Draft Day and the process of proposing and going through with a trade after Draft Day is like Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Christmas is the shit and New Years is just right around the corner. It’s a different kind of fun, but a similar type of thrill is involved. (That maybe the worst analogy ever.)
You’re still ill-willed about the asshole who swooped up your guy one pick before you and you will do (almost) whatever it takes to get him on your roster, preferrably before the season starts. However, there are rules if you want to make it happen. If you are in a highly active league follow some of these guidelines before you send over some bullshit offer that will make the owner on the other end feel disrespected and quite possibly make him not want to deal with you ever again.
Rule #1: Understand the value and/or relationship the owner has with his players. You heard the banters of the war room when certain players were drafted. You’ve listened to the guy beside you confess his love for a player. Keep this shit in mind and instill it in the back of your head. Taking notes will give you an advantage when negotiating. If somebody reached a little bit for a guy…that means he liked him. So before you start trading your ‘good value picks’ make sure they have some worth to the other guy, especially when asking for somebody’s man-crush.
Rule #2: Don’t get labeled.
How many times do you get an email like this:
Team Douchebag offers you: Earnest Graham, Hines Ward, and Peyton Hillis for Michael Turner
You might as well be kicked out of your league. The old 3-for-1 deal may work at 7-Eleven on Taquito Tuesdays, but not here jackass. Don’t be that guy and more importantly don’t become labeled. Be creative and fit your proposals to each individual owner. If you send your 3-for-1 to eight other owners in the league for one of their productive starters they are going to humiliate you on the message board.
Rule #3: Be Patient. There’s always a guy in your league that ends up with a Michael Jackson-esque makeover by seasons end. Everyone knows what that looks like. If your team doesn’t resemble anything it looked like on Draft Day, there’s a reason you are in last place. Trading just to trade is the quickest way to flush your season goodbye. Be patient and get good value out of your trades. Remember you are trading for one purpose and one purpose only…to make your team better.
Rule #4: Be Decisive. 9 times out of 10 you know right off the bat how you feel about a trade. If it seems uninteresting, throw it out, but take your notes. If it seems intriguing, keep talking. If it perks up your nose like the smell of Folgers on a Sunday morning then hit the accept button. If you dick around too long and try to get something else out of it they will be deterred or he may already be closing a deal with somebody else. Also, if you’ve done your due diligence on a trade and know how you feel about it, don’t let the smooth talking guy in your league that works at a car dealership change your mind. Close the deal.
Rule #5: The old Buy Low/Sell High rule still exists. Evaluate players on a weekly basis and make a list of players that you think will outperform their current value. Then go after them before they get hot, because the same trade isn’t going to be there.
Again, the only purpose of making a trade is to make your team better. Don’t fill a weakness and create a weakness at the sametime. Look at your bench, look at the waiver wire and make sure that it’s truly going to benefit your squad. Also, think about the other guy too. The more you focus on filling his needs, the faster you will fill your needs. It’s kind of like a relationship. Trading makes the season fun and keeps the league interesting and involved. It’s also the easiest way to anvil your team, so follow these rules and your fantasy experience will be that much enjoyable.
