Off the Glass

Learning lessons the hard way about making trades

Latrell Sprewell can still score and help out your team, if you're willing to make a deal. AP

By Paul Forrester, Special to SI.com

For most people, the end of formal schooling means the end of rapid learning. No one assigns you 300 pages of reading over a weekend with a term paper due days later to emphasize the lessons one should take from a history textbook. So while we all pick up what we need -- and want -- to understand, there is no structure imposing that we learn something in a specified matter of time.

OTG has tried to remind himself of this observation many times over the past week as I finally have come to understand the length of my new learning curve: five years. That's right, it took me only half of a decade to understand that a fantasy team going nowhere will remain true to that path unless you shake things up a bit.

This is no great revelation to many fantasy owners, but to OTG it was as if the cold of a New York winter had released its grip on my team. In years past, I would be so convinced that my draft had put together the right combination of parts that the idea of parting with a player was the same as admitting I had drafted a mistake.

Of course, I soon came to realize that the real mistakes (cough, cough, Vince Carter) no one wants anyway. So to change the team's outlook meant trading away players who weren't mistakes. And stubborn as it was in holding on to sixth place, I still felt that my club was always on the verge of turning the corner, which usually led into the brick wall of mediocrity -- or worse.

OTG can recall with alarming clarity the hesitancy I displayed in dealing Dikembe Mutombo (prior to his enrolling in AARP) for some much-needed assists when Ben Wallace was already in place to more than keep the team afloat in blocks and rebounding. The fantasy fates punished OTG for his lack of vision with an excruciating second-place finish. Other trade opportunities came and went over the years, some taken, most internally debated and passed.

Without fail, win or lose, the season always became more interesting when I swallowed hard and made a deal. Even if a team failed to finish in the money, the fact that there were different box scores to peruse and different stats to monitor almost always made the trade worth it. (Although, there was that Kenny Anderson for Erick Dampier deal a few years back that didn't put a whole lot of spring into my step.)

After five years of toying with the idea of partially blowing up my team and usually not doing so, OTG finally figured out there are more reasons to do so than not.

As most trade deadlines are at least two-thirds of the way into the NBA campaign, an owner has had plenty of time to assess whether his team has the horsepower to make a serious run.

While most of us -- well, me at least -- placate our minds with the idea that if we can just catch a hot week out of the roster, we'll be in the thick of things, the reality is that, deep down, each of us knows that if our club hasn't done it by the deadline, it's not going to do it. Hell, if nothing else, look at the percentages. If the current elements of a fantasy team have not produced enough in the season's first 50-plus games, what makes you think it will produce over the season's final 30 contests?

So with that thought in mind -- and a cozy eighth-place spot at my disposal -- I dealt Caron Butler for Eric Snow and Brad Miller for Latrell Sprewell. Will either deal rocket my stagnant group into the league's upper echelon? Maybe not.

But it might propel my team into the mix. Upward movement is good movement. Even two places and a chance to make the real contenders sweat for a second will make the season's final run worthwhile. Revelatory this may not be, but exciting it is, especially for a slow learner such as OTG.

OTG answers your questions

Dump Camby. Even when he played on winning teams, Camby was never a sure bet from game-to-game with a body seemingly made of fine china. On a team playing for LeBron James (they may not be tanking games, but when the front office guts all the veteran talent, there is little opportunity to do anything but lose), Camby has even less incentive to play through the aches and pains that have made him one of the most frustrating fantasy players ever.

Neither Delk nor Williams will win a league for you, but they both produce plenty of the support numbers every team needs: a steady supply of points, rebounds, steals and 3s. They do a lot of the dirty work on their respective teams, which means they always will get minutes and always add something to the standings.

What's your take on Mike Miller? Would you drop him for Drew Gooden and/or Gordon Giricek? It seems the two new Magic kids are quickly producing much better, while Miller (if he even plays) is putting up the same old numbers.
--Minstrel, Texas

For Gooden? Yes. For Giricek? Probably. A healthy Miller offers just as many points and 3s with a fair amount of assists and rebounds as Giricek. But note that the word key is "healthy." After missing large parts of last season with an ankle injury, Miller has suffered through an assortment of ailments this year: ankle, strep throat, ankle again and back ligament. With Miller's role in Memphis in flux as he learns Hubie Brown's system and Hubie Brown learns what Miller can and can't do, Miller's numbers might fluctuate quite a bit, especially with the Grizzlies playing for the future. Orlando's season is geared toward making the playoffs, and with Grant Hill and now Miller out of the picture, Giricek and Gooden figure to be counted on to support Tracy McGrady under the glass (Gooden) and on the perimeter (Giricek) every night.

What happened to Raef LaFrentz? I know he's coming back from injury and was already in the middle of a really good rotation, but in the past two weeks his PT has dropped to almost nothing. Is there another injury?
Chris Lindy, Evansville, Ind.

The problem LaFrentz is facing is that he isn't a primary option on the Mavericks, which means that his use is limited to what Nelson needs out of him from night to night. If Don Nelson thinks Dallas needs an additional outside threat, LaFrentz will get the call; if Nelson needs a shot-blocker in the paint, Bradley will get the call. In that sort of situation (one overloaded with offensive talent), players can ensure minutes through defense, which has never been LaFrentz's strong suit. This leaves his minutes and, hence, production, at the whim of Nelson, who threw LaFrentz in his doghouse earlier this season. Although the former Jayhawk is out, his limited game still leaves Nelson in control of the leash.

 

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