That’s ok, it happens to the best of us. Well, not necessarily the BEST of us, but at least a lot of us. And odds are, if you’ve been reading your FBB this year, your team doesn’t stink all that bad. But still, some things are unavoidable – injuries, Larry Brown, whatever. So maybe you’re stuck in the bottom half of the league. At this point, you can be reckless – you’ve got nothing to lose. So let’s go over a few do’s and don’ts for just how reckless you can be, and some strategy to improve your odds of moving up.
DO hit the waiver wire, frantically. You’ll see a lot of discussion in our comments section about certain guys coming off of big games. Should they picked up? If you’re in the bottom half of your league, the answer is yes – right now. For example, Qyntel Woods, who’s gotten a lot of talk. For a team in contention, he’s a questionable pickup right now, because while he’s playing well now, who knows where he’ll be in the lineup next week. But for a poor team, he should have been grabbed after his big game in Philly on Saturday, and then you would have gotten a very nice game out of him last night. So what if you have to drop him next week? You got at least one or two nice games out of him. These are the kinds of guys you should be grabbing on a near-daily basis. A good spot to check on who was hot last night without going through all the box scores is ESPN’s daily leaders.
DO NOT trade away your top talent for questionable value. Just because you’re in the bottom half of your league, that doesn’t mean you don’t have great talent on your team. Right now in my league, guys like Kobe Bryant, AK-47, and Elton Brand are sitting on poor teams. They should stay there. Taking risks is one thing, but take them in the right spots. The problem with your team isn’t the stud player – it’s the guys surrounding him. Don’t fix what’s working – fix what’s not.
DO take risks on rumors. With the trade deadline coming up, there are going to be plenty of rumors going around. If you’ve got a favorite, then go for it. If you guessed right on Artest and bought him low in the week before he was dealt, you just got a huge bonus for your team. We’ll obviously discuss some of the more credible rumors out there as they come around, but generally, rumors are just smoke and mirrors, and the real deals come out of nowhere – like the Ricky Davis/Wally Szczerbiak deal.
DO NOT be on the “2” side of a “2-for-1” deal. This goes against conventional wisdom, I know. But for bad teams, the problem – more often than not – is depth. Trading away two starters can turn a team with poor depth into a team with bench players in the starting lineup. Obviously, if one of the two that you’re trading is a bench player, then this rule doesn’t apply.
DO consider punting. Hey, why not? Odds are, if you’re at the bottom of the overall standings, you’re at the bottom of one or two categories as well. Pick one, and run with it. It’s time to take a chance – that’s one with little downside if you’re already at the bottom of the standings.
DO NOT have loyalty to the players you drafted. We’ve all got those players that we pegged in the preseason as having a chance to break out this year. And many of them have played well, to be sure, but not well enough to really belong on a roster. I’m guilty of this as well. Early in the year (even during the preseason), I couldn’t stop talking about Charlie Villanueva. I drafted him late, and watched him have a couple huge games early, and continue to tease me throughout the year. And though his averages were pretty decent, I just couldn’t plug him in my lineup, because I just couldn’t trust him, so eventually I let him go. Now, this might be a bad example – Villanueva is exactly the kind of guy a struggling team should be picking up – but the point is there nonetheless. You’re going to be loyal to “your guys,” but your guys are not getting you anywhere – time to look for some new blood.
Finally, DO suggest that you do a keeper league next year. Keeps it interesting for everyone!