initial success and winning ways.

But first, some seasoning, as this year’s draft brought in rookies Wendell Carter Jr, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, plus sophomores Jordan Bell and Bam Adebayo. That’s a pretty young bunch, but loads of promise abound. Rajon Rondo and PJ Tucker are around too for some veteran leadership. With Porzingis likely held out all year, it looks like Bears is going to look toward next season for playoff contention and give their new guys a year to learn the ropes. We like this plan and while another winning record may not be coming this year, a strong run in the Toilet Bowl would prove that Snack is back on track.

Swamp Dragons (12-7-2, 10-9)
Gone are three of last year’s keeper core, sold off for other parts or dumped into the free agent pool. Swamp Dragons were brimming with talent and romped their way to back-to-back Toilet Bowls, securing two straight number one selections. Of course, those can be treat-or-treat and last year’s first pick, Markelle Fultz, made no impact and is now finally, hopefully, returning to form. There’s fewer doubts about this year’s selection though, as DeAndre Ayton projects to be a PTS/REB monster right out of the gate. (After a summer expecting Luka Doncic to go first, pundits were mildly shocked that Eddie went with Ayton.)

Now there’s a three-headed center monster of Ayton, Nikola Jokic, and Jusuf Nurkic. Add in the wing rotation of Paul George, newly acquired Khris Middleton, and Taurean Prince, and this team is only missing a point guard to lead them. Hello Markelle! Just to be safe though, Eddie drafted Patrick Beverly with their extra RD2 acquired from their Eric Gordon trade last year.

The rest of the draft brought in Jeremy Lamb, Markieff Morris, and Avery Bradley, but really, they’ll just be fillers since this is hardly an injury prone squad. It’s been four years out of the playoffs for this team that has two Finals appearances to its name, and if Swamp can’t get into the playoff this year with the shift in rules, something went terribly wrong.

Fob Stars (10-10-1, 9-10)
After being lumped in with two other teams that were declared “franchise player-less,” GM Jimmy went right out and traded for one: Damian Lillard. Portland’s lead guard is in his absolute prime. Sure, losing Kemba Walker (aka “Dame Lillard East”) and Tobias Harris hurts overall depth, but getting a gold-plated star should be a boon for Fob. With Jamal Murray and John Collins being touted as this season’s breakout candidates, Fob Stars could soon replenish their roster anyway. The lob duo of Ricky Rubio and DeAndre Jordan are still around too, with Rubio looking to return to some better assist numbers.

The draft also unearthed a third breakout candidate: sophomore Jonathan Isaac, whose defensive numbers are already quite impressive. He resembles RD2 pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in that regard, and then Jimmy went with even more defense by selecting Jerami Grant, Dwight Powell, and Justise Winslow to round out his draft. And you’d think Jimmy went to Michigan with his loyalty to Trey Burke, who he originally drafted in 2014 and keeps finding his way onto Fob Stars. It’s been three straight years in the playoffs for this once moribund franchise and even switched over to a new conference, Fob Stars are aiming for bigger things after notching their first playoff win ever last season in a RD1 upset of Fat Jubas.

Fat Jubas (12-9, 13-5-1)
Speaking of upsets, from 2015-17, Jubas entered the playoffs as a #3 seed and always upset their higher ranked opponent — until last year when they rose to a #2 seed but were taken out by Fob Stars. Still, with eight playoff appearances in nine seasons, Jubas are tied with Sour Snails and Spade in that category. Add in Jubas' 2012 title, plus a sterling 99-61-5 (0.619) overall record, and Jubas can lay claim to being the third-best team in SlamNation history. So what next?

With Chris Paul in slow decline, the window for Jubas could be closing soon. Jonas Valanciunas and Myles Turner are still around but Harrison Barnes and Gordon Hayward were traded away last season, and longtime keeper Nicolas Batum was cut — Eric drafted Batum back in 2011. The new trio of Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague, and Robert Covington were all trade acquisitions, and should help Eric keep the team fresh and the victories flowing. Investing on some more help on the frontline, Eric drafted Willie Cauley-Stein and Serge Ibaka, and then brought on wings Joe Ingles, Kent Bazemore, and Bogdan Bogdanovic as clean up, as well as Cavaliers' earlier season starter George Hill. Coming off the heels of a Chamberlain Silverhawks division title, Jubas were moved over to Russell Conference but should be right at home in the top of the standings there as well.

Thien’s Team (13-7-1, 14-5)
Another team that is no stranger to success — plus boasting the accolade of “the only Slam team to never have had a losing record” — Thien’s variously nicknamed teams have always cleaned up in the regular season. After initially having trouble getting out of the first round of the playoffs, Thien has reached two Finals in recent years but there still remains one road block: his brother, Trieu. We may need a Brother Bowl III to settle the score because so far it’s 2-0 Trieu vs Thien.

With a roster devastated by injury last season, Thien still managed to make the playoffs but they conceded their first round match by trading for injured Jimmy Butler and Mike Conley right before the playoffs.  The bad news is, this year hasn’t started off much healthier. New Warrior DeMarcus is still on the shelf while last year’s rookie steal, Lauri Markkanen, is also hurt. And Jimmy Butler -- Oh Jimmy! -- is embroiled in a semi-stand off with the Timberwolves. It won’t be until mid-season that we see what this team can really do.

Still, the games must go on and Thien will use Dennis Schroder, Nicolas Batum, Bobby Portis, Thaddeus Young, and um, Alex Len as stop gaps. Thien also drafted Christian Wood, whom I had to Google and it turned out he’s been lighting up the preseason as a 6’10 3PT/REB monster. That’s the kind of digging Thien is known for and we should all be wary of The New Era’s second half spurt.

Funk Coalition (13-7-1, 7-12)
After years of ineptitude and a commitment to punt compositions with Rondo/Rubio and Drummond/DeAndre big ball, Funk came out of nowhere to notch their first winning record and their second playoff appearance in franchise history. After a year of waiting on redshirt rookie Ben Simmons — who ironically would be the best punt categories point guard ever — GM Jon was lucky enough to hit on Karl-Anthony Towns, Simmons, and Jayson Tatum in successive drafts. A pre-draft trade for Gordon Hayward and Andrew Wiggins filled out the rest of the new keeper roster, along with perennial tease D’Angelo Russell.

Having had a small taste of success, Funk went all-in on this year’s draft for veteran help, signaling a desire to make further noise this season. Lou Williams, Rudy Gay, and Trevor Ariza are all long in the tooth but they are proven products. James Johnson and Marcus Smart are both versatile tough guys but also likely max-ed out fantasy-wise. The only young guy drafted this year was sophomore OG Anunoby, who is known more for his defense than his fantasy game. Jury’s out on if Funk’s successful 2018 was a blip on the radar or the first sign of a consistent team to fear.

Chunky Monkeys (20-1, 18-1)
It took longer than expected, especially after three straight RD1 exits, but Chunky Monkeys finally climbed the mountain and won a ring, and did it against the three-time defending champs to boot! It took a singular will to win and MVP-level seasons from both James Harden and LeBron James to get it done but Evan did it! And now the question is: can they can repeat? Or rather: do they want to repeat?!

Well, word on the street is that GM Evan is ready to blow it up after capturing the long elusive title. We knew it was no lie when Evan ruthlessly cut Finals hero Marc Gasol to make room for Kris Dunn on the keeper roster. Ouch! I guess Gasol can get his ring mailed to him? The fivesome of Harden, James, Kyle Lowry, Clint Capela, and Otto Porter Jr. are still tough to beat but subbing out Gasol means a youth movement is here.

The draft brought in rookie Collin Sexton, who could prove to a steal at the bottom of the first round. Larry Nance Jr. will get a shot at replacing Gasol on the boards while Josh Hart, Mario Hezonja, and Kelly Oubre are here to give the Harden/LBJ duo some shooting options. Jakob Poeltl is aboard too, and he’s intriguing but also no Gasol, Pau or Marc. The biggest question of all is if LeBron stays on this team through the year (or is a mega-deal coming), as Monkeys are mystifyingly shying away from a true title defense. Or is it all a ruse by Evan to get the rest of Slam to let our guards down? After all, this team has only lost three games total in two years, so let’s call it what it still is: a juggernaut.

Pre-Draft Trades 2019

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Last year's pre/draft trades was highlighted by a Carmelo Anthony acquisition by Thien. This year the fireworks were a bit brighter, with an All-Pro moved, a recovering All-Star, and a move by IL Conceived that essentially gave them this year's 1.3 overall selection for their sixth keeper. Interesting stuff all around!

Trade ID#88:
• Swamp Dragons receive Khris Middleton
• Funk Coalition receive Gordon Hayward, Andrew Wiggins

Trade ID#89:
• Team Spade receive Will Barton
• IL Conceived receive 2019 RD1 (1.3 - Jaren Jackson Jr)

Trade ID#90:
• Fob Stars receive Damian Lillard, Sour Snails 2019 RD2 (2.15 - Jordan Clarkson), 2020 RD3, and option to switch 2020 RD2 draft slot with Sour Snails
• Sour Snails receive Kemba Walker, Tobias Harris, Fob Stars 2020 RD4

Trade ID#91: The first move was of 2019 involved the same player as the last move of 2018: Gordon Hayward. Swamp Dragons acquired Hayward right before the Toilet Bowl in exchange for Jeff Teague and Robert Covington, to give Fat Jubas a shot at a long playoff run. As it turned out, Jubas was upset in the first round last year while Swamp didn't even need either Teague or Covington to clinch a second Toilet Bowl title. Now they'll add Khris Middleton's well-rounded stat line -- 20.1 PTS, 5.2 REB, 4.0 AST, 1.8 3PT, 1.5 STL -- to their keeper core.

Funk Coalition meanwhile had just acquired Middleton for their playoff run, by flipping over Klay Thompson and Nikola Mirotic to Buffy. Hayward has looked slow to recover from his gruesome injury and Andrew Wiggins is well, Andrew "No Heart"Wiggins. Also, it's safe to say that Swamp's 2016 trade off of LeBron for Wiggins and Jabari Parker was a huge hit for Eddie.

Trade ID#92: Frank took Will Barton with his last dispersal pick and then immediately flipped him to Spade for the third overall pick in 2019. Randall rarely drafts rookies anyway and was looking to poach one of the dispersal candidates, settling on swingman Barton and his 15.7 PTS, 5.0 REB, 4.3 AST, and 1.9 3PT plus healthy percentages.

Even if stretch big man Jaren Jackson Jr isn't in line for a starting job right away like DeAndre Ayton or Luka Doncic, IL Conceived has, at the very least, landed the understudy to Marc Gasol, in real life and fantasy.

Trade ID#91: It looks like Trieu just doesn't like Damian Lillard! After re-acquiring him for the stretch run last year, Sour Snails made a big pre-draft move to ship out Lillard to bring in additional depth. Kemba Walker and Tobias Harris aren't quite franchise-level players -- argue all you want Hornets fans -- but they are pretty damn good. Walker averaged 22.1 PTS, 5.6 AST, 2.9 3PT, 1.1 STL, on 43.1 FG%, which isn't a big drop from Lillard's numbers. And Harris has really rounded out to a nice 19.3 PTS, 6.0 REB, 1.2 STL, 2.2 3PT, on 47.3 FG% during his time with the Clippers. That's a lot of value for Lillard, and Sour Snails is once again pretty deep despite trading off a top twenty-five guy.

As for Fob Stars, while it was tough to part with their top duo, bringing in Lillard juices up their PTS, AST, and 3PT just slightly, while giving them a true franchise player to build around. With Lillard making first team All-NBA last season and rumors of either hed or Walker being traded to Lakerland this year, it'll be interesting to see how Snails and Stars will integrate their new points guards!

Trade Analysis: All-Time

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One of the great things about Slam is that the nine category setup is conducive to lots of trading. We’ve had almost ninety trades over nine years, spanning from 2010 - 2019, and we’ve barely started 2019! Sure some of those are for draft positioning or whatnot, minor stuff, but we’ve had some huge blockbusters as well. LeBron James himself has been traded three times!

Note: It would be nice to just respond or give a quick "no" if someone contacts you about a trade. Just to be polite! Going dark is a strategy, I suppose, but a response is nicer!


Let’s take a look at some trade stats:
  • Our last three seasons have all eclipsed ten-plus trade each, while 2012 was our highest trades by volume, fourteen moves that year.
  • Historically, most trades are centered around October and March, when each season starts and then when the regular season ends. In-season, Feb and Dec are great times for trading!
  • Most willing trade owners (by historical volume): Jon, Trieu, Evan, Thien, Brian
  • Most likely to trade owners (by trades / years ratio): Jon, Frank, Trieu, Felipe, Evan/Thien
  • Ten of our current sixteen owners — albeit with newbie Dave — average about a trade a season. Not bad!
  • Five owners average less than a trade per season: Oliver, Brandon, Jimmy, Randall, Josh
  • The only trade Josh has participated in ever is ID#70 in 2017, a swap of Myles Turner for CJ McCollum
  • Before this season’s pre-draft swap with IL Conceived, Randall had only ever traded during a draft. And that was a league mandated trade the year Spade came into the league. So this recent swap of Will Barton for 2019 RD1.3 was Randall’s first trade in SlamNation ever! (ID#33 in 2014)
  • Josh and Randall have been in Slam for seven and five years, respectively, and that means we need to up their trade volume!
  • In just one year at the helm, Frank has already participated in three trades, giving IL Conceived a very high yearly trade ratio. Can it continue?
Who Is Trading With Whom?
It seems logical that we are more likely to trade with those we’re in contact with. For example, I spam everyone when I’m looking for a trade. But since I know where to find all the owners, that seems like a (unfair) communication advantage.

People are always asking me how to reach such and such an owner. Well, let’s find an easy way for us all to connect, and not have organization chaos like Thibodeau and Glen Taylor! Toward that end, join the new Slack, where we’ll have a dedicated #trade_channel to discuss potential trades!

Also, another thing I looked at was how many different trade partners everyone had. For example, Jon has had thirteen different trade partners, while Trieu has had twelve (out of twenty-five possible other owners, historically). Contrast that with Thien, whose trades with Trieu have accounted for eight out of twelve of his total trades. More trade partners everyone, do-si-do!

Most frequent trade partners:
Thien / Trieu (8)
Jon / Brian (5)
Trieu / Jon (4)
Oliver / Alvin (4)*
Eddie / Evan (3)
Eric has been very egalitarian, with two trades apiece with three owners and one each with Eddie, Frank, and Josh (plus C-Lucas who has retired) out of his ten total trades.

However, a trend I see over and over is that most people tend to trade within their immediate circle. What gives!? For example, the original CTDB fantasy football owners — Jon, Evan, Roger, Eric, Jimmy — have racked up quite a few trades in-between them. For example, take a look at Evan. Booooo. Let's make a commitment to stop in-group trading!

How do we increase communication, and more trading with everybody? I, for one, will now make it a goal to trade with every current owner, no matter how small. So Dave, Evan, Felipe, Frank, Josh, and Randall, step right up, let's talk! Every move doesn’t have to be a mega-blockbuster but the more trades the more fun, plus I'll have stuff to article about!

Some past trade articles:

2019: Re-Alignment

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Due to moving over to two conferences and no divisions, we're gonna do a slight re-align too, to balance out the conferences. I looked at keeper core scores, and top keepers, and then decided to switch So Buckets and Spade over to Chamberlain while Fat Jubas and Fob Stars slide over to Russell to take their place. We kept an eye toward preserving historical rivalries and making sure each conference still had some ex-champs to boast about.

Strangely our new auto-generated ESPN schedule is a mix of +5 out-of-conference games. So the schedule seems to do this no matter how many times I reset it:
  • One game each versus every other team (15/20 games)
  • Repeat five out-of-conference opponents for the last five weeks of the regular season (5/20 games)
Which means that if we have unbalanced conferences, one conference will just pound on the other. Thus, the slight-re-alignment. Thanks to Josh, Randall, Eric, and Jimmy for suffering the indignity, enjoy your new homes!

And a look at the would-be All-Star teams by conference (all seventeen gold players plus best player from Buffy, Fat Jubas, Fob Stars):

2019: Best Keeper Cores

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I took the liberty of ranking each keeper player 1-5 points, with five being the absolute gold standard. There were seventeen franchise type guys and that means one per team right? Well, not so fast. Sour Snails boasts three of the gold guys, while Chunky Monkeys and Funk Coalition each have two. That means teams like Fat Jubas, Buffy, and Fob Stars don’t have any!

Still, gold players do not make a keeper core -- although it helps obviously -- and so here with the highly scientific and totally objective keeper core rankings, and here are the 2019 keepers list.

1-3. Spade, So Buckets, Chunky Monkeys (23 points)
Kawhi Leonard leads a keeper core that has remained almost unchanged since coming into the league — save for subbing out Kobe Bryan with Devin Booker. If it weren’t for injuries, this well-balanced keeper core would simply be the best.

Defending champion Monkeys feature LeBron James and James Harden as their one-two punch, and if they hadn’t cut Marc Gasol to keep Kris Dunn, their keeper set would have been even better.

An incredible home grown team, So Buckets has really put together a fabulous core through drafts, trades, and free agents. Joel Embiid leads a top-notch first five that are all All-Stars or above -- oh and then plus Jabari Parker.

4. Sour Snails (22)
Snails finally showed some weakness last season, but their one-two-three punch of Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and newly acquired Damian Lillard are the definition of “super team.” But that’s the way it should be for a hard working GM like Trieu. There is a drop-off at the bottom three, but that top trio, whew!

5. Team Thien (21)
Not to be outdone by his brother, Thien has assembled a mighty core himself, led by John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Jimmy Butler. While injuries have hit this group hard, if they ever all get healthy, watch out!

6-10. Swamp Dragons, Squirtle Squad, Funk Coalition, Snack Bears, IL Conceived (19)
Swamp and Funk both benefitted from back-to-back Toilet Bowl wins, with Funk hitting on Karl Anthony-Towns and Ben Simmons while Swamp is staring at Markelle Fultz and DeAndre Ayton — who will be a keeper next year, presumably. Funk also have Jayson Tatum as part of their junior Big Three.

Even if Fultz turns into nothing though, Swamp has Nikola Jokic flanked by Paul George and Khris Middleton. This team was so deep that it shed two or three keeper level guys pre-postseason and still had extra keepers to sell off.

As for Squirtle, they are led by the incomparable Giannis Antetokounmpo and some sturdy veterans plus the upside of Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball, making for a nice blend of old and young. The recent ACL tear of Dejounte Murray really hurts though.

Given perfect health, Snack’s new lineup featuring Kristaps Porzingis, Bradley Beal, and Blake Griffin would be quite dangerous, but there are injuries to be wary of here. The key here could be De'Aaron Fox's growth.

IL Conceived features almost R.O.Y. Donovan Mitchell, fellow sophomore Dennis Smith Jr, and Dario Saric as their young core. Add in defensive menace Draymond Green and that's a 4D team waiting to arrive!

11-13. Fob Stars, Fat Jubas, Hilt the Stilt(18)
Fob’s best player is Kemba Walker, who is nice but not quite gold level. The rest of the keepers feature underrated Tobias Harris and two pre-season breakout favorites in Jamal Murray and John Collins.

Fat Jubas is another team without a five-point player, as Chris Paul can’t quite be called “franchise” anymore can he? Jrue Holiday is the CP3’s running mate now and here's hoping newly in shape Myles Turner can finally turn the corner.

New team Hilt the Stilt is led by young vets Victor Oladipo and Andre Drummond, who both made big leaps last season, If Aaron Gordon can do the same to star level, that would be quite a fearsome trio.

14. Another Bad Creation (16)
Just like the real-life Thunder, it’s Russell Westbrook and then Russell Westbrook. Well, LaMarcus Aldridge is actually around but minus the solid upside of Enes Kanter, this keeper core is definitely still working on additional pieces.

15. Team Cameltoe (14)
Anthony Davis is tired of being a solo act and if this collection of super young guys can’t get it done, could The Brow push for a trade to a contender? The second best player on this team is Hassan Whiteside?...

16. Buffy (13)
Raise your hand if you thought Klay Thompson could be the number one on a fantasy team? The good news is that Brandon Ingram should soon elevate himself a level, and the same looks possible with Kyle Kuzma and Domantas Sabonis -- the latter is having a beast of a preseason. This team is screaming for some breakthrough talent though!


Keeper core rankings by conference [Pre-realignment...]:

Golden Star: Hilt the Stilt

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With Matt stepping down from Sager's Suits & Ties, we were looking for a new owner and Brandon's friend and ex-roommate slipped right in! Welcome Dave, who is from the Bay but recently moved to New York. A long suffering Warriors fan now frolicking in the warm waters of "best team ever," Dave strangely passed up all Warriors in the dispersal draft! What would Zach Lowe have to say about that?! So welcome Dave and Hilt the Stilt to SlamNation -- nice historical shout out to the Chamberlain conference name -- and let's get 2019 ready!

Well, before we could really get going, we did a three team dispersal between Hilt the Stilt, last year's lone new team, IL Conceived, and Snack Bears, who didn't have the benefit of a dispersal two years ago. The goal here was to even out all three teams and try to distribute some stars, and give each franchise a step up to be competitive right away.

Due to this year's unique nature, we gave each owner a protected "franchise" player and then drafted five rounds after in 1-2-3, non-snake, fashion. Dave got first pick because Stilt would pick lowest in 2019 RD1, followed by Brandon, and then Frank (runner-up in 2018's Toilet Bowl, and would receive 2019 RD1.2, which was a factor in slotting him last and not snaking the draft).


Hilt the Stilt
Dave went young all the way through, installing Andre Drummond and Aaron Gordon as the young frontcourt around franchise cornerstone Victor Oladipo -- whose superstar emergence helped lead Sager to very respectable nine wins last season. While there was a bit of early confusion about who was eligible to be dispersed, Dave still indicated that he was happy with his team so we continued on with Steven Adams, Jarrett Allen, and Josh "Not Jason" Richardson being added to the core. That's three centers if you're counting, so it looks like Hilt the Stilt will certainly have a lot of strength in the middle!

Snack Bears
With franchise unicorn Kristaps Porzingis likely out for the year, Brandon decided to also go young, focusing on new second-star Bradley Beal while adding Jaylen Brown, their own 1.4 selection from last year, De'Aaron Fox, and closing with Tim Hardaway Jr. Add in twenty-nine year old Blake Griffin for some frontcourt support while KP is gone, and Snack definitely upgraded despite losing former franchise big man, Drummond, to dispersal.

IL Conceived
After drafting superbly last year to go from zero wins to eight in his rookie season, Frank decided to enter the dispersal to buff up their team even more. Sophomores Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Smith Jr will still anchor the backcourt but Draymond Green and Marc Gasol will now provide valuable veteran leadership up front. Add in the versatile Dario Saric on the wing, plus versatile swingman Will Barton for the last dispersal pick, and IL Conceived went from last place to playoff contender in very quick fashion.

Keepers: 2019

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Rules: New Postseason 2.0

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Our new goal is it incentivize winning, and so while the draft is a way for losing teams to shore up their teams, we also don’t want to encourage any losing on purpose aka tanking, or owner inactivity.

The simple explanation is that each draft slot is now competed for, and you have to earn a higher pick. It’s easiest to think about the new system as a mini-tournament that happens as you win or lose each postseason matchup. Win and you advance, lose and you face off with your fellow losers in a consolation bracket for a draft slot.

Note: This goes into effect for next season's draft, 2020, not this one obviously.

1) Draft Slots in RD1
The new draft order for RD1 will not be determined by overall record, and will not reward regular season losing. Instead each position will be earned and played for throughout the postseason, via postseason results and then consolation brackets. [See image and explainer below]

2) Playoffs
Top eight teams in the Power Rankings are re-seeded, irrespective of conference. Each playoff round and consolation round will be re-seeded as well. [ Conferences, Re-Seeding, No Roster Lock ] and [ Postseason Mini-Explainer ]

3) Toilet Bowl
The bottom eight teams are thrown into the Toilet Bowl. Draft slots for RD1 are awarded in order of Toilet Bowl finish, #1-8 for picks *1-8.

4) Consolation Brackets
In the past, once you were eliminated from the three-week playoff period, you were gone. We changed it so that every team will now have a reason to play until the end of the postseason in consolation brackets. Everyone plays all three weeks of the postseason

5) Drafting RD2-6
Also a change, RD2-6 of the draft will be in Power Ranking order, meaning we go #1-16, and then snake at the bottom of RD2 into RD3. This rewards regular season win-loss records starting in RD2.

6) Incentivizing Making the Playoffs
It's tough to pass up a shot at the Toilet Bowl crown if you are a bubble team (#8 or #9), so we're toying with the idea that if you win the Toile Bowl as a #9 or #10 seed, you have to give up your RD2 pick to #7 and #8 seed next season.

Edit: Instead we're going to implement a rule that the #9 and #10 seeds can only get up to the *3 draft slot, even if they win the Toilet Bowl. (The next team would just slide up a draft slot.) This is the newly dubbed "Swamp Rule."


First Round Draft Slots: Image


First Round Draft Slots: Text
Picks *1-8: Toilet Bowl participants, in order of finish (8)
Pick *9: Finals Runner-Up (1)
Picks *10-15: Playoff non-Finals participants, in order of finish (6)
Pick *16: Finals Winner, aka Champ (1)

Note: #9 and #10 seeds cannot win *1 or *2 RD1 draft slots, only up to *3

Glossary
  • Postseason= Combined term for playoffs and Toilet Bowl
  • Playoffs = Top eight Power Ranked teams
  • Toilet Bowl= Bottom eight Power Ranked teams
  • Consolation= Postseason bracket for the losers of postseason games
  • #= Power Ranking / Seeds
  • *= Draft Pick