Trade Goat's Formula for Successful Trading
1. Make sure that ALL your offers would have the respect of the NBA players involved if they saw them.
2. Avoid chasing a player to accomplish an end for your roster. If you have a player in mind, check to see if you can find anyone on your roster that would help the manager of the other team have a better team if he completed the trade with you for the player you had in mind, but keep your options open and stick to working hard to improve your roster through lots of good communications and contacts with other managers. Keep your mind open to opportunities of every kind.
3. Be careful not to overlook multiple player trade opportunities. So many times, excellent trades can be overlooked simply because someone did not notice that a two for two or three for three trade could be completed. Keep 1 for 2, 2 for 1, 3 for 2, etc. offers a last resort. Either you or your prospective trade partner will be required to drop a player in this situation, and the extra drop can be the straw that breaks a deal in this situation. If you find yourself nearing this kind of agreement, don't be afraid to ask who your prospective trade partner will be dropping if he is the recipient of the larger number of players as it stands in the final stages of negotiations. You may be interested in the player if you will be receiving the lower number of players as the trade is currently being finalized.
4. Early in the year, especially following the draft, be ready to trade ANY of your players to get better. Be careful not to hurt your team's performance, however. You may find yourself in a bind and unable to recover if you do. Take note of ALL your weaknesses following the draft and stay open to ALL opportunities. It's important to get out of the gate hot, but even more important to be working VERY hard early in the year. Championships are difficult to earn, but the things you do early in the year and pre-season will pay the biggest dividends toward that end.
5. Be careful not to consider your players who start at a certain position or who put up specific or special types of numbers as the only options of a type available for trade. You may have the best player at a position and may be willing to trade him, but a creative manager may find a way around you. The most important thing about this point, however, is that it will save you time and heartache to remember that you can be "stuck" with the best player at a position or, for example, the best rebounder. In these types of cases, just stick with the player and be as content as you can be. Maybe a surprise will come along if you stay busy looking for other options for improvement.
6. Never allow yourself to believe that there is no way to win the championship this year. When you have been mathematically eliminated, begin your focus on next year, but every position in the standings you rise from trying harder in a difficult or bad season will bring a reward for you somewhere down the line. A defeatist attitude can lead to horrible trade offers and ultimately to dismal, even disgraceful, results.
7. Respect your prospective trade partners implicitly. When you make an offer, make sure that you can make a case for the trade being a plus for your trade partner's roster. Actually, don't even bother making an offer until you can make the case with yourself that it makes your prospective trade partner's team better. Also, make your case with prospective trade partners. Sometimes, they don't see the light until someone explains to them how a trade improves their team. Remember, the bulletin boards here at Yahoo! are full of managers looking for advice. Your trade prospect is looking, too!
8. Pay your ultimate respects to the top 5 players in your negotiations. You may not agree with Yahoo!'s assessment, but ALWAYS be ready to make the case for your top 5 and always be ready to defend their value in trade. This is a matter of survival, really. It's not really possible to "steal" a player in a trade, no matter how much it may seem so.
9. DO NOT try to hurt another team/manager with a trade offer. This is deeply offensive and embarrassing. I only mention it, because it is possible to be working fast and not realize that a trade offer is offensive, especially in a situation where you become desperate to make the playoffs and/or to perform. On another note, also be wary of handing a prospective trade partner a championship with a trade. ALWAYS be aware of how the trade will affect his chances. Make him pay hard for a player he wants if he is close to a championship caliber team. Drive as hard a bargain as you possibly can in this situation and remember that you don't have to make the deal. Just make sure you are getting EVERYTHING you can when dealing with top teams.
10. Do your absolute best to break down every season before the season starts, so that you can recognize trends and make good trade decisions. Each year has twists and turns and there will be threads of success running through each one. Try to identify what kind of players will be successful given off-season moves and given fan tendencies. Pre-season preparation is the real key to successful trading. Remember, ideally, you wouldn't even have to make a single trade to achieve a league championship.
2. Avoid chasing a player to accomplish an end for your roster. If you have a player in mind, check to see if you can find anyone on your roster that would help the manager of the other team have a better team if he completed the trade with you for the player you had in mind, but keep your options open and stick to working hard to improve your roster through lots of good communications and contacts with other managers. Keep your mind open to opportunities of every kind.
3. Be careful not to overlook multiple player trade opportunities. So many times, excellent trades can be overlooked simply because someone did not notice that a two for two or three for three trade could be completed. Keep 1 for 2, 2 for 1, 3 for 2, etc. offers a last resort. Either you or your prospective trade partner will be required to drop a player in this situation, and the extra drop can be the straw that breaks a deal in this situation. If you find yourself nearing this kind of agreement, don't be afraid to ask who your prospective trade partner will be dropping if he is the recipient of the larger number of players as it stands in the final stages of negotiations. You may be interested in the player if you will be receiving the lower number of players as the trade is currently being finalized.
4. Early in the year, especially following the draft, be ready to trade ANY of your players to get better. Be careful not to hurt your team's performance, however. You may find yourself in a bind and unable to recover if you do. Take note of ALL your weaknesses following the draft and stay open to ALL opportunities. It's important to get out of the gate hot, but even more important to be working VERY hard early in the year. Championships are difficult to earn, but the things you do early in the year and pre-season will pay the biggest dividends toward that end.
5. Be careful not to consider your players who start at a certain position or who put up specific or special types of numbers as the only options of a type available for trade. You may have the best player at a position and may be willing to trade him, but a creative manager may find a way around you. The most important thing about this point, however, is that it will save you time and heartache to remember that you can be "stuck" with the best player at a position or, for example, the best rebounder. In these types of cases, just stick with the player and be as content as you can be. Maybe a surprise will come along if you stay busy looking for other options for improvement.
6. Never allow yourself to believe that there is no way to win the championship this year. When you have been mathematically eliminated, begin your focus on next year, but every position in the standings you rise from trying harder in a difficult or bad season will bring a reward for you somewhere down the line. A defeatist attitude can lead to horrible trade offers and ultimately to dismal, even disgraceful, results.
7. Respect your prospective trade partners implicitly. When you make an offer, make sure that you can make a case for the trade being a plus for your trade partner's roster. Actually, don't even bother making an offer until you can make the case with yourself that it makes your prospective trade partner's team better. Also, make your case with prospective trade partners. Sometimes, they don't see the light until someone explains to them how a trade improves their team. Remember, the bulletin boards here at Yahoo! are full of managers looking for advice. Your trade prospect is looking, too!
8. Pay your ultimate respects to the top 5 players in your negotiations. You may not agree with Yahoo!'s assessment, but ALWAYS be ready to make the case for your top 5 and always be ready to defend their value in trade. This is a matter of survival, really. It's not really possible to "steal" a player in a trade, no matter how much it may seem so.
9. DO NOT try to hurt another team/manager with a trade offer. This is deeply offensive and embarrassing. I only mention it, because it is possible to be working fast and not realize that a trade offer is offensive, especially in a situation where you become desperate to make the playoffs and/or to perform. On another note, also be wary of handing a prospective trade partner a championship with a trade. ALWAYS be aware of how the trade will affect his chances. Make him pay hard for a player he wants if he is close to a championship caliber team. Drive as hard a bargain as you possibly can in this situation and remember that you don't have to make the deal. Just make sure you are getting EVERYTHING you can when dealing with top teams.
10. Do your absolute best to break down every season before the season starts, so that you can recognize trends and make good trade decisions. Each year has twists and turns and there will be threads of success running through each one. Try to identify what kind of players will be successful given off-season moves and given fan tendencies. Pre-season preparation is the real key to successful trading. Remember, ideally, you wouldn't even have to make a single trade to achieve a league championship.
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