Fantasy Basketball: Trading LeBron James is the key to winning your league
By Seth Klein
Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Trading LeBron James will help you win your fantasy basketball league.
There, I said it.
I know that sounds crazy, but before you issue a 5150, please allow me to explain…
The NBA All-Star break is now upon us, and many fantasy basketball owners will use this time to do the same thing: take a break.
It’s a long season and everyone could use some rest and relaxation, but taking a break is the last thing owners should be doing right now.
You can rest when you’re dead!
No one ever won a fantasy league by resting on their laurels. Being complacent with the squad you have will come back to bite you in the end. The trade deadline in most leagues is fast approaching and owners will need to start sending out offers if they have any hopes of improving their team beyond the occasional waiver wire add. Increasing your team’s game volume come playoff time will give you an edge over your competition.
This is why I’m telling you to trade LeBron James.
“Trade LeBron? Are you freaking insane?!?”
Well in fact, good sir, I am not. While LeBron is one of the best players in fantasy hoops – No.6 on Basketball Monster.com’s player rankings, in fact – he also has a less than favorable situation when it matters most – in the fantasy playoffs.
The Miami Heat are not shy when it comes to sitting their players. Dwyane Wade has missed 13 games this season in order to rest his aching knees, foot, head, side-chick problems etc. Despite Wade’s absence, the Heat are still 37-14 – sitting two-and-a-half games behind the Eastern Conference leading Indiana Pacers, but a commanding 11.5 games ahead of the third-place Toronto Raptors.
The Heat have found success without Wade, getting great usage out of guys like Ray Allen, Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. Come March and April, there’s no reason to think the Heat won’t pull the same stunt with LeBron. After all, they did the same thing last year.
During the final two-and-a-half weeks of the 2012-13 NBA season, LeBron sat out six of Miami’s final 10 games, and shattered the hopes and dreams of millions of fantasy basketball owners in the process.
With the Heat pretty much locked in to either of the top two seeds in the East, it makes sense for Miami coach Erik Spoelstra to rest his stars and have them ready for a run at a third consecutive NBA Championship. During the final three weeks or so of the season, the reigning champs have games vs. New Orleans, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Minnesota, as well as two games against the league-worst Milwaukee Bucks. All of those matchups are ones Spoelstra could probably sit LeBron and feel rather comfortable about it.
Trading LeBron now can get you a king’s ransom in return. Literally.
After Wednesday’s 36-point, 13-rebound, nine-assist performance vs. the Golden State Warriors, LeBron’s value can’t get any higher. His buzzer-beating 3-pointer sent shockwaves through the basketball world, letting people know he was still the “King”:
A two-for-one trade, or even three-for-one trade — although not the best to do when giving up the top player in the deal – could allow you to acquire substantial depth, and in the process rid you of the headache LeBron could bring come playoff time. By making an offer to the right owner, you could easily take in a nice haul. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that in trading LeBron, you could land a package of say Deron Williams and DeMar DeRozan – both of whom have excellent playoff schedules.
Trading away LeBron is not something you’d want to necessarily pull off if you are clinging to the last couple of playoff spots in your league, but if you are near the top, it’s a move that will pay huge dividends.
Wave good bye to LeBron James, and say hello to a fantasy basketball league championship.