2022 Pre-Season: Chamberlain

Almost out in time to match the NBA regular season, it's our team previews for the 2022 season, starting with Chamberlain Conference! [ 2021 Chamberlain | 2021 Russell ]

TeamID - Abbrev - Name (2021 Record, 2020 Record)

9 SQSQ Squirtle Squad (7-9, 14-3-2)

Coming off a 2020 season that saw them accumulate the best regular season record in the league, big things were expected from SQSQ in 2021. Unfortunately, even an all-in move for LeBron James was not enough to stop a backslide out of the playoffs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and King James won’t stand for that! The good news is that SQSQ pulled their 2021 season together enough to win the Toilet Bowl — although the pick went to KSKT. They were still a top four ranked offense — and top five defense as well — on the year, but taking into account that they were basically punting FT% and TOS, Squirtle needed to be much more dominant in the other categories.

Two keepers were swapped out: Bogdan Bogdanovich and Jrue Holiday took John Wall and Tobias Harris’ places respectively. Both are upgrades, and with a healthy-ish season from Jusuf Nurkic, SQSQ will have a great bully ball lineup. And don’t look now but Lonzo Ball is a pretty stellar fantasy asset now, with his poor FG% barely hurting this team.

The 2022 draft brought outside shooters Joe Harris, Donte DiVincenzo, and Seth Curry to complement Giannis and LeBron, with Mo Bamba being an upside wild card and Marcus Morris as the veteran bulldog (Morris was already cut). Post-draft free agency gave SQSQ Nic Claxton and Jae’Sean Tate, who could both end up being defensive steals.

Overall, there’s no reason SQSQ can’t return to contender status this season. It may be one year later than they anticipated for a proper title run but SQSQ is here now and ready to win again!

10 ABCX Another Bad Creation (5-11, 8-9-2)

It’s been three long years since ABCX had a winning record, and despite winning the 2021 draft and selecting LaMelo Ball at RD1.1, ABCX couldn’t muster up more than five wins last season. However, getting back-to-back franchise players in Ja Morant and Ball in subsequent seasons will set this franchise back on the path to success.

An aged keeper core — Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, and TJ Warren — still wants to win now and GM Oliver continued going for veterans with his 2022 draft. Picking up Jonas Valanciunas at RD1.7 could be great value grab and plug a hole in the lineup, but we’re not sure if Thaddeus Young, Harrison Barnes, Kelly Oubre Jr., Doug McDermott, and Terrence Ross are future-focused enough for a franchise that is neither winning nor rebuilding.

A healthy sophomore season from Ball will be huge, as ABCX was still a top ten offense without him, ranking top-two in AST. What this team will need to focus on is some defense, so if Valanciunas can put up similar numbers to what he’s always done, that’s going to be huge for ABCX.

We don’t foresee much more than another Toilet Bowl run for ABCX this season, but maybe some veteran for youth trades might shake things up as the transition from old to young takes place.

11 BUFF Buffy (8-8, 5-14)

After four sub-0.500 seasons, BUFF found themselves in the playoffs last year. Not only that, BUFF had the temerity to upset top-seeded SWMP in their first round matchup, before falling to eventual champion FJUB in round two. One could say that without Buffy’s huge upset however, we would be celebrating a very different champion… Great job BUFF, great job! FJUB should take you out to a steak dinner!

The goal for Buffy entering 2022 is to get above 0.500, which is something they hasn’t done since 2013, eight seasons ago. It would help a lot, of course, if Ben Simmons’ playing status was more known, but BUFF may have to play on without him until whatever is happening in Philly resolves itself.

Meanwhile, Domantas Sabonis, Brandon Ingram, and last year’s RD1.6 Anthony Edwards are a stellar core to keep moving upward. Sabonis and Ingram are both All-Star level and Edwards has already shown that he’s got similar upside as well. Should Klay Thompson return to add anything this season, BUFF should have an enviable — and young — core to win with. Heck, even Kyle Kuzma has room to improve after moving to a new Wizard-y home.

BUFF’s 2022 draft brought Spencer Dinwiddie back to the team, along with useful youngish vets like Jakob Poetl, Tim Hardaway Jr., Malik Beasley, and Gary Trent Jr. We’re not exactly sold on John Wall doing anything — or recent FA pickup Kevin Love — but he’ll get minutes I guess. Last year’s version of BUFF had only steals as a standout category, but we predict their overall offensive numbers will rise this year.

After almost a decade meandering around and not having winning seasons or a good young core, BUFF suddenly has everything a franchise on the rise could want: four All-Star caliber guys and good depth to surround them. Let’s go, it’s the return of Buffy!

12 SOUR Sour Snails (7-8-1, 4-15)

Two straight years out of the playoffs?! No titles in two years? Is SOUR collapsing?! After a strategic tank job in 2020, it seemed like SOUR would be ready for a resurgence last year. Alas, that was not the case as they found themselves just outside the playoffs and back in the Toilet Bowl. Despite being the top seed there, SOUR found themselves upended by sixteenth-seeded TRUO — a strategic brotherly loss perhaps? — and out of the running for a top-three pick.

What went so wrong? SOUR had an ODE split of 3/10/3 — with incredible strengths in PTS, 3PT, FT% — which would indicate that they were capable of much more. The healthy returns of both Steph Curry and Kevin Durant -- plus a breakout All-Star campaign from Zach LaVine — should’ve been enough for a playoff berth right?

Unfortunately, something in SOUR land was wrong, and pre-draft GM Trieu set about blowing put his team to the tune of trading away both Durant (with SOUR since 2017) and LaVine. Never afraid of mega deals, Trieu decided that Christian Wood’s big man numbers were needed on this team, and that Bradley Beal could replace Durant’s offensive contributions. Will the swaps make this team a contender again? A better season from Pascal Siakam would certainly help toward that end, and if Derrick White and PJ Washington can continue their growth, that should at least bring SOUR back to the playoffs.

SOUR’s 2022 draft looks good too. So far in this young season, RD1.5 Scottie Barnes seems like he’ll be headed toward Rookie of the Year contention — averaging a double-double out of the gate — and that could be another feather in the cap for SOUR’s scouting department. This year’s draft also brought in Montrezl Harrel, rookie Davion Mitchell, the oft-injured Thomas Bryant, breakout candidate Terence Mann, and utility piece Bruce Brown to round out the SOUR roster. (Note: Brown was cut for Ricky Rubio.)

Will all this be enough bring SOUR to another title? We kind of hope not, to be honest, but we do love to see big trade action rewarded by equally big winning seasons so let’s see what SOUR can pull off with this revamped lineup.

13 SBUK So Buckets (9-7, 8-10-1)

After two years out of the playoffs with an overloaded roster, SBUK made their return to the postseason with a thrilling run to the Finals, their first as a franchise. Along the way, they dispatched higher seeded CHMK and MELO, before losing by just one three-pointer versus Fat Jubas in the title game. It’s hard to get closer to a championship and despite their heartbreaking loss, SBUK has to chalk 2021 up as a huge success.

Led by twin tower combo of Joel Embiid and Rudy Gobert, SBUK dominated the paint — ranking top-two in PTS and BLK and fourth in REB — and are at least average across the board. The backcourt is solid with Kyrie Irving and CJ McCollum, while youngsters RJ Barrett (2020 RD1.3) and Miles Bridges (2021 RD3.6) were both deemed keeper worthy — unfortunately 2021 RD1.3 Killian Hayes wasn’t, and Jonathan Isaac was let go as well.

The biggest issue facing SBUK going into the 2022 season, of course, is the mercurial Irving and his availability for the season. If Kyrie can’t/won’t play, SBUK will slide in their first round pick from this year, Terry Rozier, who is Irving-like, if you blink really hard. Okay, maybe not. But Rozier is still pretty decent and can serve as a lead guard for awhile.

In the second round, SBUK took super-skinny, uber-productive Chris Boucher to add to the Embiid-Gobert pairing, and then he took swings on Marvin Bagley III, sophomore Chuma Okeke, Jalen Brunson, and (the already replaced) Kevin Huerter for the rest of his 2022 draft. Grabbing rookie Franz Wagner in post-draft FAAB could pay dividends sooner than later.

SBUK has the talent to get to the title game, they’ve already proven that. Now it’s just a matter of getting everyone healthy and most importantly, getting Irving back on the court to lead them to a proper championship!

14 SPDE Spade (3-13, 14-4-1)

After putting together six playoff runs in seven years — with two division titles and one Finals showing — the bottom may be falling out for one of the most consistent teams in SlamNation. SPDE collapsed to the second-worst team last season after coming out of the gates very slowly, torpedoing their championship hopes along the way.

Aging quickly, and faced with the prospect of a Kawhi Leonard-less season, SPDE is faced with a rebuild, and GM Randall knows it. Out the door went Kevin Love and Danilo Gallinari, with sophomore Obi Toppin and 2021 RD1.9 Victor Oladipo joining the keeper core of Leonard, Devin Booker, Eric Bledsoe, and Tyler Herro.

More importantly, SPDE didn’t spend their draft picks on dependable veterans like Brook Lopez, instead targeting youth, grabbing rookie Josh Giddey (RD1.8), sophomore Killian Hayes (RD2.15), and bringing on youngsters Darius Bazley and Tyrese Maxey as well. Daniel Theis and Hassan Whiteside are less young, but they are fine as stop-gap solutions in the middle.

As it currently stands, Leonard and Oladipo are both out to start the season so it’s just Booker and the kids. It’s almost assured SPDE will see the Toilet Bowl again, so the best they can hope for is to win a high pick next season, so they can chase a fast rebuild. It’s a shame such a great team never saw the title, but injuries plagued them year to year and it’s time for SPDE to face the future.

15 ILCN IL Conceived (10-5-1, 9-10)

After three seasons in SlamNation, ILCN broke through and captured a Chamberlain Conference title — and was the fifth seed overall — outperforming any preseason expectations. That’s the Luka Doncic effect! Despite losing to MELO in the first round of the playoffs, ILCN proved that they were more than competitive enough, sporting the best offense in the league, along with a top-seven rating on defense.

Aside from some FG% woes, ILCN was strong everywhere and they seemed to have the Midas touch with transactions, hitting big on 2021 draft picks Jerami Grant (RD2.8) and Michael Beasley (RD4.3), which gave them additional offensive weapons. Also, the continued growth by Darius Garland (2020 RD1.4) and the mostly healthy season from Draymond Green bumped ILCN to tops in assists, and the only dark spot on ILCN’s roster last year was Jaren Jackson Jr.’s continued lack of health.

Heading into 2022, ILCN had nine total draft picks and should be on the verge of breaking through as a serious contender. Still, GM Frank prioritized upside by taking Jonathan Isaac and Wendell Carter Jr. to start off, and then continuing with more youth in sophomore Aleksej Pokusevski, improving Cam Reddish, De’Anthony Melton, Precious Achiuwa, and Malachi Flynn. Twenty-seven year old Nerlens Noel was the oldest person brought on-board, and even he is pretty young. (Markelle Fultz was drafted and cut due to roster limits.)

ILCN is in an interesting place as they have one of the younger cores with Doncic, Donovan Mitchell, Jackson, and Garland, but are also capable of winning right now. Enviable position for a franchise to be in? It sure is!

16 SCRM Screamin Eagles  (7-8-1, 4-15)

Despite only thirty-plus games from franchise cornerstone Anthony Davis, SCRM managed to almost make the playoffs, ending up just outside. In the Toilet Bowl, SCRM picked up two wins, making the finals, and secured themselves the third overall pick, which they used on Evan Mobley, who could end up being the best player in the 2022 draft. That’s quite a first season for Jordan!

Aside from Davis, SCRM also has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OG Anunoby creeping closer to All-Star status while Dejounte Murray is a unique near triple-double threat in San Antonio. Sophomore Isaiah Stewart looked promising enough to be a keeper and he’ll be joining Davis, Mobley, and Mitchell Robinson in a promising big men rotation — possibly much needed due to how injury-prone Davis and Robinson can be.

Last year’s version of SCRM featured a ball-control team that rarely turned the ball over and led Slam in steals, and that seems to be the formula moving forward with 2022 high-efficiency draft picks like TJ McConnell, Duncan Robinson, and Brandon Clarke coming on-board. Sophomore Patrick Williams has a grip on defensive minutes in Chicago but will need to up his offensive game to become more of a fantasy asset. And last round flier rookie Chris Duarte (2022 RD6.10) has already set Pacers’ records in his debut week, which seems like another prescient move by Jordan, much like their grab of then-rookie Immanuel Quickley (2021 RD6.16) with the last pick last season.

If Davis returns for a full run, there’s no reason SCRM can’t get into the playoffs this year and from there anything is possible, isn’t it?

2022 Pre-Season: Russell

Here we go, a look at the Russell Conference -- home of the defending champs -- heading into the 2022 season! [ 2021 Chamberlain | 2021 Russell ]

TeamID - Abbrev - Name (2021 Record, 2020 Record)

1 FJUB Fat Jubas (13-3, 12-7)

After eleven playoff appearances, three division titles, one regular season wins crown, one Toilet Bowl finals, and two championship rings, FJUB is now authoritatively the second best team in SlamNation history. While they may trail CHMK for second-best overall historical record, their 2021 title run takes them over the top. So what’s next for FJUB? Another title that’s what!

With Chris Paul leading the way, FJUB’s backcourt is in steady hands and GM Eric brought on Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley in the draft to bolster it with veteran savvy even further. Paul, Lowry, Conley, Fred VaVleet, and Malcolm Brogdon have to be the best combined backcourt around and FJUB has the right man in the middle to anchor the defense as well in Myles Turner.

Tobias Harris and Robert Covington are the offensive and defensive wings here, and the draft also brought in dual defensive menaces Jaden McDaniels (RD4.2) and Matisse Thybulle (RD5.15). Big man Daniel Gafford already suffered an injury scare in the first week of the season — while last round pick Khem Birch was cut — so it’s likely FJUB will have to get some help for Turner in the backcourt.

All of this is just minor details though, as FJUB has proven that they’ll always be a presence in the postseason, and now as returning champ, they’ll be aggressive in defending their title. 

2 CHMK Chunky Monkeys (12-4, 14-4-1)

It’s been two straight first-round exits for CHMK from the playoffs, despite being one of the best teams in Slam during the regular season. The good news is that even after moving LeBron James, CHMK is still wining regularly and now has a much younger lineup to trot out for the next iteration of their championship chase.

The new keeper roster features Collin Sexton and Bam Adebayo alongside James Harden, with the promising trio of Mikal Bridges, Kevin Porter Jr., and Robert Williams all presenting major upside for the immediate future. All three of them are looking at more time this season, with Bridges possibly cementing himself as the premiere 3-and-D role player during last season’s NBA playoffs.

The Monkeys had the best defense in the league last year, featuring top-rankings in REB, BLK, and FG%. Unfortunately, they had a real lack of outside shooting, ranking last in the league in threes. It looks like that weakness won’t exactly be fixed this season either, as CHMK went with Richuan Holmes (RD1.4) in the first round of the draft — a pick acquired from KSKT — passing up any number of promising rookies. Holmes is an underrated beast but he’s not a shooter. The hope is that fellow round one pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker (RD1.13) and Jordan Pool (RD2.12) can add some oomph in the backcourt.

Bringing in gunner Desmond Bane in free agency — by cutting Jae’Sean Tate — was a nice move, and it looks like Steven Adams (RD4.3) is just going to add to CHMK’s mashing ways. We can pencil CHMK in for the playoffs as a high seed, but we’ll have to see how far they can go after a few disappointing early exits. The hunt is on for CHMK to catch FJUB in titles, let’s gooooo!

3 FUNK Funk Coalition (8-8, 10-8-1)

After years of ineptitude, FUNK has now solidly become a winning franchise, with four straight playoff appearances under their belt. Over the offseason, a new coach was brought in, which should fix the lineup issues FUNK suffered last year as they meandered to a 0.500 record.

With three top-twenty talents in Karl-Anthony Towns, Jayson Tatum, and Trae Young, FUNK should be one of the elite teams on paper. However, injuries to KAT and Gordon Hayward hamstrung them a bit last season. Even though the win-now move of DeMar DeRozan — for Jonathan Isaac — paid off, FUNK slid backwards last year.

With title hopes in mind, FUNK traded away two round-ones and a round-two for John Collins pre-draft, hopefully giving Towns a frontcourt mate. That move did hamper their draft though, as FUNK only had four selections — Bojan Bogdanovic (RD3.10), Serge Ibaka, Monte Morris, and Mason Plumlee. So far, Plumlee is looking like a steal, as he’s close to averaging a double-double in Charlotte. The rest of the FUNK roster was filled out with free agents like Josh Hart, Grayson Allen, and Lonnie Walker.

Will any of this get FUNK closer to a title? It’s hard to say. Looking at ODE, they were strong on offense and about average on defense and efficiency, but they were sorely lacking in 3PT and REB, which is something Towns should help with. With such a solid keeper trio, the time is now for FUNK to win something, anything…

4 FOBS Fob Stars (5-11, 12-7)

The climb up to respectability has been steady for FOBS, as they’ve been improving the past five pre-2021 seasons — all with playoff appearances — peaking in 2020 with a top-five power ranking. However, last year the bottom suddenly fell out for FOBS as they collapsed down the standings. So what happened?

FOBS started the season off 1-7 and that was all she wrote. Injuries weren’t even that much of a factor, with only De’Andre Hunter being out most of the season. If anything, the loss of Jamal Murray will hurt more this year, as he was still playing during our fantasy season last year. Somehow the FOBS mix just wasn’t working in 2021, despite Damian Lillard’s best efforts.

FOBS did feature great FG% and FT%, but were awful in REB, AST, STL, and 3PT, while not exactly being sterling anywhere else. The question is if 2021 was just an aberration, a bump in the road, or if it portends to more unsteadiness ahead?

Pre-draft, FOBS traded away John Collins — getting Buddy Hield (RD1.12) and Saddiq Bey (RD2.7), plus a future first — and then took rookie Jalen Suggs with the sixth overall pick. Suggs projects as an instant all-around contributor, which this team will definitely need. With Murray out for the year and fellow keeper Rui Hachimura yet to see the floor, FOBS will be looking to mix and match their lineups early on.

Both Jarrett Allen and Isaac Okoro were kept, and they’ll hopefully provide some of the defense FOBS was missing last season. Returning Olympian Keldon Johnson (RD2.13) was a great draft pickup and it seems like free agent acquisition Al Horford has somehow discovered the fountain of youth one week into the young season.

We honestly have no idea if FOBS will be trending up this season, or if they’ll go more all-in on a rebuild, but there’s a lot of intrigue with this team and we’ll be watching closely!

5 TRUO Truo Thien (2-14, 5-13-1)

It’s been a dark and stormy last couple of seasons for TRUO. After not going under 0.500 for almost a decade, they’d dropped steadily from 9-11 to 5-13-1 to last year’s 2-14 nadir. The only way to go is up for them then right?!

Incoming RD1.2 Jalen Green could be just the jolt this franchise needs, as Green projects as an All-Star level player with tremendous scoring abilities. With Julius Randle fully emerging as an All-Star, plus Jimmy Butler still doing Butler-things, TRUO has a good core to grow into. The jury is out on if Lauri Markkanen will ever be more than a tease, and Kemba Walker’s best days are behind him, but Andrew Wiggins has at least solidified into a more than serviceable wing. Sixth keeper Jordan Clarkson replaces Kelly Oubre Jr., and has found a great role in Utah.

The offense on this team should be in decent hands, especially as other 2022 draft picks Dillon Brooks, Coby White, Cole Anthony, and Patty Mills are all offensive focused. Brook Lopez is the lone defender on this team, and he can only do so much.

Last year’s version of TRUO was run-and-gun and that should hold true this season as well, as we wait to see what kind of talent TRUO has acquired in Green. There’s probably more Toilet Bowls in TRUO’s immediate future but it’ll be fun to see what kind of rebuild TRUO can pull off as he’s been one of the best Slam owners around.

6 SWMP Swamp Dragons (13-2-1, 14-5)

Honestly, there’s not much more for SWMP to accomplish in Slam except to get that first title. They’ve won regular seasons (three times), they’ve won division titles (five), they’ve acquired talent every which way, they’ve won the Toilet Bowl twice, and the’ve been to the Finals three times. They’ve gotten a rule named and executed for them — the one preventing top TB seeds from drafting #1 and #2. So yeah, it’s title or bust for SWMP, again.

Toward that end, SWMP will have new NBA MVP Nikola Jokic manning the middle, directing everything. And now he’ll have playoff hero Deandre Ayton to do the dirty work around him. D’Angelo Russell still has to prove he can be healthy on his second run with SWMP, but Paul George and Khris Middleton are the best one-two wing combos in Slam. Then, pre-draft, GM Eddie turned one of his big man finds, Christian Wood, into Zach LaVine, who adds yet another All-Star to the SWMP lineup. That’s the best keeper core in the league isn’t it?

SWMP already had the best combined ODE last season with 1/3/7 splits, and it’ll be hard to see anyone else as the title favorite heading into the season. While the Alperen Sengun pick at 2022 RD1.15 was a bit curious due to his rookie status, the rest of SWMP’s draft was all for veteran depth featuring Kyle Anderson, Marcus Smart, and Kelly Olynyk — Luguentz Dort was drafted too. Every seemed to forget about Will Baron as well, and SWMP scooped him up off the waiver wire.

There’s nothing for SWMP to do this year but dominate the regular season and then see if they can get the elusive ring. If there’s any year to do it, this is the one! Right Eddie?

7 MELO Melo My Mind (11-5, 8-10-1)

It was a very successful first season for MELO in SlamNation as they finished as the fourth seed heading into the playoffs. MELO even notched their first postseason victory — over ILCN — before being upset in the second round. Still, for a first time fantasy owner, Jack had a great year!

Among the many things to go right for MELO was the All-Star breakout from Jaylen Brown, who has elevated himself to franchise status. And then right before the 2022 draft, MELO completed a huge trade, acquiring Kevin Durant for Bradley Beal. Now the MELO starting lineup looks like De’Aaron Fox, Brown, Kevin Durant, James Wiseman, and Nikola Vucevic. (Sixth keeper Andre Drummond has fallen off dramatically as an NBA asset but maybe he’ll still be a serviceable backup in Philadelphia.) Last year’s RD1.2 Wiseman has yet to hit the floor this season, and his growth curve looks steep, but MELO can afford to wait on him.

MELO featured a top-five ranked offense last season and with Durant joining the mix, that offense could get even better. By grabbing two possible starting point guards in Dennis Schroder (RD1.11) and Devonte Graham (RD2.4) in the draft, MELO is solidly in win-now mode as they look to move further into title contention. Bringing in versatile Joe Ingles, rotation big Ivica Zubac, and Aaron Gordon — plus the corpse of Lamarcus Aldridge — were all solid moves that can only help MELO continue building on their freshman year success.

8 KSKT Krispy Kreme (6-10, 5-12-2)

What a first season for KSKT! Despite trading away their own first round pick last season (2022 RD1.4), they headed into the Toilet Bowl finals locked into the first overall pick — while not even playing in the game — due to their trade with SQSQ. With that RD1.1 pick, GM Matt took consensus best player Cade Cunningham — and hometown Detroit hero — to build out a roster that is just brimming with young talent.

This is a tremendously young team, with Zion Williamson, Michael Porter Jr., Tyrese Haliburton, and Cunningham all being twenty-three years old or younger. The other three keepers — Kristaps Porzingis, Clint Capela, Caris LeVert — are all only twenty-seven. While KSKT didn’t win a lot of games last season, there’s a glorious future ahead — assuming good health. There are a number of health concerns here, as Williamson, Porter Jr, and Porzingis all have extensive injury histories.

We’re not even sure exactly what KSKT is even capable of at full health, as they seem to have a tremendous defense according to ODE, but those ratings can’t be trusted as this team was on and off the injury list all last year. One thing is for sure: if Zion and Capela play, this team will probably win FG% and REB.

For his second draft — aside from Cunningham, who has yet to make his NBA debut — GM Matt took known qualities like gunner Norman Powell, streaky Reggie Jackson, Goran Dragic, Larry Nance Jr., and Otto Porter Jr. (Last round pick, rookie Bones Hyland was already cut, in favor of Pat Connaughton.) That signals a desire to take some wins this season, even as this young team continues to season and gel. We’re thinking KSKT will have to fight for another high pick in the Toilet Bowl, but it’s possible they could make the playoffs in their second Slam season, assuming some good health all-around.

Keepers: 2022

Draft Order 2022

Here we go, our third year using draft slots, this time with an actual postseason to account for. If you have questions about how this was calculated, these links should help: Draft Slots in RD1. Remember, RD2-6 are slotted in Power Ranking order #1-16, with snaking from RD3 and on. [ New Post-Season 2.0 | Power Ranking 2021 | Draft 2022 Sheet ] *Note these draft slots and picks don't account for trades.

2022 DRAFT SLOT RD1

1. SQSQ
2. TRUO*
3. SCRM
4. KSKT
5. SOUR
6. FOBS
7. ABCX
8. SPDE
9. SBUK
10. BUFF
11. MELO
12. FUNK
13. CHMK
14. ILCN
15. SWMP
16. FJUB

*= TRUO gets #2 pick due to seeding rule, droppinug SCRM to #3 overall

2022 DRAFT ORDER RD2-6

1. SWMP (13-2-1)
2. FJUB (13-3)
3. CHMK (12-4)
4. MELO (11-5)
5. ILCN (10-5-1)
6. SBUK (9-7)
7. FUNK (8-8)
8. BUFF (8-8)
9. SOUR (7-8-1)
10. SCRM (7-8-1)
11. SQSQ (7-9)
12. KSKT (6-10)
13. FOBS (5-11)
14. ABCX (5-11)
15. SPDE (3-13)
16. TRUO (2-14)

2021 Championship: Juba Again

After a year where we crowned no champion, it was quite the celebration when Fat Jubas took the 2021 title, putting a capper on a shortened season that came on the heels of an aborted season.

While FJUB had always been a good team — with seven straight playoff appearances and counting — they have been just a little below the elite in recent seasons, hovering as a fringe contender. However, a stellar 2021 regular season campaign had them entering the playoffs with the second-best overall record and a great shot at the championship.

Once top seed SWMP was upended by #8 BUFF in round one, and #3 CHMK and #4 MELO were similarly upset, the crown was there for the taking. While Jubas faced a little adversity in round one — barely slipping by #7 FUNK — it was nothing compared to their Finals matchup versus SBUK. Missing two key players for the final round, FJUB won by just one three pointer overall, with unexpected hero Georges Niang hitting five in his last game. This had to be the closest Finals matchup ever, and FJUB escaped by a hair with their second title.

The last time Jubas took home a Slam trophy, it was 2012 and their big three was Steve Nash, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. This time around, it was another Suns’ point guard, Chris Paul, leading the charge to a ring. That offense-heavy team was a far cry from this version of FJUB, which featured a league-leading defense  — tops in steals and blocks — paired with three-point threats across the board.

Paul was flanked by Fred VanVleet and Malcolm Brogdon alongside him in the backcourt, while Tobias Harris, Robert Covington, and Danny Green filled in the wing spots. Myles Turner held down the middle, with Brook Lopez as an important backup big, since Turner didn’t make any postseason appearances.

This FJUB roster wasn’t full of grade-A superstars — it certainly never rated highly year-to-year in the keeper ratings — but it had been tinkered with over time, as GM Eric kept true to his vision. With a declining core post-Nash and KG, Jubas’s keeper core two years after their 2012 title look like this: Gordon Hayward, Jeff Green, Jonnas Valanciunas, Marc Gasol, Nicolas Batum, and Tyreke Evans.

Decent, but nothing thrilling. The full rebuild started with the acquisition of Chris Paul ahead of the 2014 season. Turner came aboard in 2017 via trade, as did Jrue Holiday in 2018. The 2020 draft brought Fred VanVleet at RD3.10, which gave FJUB enough offensive punch to shift toward some more balanced pieces like Brogdon and Harris (in exchange for Holiday) during the past championship year.

Overall, this title winner was more than the sum of its pieces, and a hearty congrats to a FJUB franchise that has been on the championship podium before — becoming only our second two-time champ — and will look forward to being again!

As for SBUK, it was two years of non-playoff seasons before a thrilling run to their first Finals appearance. After winning the Toilet Bowl in 2019 with a stacked roster, it was assumed SBUK would ascend into contention status. Finishing with the sixth-best regular season record in 2021 proved they were on their way, and this Finals appearance will give them even more optimism for the future. Losing by one three must hurt but that just means they could storm back next season to win it all!

2021 Toilet Bowl: Squirtle Power

SQSQ began the season with legitimate championship hopes as they ended the aborted 2020 season as the best team in the league. After two straight playoff appearances and two years of twelve-plus wins, there was no way Squirtle could back step right? GM Brian was so confident in their ring chances that they traded for the ultimate win-now move, sending out Bam Adebayo for LeBron James.

Instead, the Giannis Antetokounmpo and James combination came out of the gates with three straight losses and despite a mid-season winning streak, SQSQ would finish 7-9, leaving them outside the playoffs as the sixth-worst team in the league. In the Toilet Bowl, SQSQ found its stride though, taking care of ABCX in round one, winning the dad-son matchup against KSTK in round two, and then winning the whole thing against SCRM. That’s great right?

Well, the bad news is that while SQSQ gets the Toilet Bowl title as a feather in their cap, they don’t actually get to draft a top player in 2022. (This is SQSQ's second Toilet Bowl finals appearance, the last one was in 2017.) Back in February, Mason Plumlee was brought in via trade in exchange for Gary Trent Jr. and SQSQ 2022 RD1 -- Plumlee was traded to KSKT by SQSQ back in December -- which ended up being the number one overall pick. So essentially, SQSQ was playing for KSKT’s number one overall selection.

Dad Brian took home the win and now son Matt will reap the rewards. If that’s not sacrificing for family, we don’t know what is! For next season, Giannis and LeBron are still a solid duo, but perhaps some tinkering will have to be done to get SQSQ back on the road to contention.

In their opening season for Slam, SCRM finished outside the playoffs at 7-8-1, but that had to be considered a win after taking over for a Hilt franchise that put up six and four wins in recent years. With Anthony Davis dinged up most of the season, SCRM still managed to pull it together and get two Toilet Bowl wins, earning themselves the 2022 RD1.3 pick — due to the rule not allowing #9/10 seeds to win the top two picks. Adding another top talent to this core should make SCRM’s second season in Slam even more successful!

Post-Season RD2&3: 2021

POST-SEASON ROUND 2: SEMI-FINALS

• #2 FJUB vs #8 BUFF (FJUB)
• #4 MELO vs #6 SBUK (SBUK)

POST-SEASON ROUND 3: FINALS

• #2 FJUB vs #6 SBUK (FJUB) 👑

CONSOLATION ROUND 2

• #1 SWMP vs #7 FUNK (FUNK)
• #3 CHMK vs #5 ILCN (CHMK)

CONSOLATION ROUND 3

• #4 MELO vs #8 BUFF (BUFF)
• #3 CHMK vs #7 FUNK (FUNK)
• #1 SWMP vs #5 ILCN (ICLN)

TOILET BOWL ROUND 2: SEMI-FINALS

• #10 SCRM vs #16 TRUO (SCRM)
• #11 SQSQ vs #12 KSKT (SQSQ)

TOILET BOWL ROUND 3: FINALS

• #10 SCRM vs #11 SQSQ (SQSQ) 🚽

TB CONSOLATION ROUND 2

• #9 SOUR vs #15 SPDE (SOUR)
• #13 FOBS vs #14 ABCX (FOBS)

TB CONSOLATION ROUND 3

• #12 KSKT vs #16 TRUO (TRUO)
• #9 SOUR vs #13 FOBS (SOUR)
• #14 ABCX vs #15 SPDE (ABCX)

Post-Season RD1: 2021

PLAYOFFS

ROUND 1

• #1 SWMP vs #8 BUFF (BUFF)
• #2 FJUB vs #7 FUNK (FJUB)
• #3 CHMK vs #6 SBUK (SBUK)
• #4 MELO vs #5 ILCN (MELO)

Despite being favorites to win the 2021 title, top seeded SWMP was taken down in a thrilling Sunday night victory by eighth seed Buffy -- behind Delon Wright's game winning two steals. While it was very close, the victory wasn't exactly a fluke, as BUFF had defeated SWMP back in WK14 as well. Was SWMP just papier-mâché all along? With a disappointing exit from the playoffs, SWMP owner Eddie will have to continue ring hunting next year.

There were almost four upsets in the first round of the playoffs this season, as FJUB and MELO barely outlasted FUNK and ILCN. FJUB had to resort to some free agent block chasing to secure their win while MELO and ILCN actually tied in their round one battle, with the tie-break ultimately going to MELO as they were the higher seed. [ Playoff Tie-Breaker System ]

As for third-seeded CHMK, they were toppled during a Harden-less week by SBUK, who solidly secured their upset in a closer than it looked matchup. Now, with each round being re-seeded, we have BUFF looking to take out another top seed on their way to the title game while MELO and SBUK will face-off for one of them to reach their first ever Finals appearance. [ Postseason Mini-Explainer ]

ROUND 2

• #2 FJUB vs #8 BUFF
• #4 MELO vs #6 SBUK

TOILET BOWL

ROUND 1

• #9 SOUR vs #16 TRUO (TRUO)
• #10 SCRM vs #15 SPDE (SCRM)
• #11 SQSQ vs #14 ABCX (SQSQ)
• #12 KSKT vs #13 FOBS (KSKT)

Over in Toilet Bowl action, we had the top seed there fall as well, as SOUR was felled by TRUO in quite easy fashion, even with Kevin Durant attempting a heroic Sunday night comeback. Conspiracists will point to SOUR's 17/21 GP as the culprit, but maybe it was just karma coming back for the defending 2020 champs, as they've run roughshod over the league for long enough.

The rest of the Toilet Bowl slate played out even, as SCRM, SQSQ, and KSKT handily won their matchups. Now we'll get a highly anticipated father versus son Toilet Bowl showdown between SQSQ and KSKT, for the right to one of the top two picks in the 2022 draft. Note that #10 SCRM could win out but will only get as high as a 2022 RD1.3 due to their top two seeding in the Toilet Bowl. However, with a probable deep 2021-22 NBA draft coming up, this round one Toilet Bowl win was huge for all four teams!

ROUND 2

• #10 SCRM vs #16 TRUO
• #11 SQSQ vs #12 KSKT

Power Ranking 2021

Two-Thirds: Next Four

Looking at the second half of the potential playoff suitors, we have MELO winning their WK11 matchup to move ahead of the the rest of the crowded pack. MELO is the only Russell Conference team represented here, with ILCN, SQSQ, and SCRM all hailing from the Chamberlain Conference. [ Top Four | Bottom Four ]

MELO Melo My Mind (7-4)

We predicted that Jack’s rookie season would be a successful one but they’ve outshone expectations by starting the season off 4-1 and cementing themselves as a playoff contender. Three straight losses after that first month did give MELO pause, but they’ve recovered with two more victories right before the All-Star break.

Jaylen Brown emerged as an All-Star this season, and he now gives MELO and incredible backcourt of Bradley Beal, DeAaron Fox, and Brown. (Recall that Fox and Brown came over for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and OG Anunoby, which now looks slightly tipped in MELO’s favor.) Oh and there’s also Buddy Hield, no slouch himself.

On the season, MELO has an ODE rating of 4/9/11 behind tremendous 3PT shooting, excellent PTS, and a nice bit of thievery, ranking sixth overall in STL. What they’ve been lacking is mostly AST and BLK, and both of their percentages are less than league average.

During the past month, MELO’s defense has taken a tumble to the bottom of the league though as Andre Drummond got sent home from Cleveland to await a new NBA destination. (Strangely, Nikola Vucevic is only averaging a paltry 0.6 BLK this season.) Into the defensive breach steps Dwight Howard, who may not get an elevated role in Philadelphia, as the Sixers may start to be more spare with Joel Embiid’s minutes.

And for the long term, MELO will have 2021 RD1.2 James Wiseman, who looks legit and promising as a future franchise piece. That’s seven outright keepers, meaning MELO could even package for a trade eventually. Good problems to have!

The only blemish for MELO so far has been the low Games Played ranking — they have the second lowest GP in the league. While there have been no outright lineup violations, MELO has only fit in 22GP in four out of five weeks from WK6-10, which is flirting with disaster. Could it be rookie head coaching woes, a series of injuries, or something else? We’ll see in the next month of MELO can become a dark horse title contender but so far the future looks great here for a team that is both deep and young!

ILCN IL Conceived (6-4-1)

What does it take to go from fringe playoff contender to fringe championship contender? How about hitting on two huge picks in 2021 RD2.8 and RD4.3 Jerami Grant and Malik Beasley?! GM Frank proves his drafting chops yet again by hitting on Grant, who is now the man in Detroit and proving that he was right to leave Denver. While Beasley has been less than a role model in his personal life, his impressive PTS and 3PT makes him a perfect swingman for ILCN and helps to offset the loss of Jaren Jackson Jr. to IR for most of the season. (At this point, can Jackson ever stay healthy?)

ILCN started the season off 6-2, before going 0-1-1 in recent weeks. However, all of those matchups were close and against surging teams so it speaks well of ILCN’s dark horse title chances. Led by Luka Doncic, ILCN has the league’s top ranked offense and a more than serviceable defense. Sure, their FG% and TO are terrible, but that’s to be expected.

Enes Kanter has been a double-double machine while Draymond Green has returned to his triple-double ways. Plus it’s been a Poku Party as rookie Aleksej Pokusevski has started to get major minutes in Cleveland. How high can ILCN go? There’s two more matchups left against top contenders — WK13 versus CHMK and WK15 versus FJUB — but it looks like we’ll get to see this team of the future compete for a ring right now.

SQSQ Squirtle Squad (6-5)

More was expected from SQSQ this season, as they made a bold pre-draft move for LeBron James, hoping to cash in on last year’s first year finish. Instead, SQSQ started the season off with three straight losses and it’s been streaky ever since.

SQSQ’s fourth and third ranked offensive and defensive ratings are stellar but their last place rating in FT% and TO means they’re starting each matchup off with two lost categories. Aside from AST, SQSQ hasn’t been top three in any category this season, and it looks like Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron have an equal chance of heading to the Toilet Bowl as they do to the postseason.

Most of SQSQ’s 2021 draft came up a bust, with DeMarcus Cousins out of a job, Bogdan Bogdanovich barely returning to play, and rookie Patrick Williams already cut. At least SQSQ hasn’t stood pat, as they’ve swung some deals during the season, moving Tobias Harris for Jrue Holiday, Gary Trent Jr. for Mason Plumlee (a re-acquire from an in-draft trade), and Daniel Theis for Malik Monk. And there has been the return of John Wall to fantasy relevance, along with good seasons from Lonzo Ball and Alec Burks.

Unfortunately, unless SQSQ can really pick it up, they are likely out of the championship picture after moving all in with King James.

SCRM Screamin Eagles (5-5-1)

The second of our three new teams, SCRM has battling around 0.500 for most of the season, losing to the top teams and winning against the creampuffs. SCRM is just inside the playoff picture but with three tough matchups coming up, they could drop out without a strong finish.

This is a team built for the future though, with Anthony Davis and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way. SCRM boasts a top two ranking in STL and have the best TO in the land. Their defense is in good shape though, with Davis, OG Anunoby, Dejounte Murray, and Mitchell Robinson putting the stops on foes.

What SCRM don’t have is a lot of offense, as they are near the bottom in PTS and AST. Norm Powell has been a revelation, and he joins Gilgeous-Alexander and Davis as 20+ ppg scorers, but that hasn’t been enough to lift SCRM out of a bottom two offensive rating.

With just one more win, SCRM will have already tied what previous owner HSTL was able to muster together in a much longer season. With the chance to add more talent to an impressive core, SCRM should be headed to the playoffs as soon as next season! 

Two-Thirds Season: Bottom Four

Continuing our two-thirds of the season series, here are the bottom four teams at WK10 of the season. [ Two-Thirds Season: Top Four ]

KSKT Krispy Kreme (3-7)

Technically, KSKT is only bottom four due to a tie-break — with FUNK — but it’s been a rough rookie year for KSKT either way. They are not mathematically out of playoff contention, but with only six weeks left to go, KSKT will have to make up a lot of ground to sneak into the playoffs. For a future focused team, a nice showing in the Toilet Bowl would definitely seem to be more important.

KSKT sputtered out of the gate with five straight losses — including matchups with FJUB and SWMP, but have found their footing in recent weeks, with a 3-2 record and a highlight win versus CHMK in WK7. Looking further ahead, KSKT likely has their sights set on a WK13 matchup versus SQSQ, which should start a long tradition of compelling father-son face-offs.

GM Matt has been quick to action, having already participated in four trades and brought in the likes of Mason Plumlee, Jonas Valanciunas (both since traded away), Elfrid Payton, Clint Capela, Keldon Johnson, and Gary Trent Jr. The cost has been Donte DiVincenzo and Malcolm Brogdon and most importantly, a 2022 RD1 and RD2 that are owed CHMK. With the likelihood that KSKT is headed to the Toilet Bowl, it could be a prime pick for someone else that KSKT will be playing for.

But we must trust the process, as KSKT has earned themselves huge credit already as the top ranked Games Played owner in Slam so far, with an impressive string of maxed out weeks. Coach Matt is getting the most value out of their roster and that’s going to lead to long term success! In the short term, KSKT has a ODE splits of 9/3/5 over the past month — good for third best in the league over that span — exhibiting strengths in PTS, FG%, REB, BLK, and TO. While they are lacking in the passing and long-range shooting departments, KSKT is still putting in the foundation for a playoff contender.

And the future is bright with Zion Williamson, Michael Porter Jr., 2021 RD1.4 Tyrese Haliburton, Capela, and continued flashes from Coby White, Saddiq Bey, and Keldon Johnson. Even with Caris LeVert yet to make his Pacers debut, at least Kristaps Porzingis is back and doing his unicorn things. If KSKT can get two more wins, that equal what the downtrodden CMTO franchise had accomplished in the past three years. Go get’em tiger! I mean, lion?

FOBS Fob Stars (2-8)

Something terrible has happened: after five straight post-season appearances, FOBS have collapsed and are likely headed toward their worst season since 2015. What happened?! It’s still Dame Time around here, as Damian Lillard continues to push his game up to legendary levels. Last year's playoff hero Jamal Murray has recently reclaimed his groove as well, and the newly freed Jarrett Allen is proving to be a monster in Cleveland.

Old hands Bojan Bogdanovic and Goran Dragic have been fine too, while pre-draft trade acquisition Montrezl Harrell and 2021 RD4.5 Dillon Brooks have been very solid rotation pieces. Oh yeah, and John Collins is still out here, a little less spicy than last year’s version, but still excellent overall. So what gives?

Sure, Rui Hachimura has been just okay, and 2021 RD1.12 rookie Obi Toppin has already been cut by GM Jimmy, but those are the only two semi-disappointments we can see here. Heck, sophomore De’Andre Hunter was scooped up in 2020 at RD1.5, but FOBS got him this season at the low low price of a 2021 RD5.12, and Hunter was well on his way to a breakout campaign before hitting the IR.

We could blame a thirteenth ranked Games Played score, but there’s been a solid GP most weeks for FOBS, and only one violation. Hum, could an uptick be coming? At least over the past month, FOBS have ODE splits of 9/11/4, which is a huge improvement from their overall season. Aside from a real lack of 3PT, AST, and STL — all of which could be remedied by adding some guard types — FOBS is not terrible. We’re seeing some dark horse Toilet Bowl contention vibes here, and that could give FOBS the chance to bounce back to their winning ways next season.

TRUO Truo Thien (2-8)

We said pre-season that TRUO had hit rock bottom, but we were wrong: this season is TRUO’s rock bottom, and with only two wins against fellow bottom feeders KSKT and FUNK, things clearly haven’t been great. But there could be some sunshine ahead.

Jimmy Butler is still a top-twenty player, Julius Randle has emerged as an All-Star and a legitimate franchise piece, Jordan Clarkson is the leading Sixth Man of the Year, Kemba Walker has returned from injury — with Lauri Markkanen on the way — and the youngish wing mishmash of Andrew Wiggins, pre-draft trade acquisition Kelly Oubre Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Tim Hardaway Jr., are all useful pieces. That’s a solid nine-man rotation there right? Who cares if 2021 RD1.5 Deni Avdija has been slow to cook? Avdija looks talented and is going to get better.

Our advanced analytics say TRUO could be the eighth-best team the rest of the way — their third-worst combined ODE says otherwise — so there’s the possibility of a Toilet Bowl run here. Bringing in some top talent through a loaded draft next season could be just the ticket for TRUO to return to the playoffs. GM Thien has been uncharacteristically only league average in Games Played — while being very characteristically leading the way for Moves — but we have no doubt they’ll be grinding hard to unearth some gems.

We’ll be curious if Butler and Walker are dangled for trade talks, as they are the two age outliers here on a team that is continually getting younger. We’re cheering for TRUO to get a top two pick next season, and to do that they’ll need to make a run in the Toilet Bowl!

SPDE Spade (1-9)

Speaking of rock bottoms, here’s Spade! The lone Chamberlain team in the cellar, SPDE isn’t just the worst team in the conference, they’re the worst team in the league. Actually, SPDE has been here before, as three seasons ago they recorded just two wins in twenty-one weeks. However, this year’s 0-9 start was pretty sad, with only one close loss to speak of. However, a WK10 win versus FUNK got SPDE out of the winless column so there’s that at least. For a franchise that is used to regular season success, and went 26-11-2 in the last two years, this is all bad news.

Injuries have hit SPDE hard this season, as per semi-usual. Kevin Love, Hassan Whiteside, Danilo Gallinari, JJ Redick, and others have missed plenty of games this year, with the first two barely seeing the court if at all. There’s no doubt the Kawhi Leonard and Devin Booker duo are still tops — and sophomore Tyler Herro has about as advertised — but the big plus this season has been the return of Victor Oladipo, who SPDE gambled on with a 2021 RD1.9 and won out. Still, for a team touted as a title contender heading into the season, SPDE has so far been anything but.

The thing is, there’s an easy culprit here: SPDE is third-to-last in Games Played, with two violations in ten weeks, and the first six weeks of the season were just a mess for them. Did this time period coincide with Randall doing doctor things and saving lives? Sure! But hey, we are a fantasy basketball league, and we show no mercy for bad fake coaching. I mean, our other doctor, ILCN Frank, is top three in Games Played, and he’s the (fake?) busiest person I know!

We expect SPDE to make a big play for a Toilet Bowl victory, which could net them some much needed youth to build out alongside Booker and Herro. Sure, we’d be curious to see a full scale rebuild here, but SPDE has stuck with his core for long time, and we don't think the trade fireworks are coming anytime soon. Or are they?!

Two-Thirds Season: Top Four

With ten weeks down — we’re currently in an extended WK11 due to All-Star break — it’s time to look at how our teams are shaping up so far this year. Shockingly, there’s only five more weeks to go, and the playoffs are just a month or so away! We’ll take a look at our top four teams, the bottom four, and then the other eight teams next week.

SWMP Swamp Dragons (8-1-1)

After an aborted 2020 campaign, SWMP picked up right where they left off last season as they continue to dispense beatdowns on the rest of the league. In addition, SWMP are 2-1 in their matchups versus the other three top contenders this season — FJUB, SOUR, CHMK — with their lone loss coming by one block against CHMK in WK6.

Our new advanced analytics system had SWMP as the top rated team coming into the season and they still hold down the top spot, along with a league leading ODE rating and splits of 2/1/3. So who can slow down this juggernaut? Well, there was the recent tie to ICLN that raised some eyebrows, as SWMP had to dig deep into the rotation to play someone named Saben Lee. (Seriously, who is that?) Over the past month, SWMP has somehow dropped down to thirteenth on offense and just league average on defense. Their PTS have really suffered while their 3PT have dropped low as well.

Of course, this could all be a temporary blip as the roster is chock-full of talent. Nikola Jokic and Paul George are both at or near their career highs, Christian Wood has further cemented his promise as a do-everything big man, and even 2021 RD3.4 pick Mike Conley has returned to form this year — finally making it as an NBA All-Star this season.

While Deandre Ayton has taken a step back overall — taking Ayton first in 2019 over Luka Doncic could haunt SWMP for two decades — RD3.14 find Chris Boucher is providing insane BLK and 3PT numbers, possibly making Ayton expendable. Conspiracy theory: Was CHMK’s advice to take Ayton over Doncic Evan’s greatest power move to keep his cousin away from a ring?

In addition to everything listed above, there’s also ultra-efficient Khris Middleton to tie everything together for our 2021 title favorites. With the potential return of D’Angelo Russell to the court, SWMP should have an excellent shot at their first Slam title this season.

FJUB Fat Jubas (8-2)

Nipping closely at SWMP’s heels are the surprising FJUB, who entered the season as a solid but not quite contending team, and are now squarely in the conversation for a proper championship chase. Led by the big-impact, small-stature backcourt of Fred VanVleet and Chris Paul, FJUB are on a five game winning streak and are peaking as the second-best ODE team, with splits of 5/2/7. Essentially punting PTS and FG%, FJUB combines a league-leading defense with efficiency from the line, low turnovers, and impressive three-point shooting.

There’s a distinct dearth of rebounding on this team — as Myles Turner and Brook Lopez are both notorious bigs who can’t grab boards for some reason — but the trade off of Jrue Holiday for Tobias Harris indicates that GM Eric knows that securing misses are part of the defensive equation. The answer could be playing free-agent acquisition Darius Bazley more, as the twenty-year old is capable of leading FJUB in rebounds, ahead of Harris and Robert Covington.

Feeling perky about his title chances, Eric has made more than just the Harris move so far this season. FJUB shipped out Jonas Valanciunas and Elfrid Payton for Malcolm Brogdon back in January, and the recent acquisitions of Ricky Rubio and Seth Curry — in exchange for Kevin Huerter — should replenish their depth.

We’re looking hard at a WK13 matchup versus SOUR to assess FJUB’s true contender status, but if FJUB can somehow win a title this season, it would have been an impressive eight years between championships!

SOUR Sour Snails (7-2-1)

Of course, the road to the 2021 title still goes through Sour Town, and to no one’s surprise, the healthy returns of Kevin Durant and Steph Curry have taken SOUR back to the top. Despite semi-stumbling out of the gate 2-1-1 — with a first week loss to ABCX and a WK4 tie versus SCRM — there’s no question Trieu’s team is still the one to beat for any true contender. With a current matchup with CHMK this week, and future nationally broadcasted games versus FJUB and SWMP in WK13 and WK16 respectively, we’re gonna find out just how scary this version of SOUR is.

On paper, this is possibly SOUR’s weakest title contender, with Curry and Durant flanked by Zach LaVine and Pascal Siakam and a supporting cast that is less than fearsome. Yeah, Richaun Holmes is quietly throwing up double-doubles and PJ Washingon, Harrison Barnes, and Serge Ibaka have all been pretty good, but the pure star power of SOUR seems to be a bit diminished this year.

Then again, SOUR are still the second-best ODE team on the season and have even elevated themselves to the top spot over the past month, with splits of 3/4/2. They are basically top-three in every category save REB, AST, and BLK, where they are about league average. Still, as is usually the case, there’s not a whole lot of teams who can match up to SOUR, and even with the possibility of Curry or Durant missing games, SOUR is the team to beat until they’re not!

CHMK Chunky Monkeys (7-3)

After coming out the gate with five wins in six games, CHMK might be sputtering a bit, as they’ve dropped two games recently, to KSKT and SQSQ. Are the father-son duo CHMK’s Kryptonite? Maybe!

With three Russell Conference regular season titles in the past four years — and their still shiny title from 2018 — CHMK knows they can win, but do they have their sights set on a championship this year? Trading away LeBron James pre-draft indicated a sell off of veteran assets but then CHMK moved an in-his-prime Clint Capela and young talent Keldon Johnson for Jonas Valanciunas two months ago — while securing KSKT’s 2022 RD1 and RD2 as well — which would seem like a turn toward contention again. Make up your mind Evan!

On one hand, there is the very young core of Bam Adebayo, Collin Sexton, Mikal Bridges, and potentially Thomas Bryant. But then the heart of the team is still James Harden and Kyle Lowry, who are both on significantly different timelines. CHMK has been slightly above average in combined ODE this season, but their offense has taken a bit hit with the loss of King James, and their floor spacing has become almost non-existent, as they rank second-to-last in 3PT this season. Still, CHMK is not to be trifled with, as they project to be the third-best team the rest of the way, according to our advanced analytics.

So I guess we’ll find out as the trade deadline nears if CHMK is serious about making a title push this year, or if they’ll possibly move Lowry — or Harden?! — for more future focused assets.

Trades: Mid-Season

Well we had our pre-draft trades and since then there's been quite a few more! Good job guys! Our trade deadline is technically before the playoffs start, which will be after WK16, which is the April 12-18 week. So yes, trade deadline is April 18th! In the meantime, let's look at the trades that went down.

Jonas Valanciunas was moved two times, first from FJUB to KSKT and then three days later to CHMK. Fun fact: The Valanciunas trade ended his eight year run with FJUB, which ranked as the seventh-longest stretch with one franchise. Chris Paul, also a FJUB, now moves up the list, trailing James Harden (11), Steph Curry (11), LaMarcus Aldridge (10), Paul George (9), Kyrie Irving (9), and Kawhi Leonard (9). Thanks for your service JV!

Additionally, this was KSKT's fourth trade of the season and we love to see the action! In fact, we are already thirteen trades into the season and only ABCX and SOUR haven't participated in a move yet -- shocking non-action for SOUR, we know!

The biggest move of the current slate of trades was probably the one in February between SQSQ and FJUB, as they exchanged Tobias Harris and Jrue Holiday. Both are near All-Star quality players and you know we love big-for-small exchanges that help both teams! We got a month for more deals to happen, let's gooooo!