I just started a keeper league and I am getting worried teams are dumping too many guys for picks next year and that their teams will become uncompetitive. How do you run your draft next year to offset this? These are the ideas i have had;
1. Picks go in reverse order last to first for next year(standard and why i think we have a problem)
2. 4 teams make the playoffs and they get the last 4 picks. Picks 1-8 are determined by record but unlike option 1 the team who finishes 5th gets 1st 6th gets 2nd and so on where the last place team gets 8th pick.(This keeps people trying very hard to finish with the best record possible, but might make it too hard to have the bad teams get better from year to year.)
3. Picks 1 and 2 go to the two teams who barely miss the playoffs(5th and 6th place teams) and picks 3-8 are the last place team through 12-7 worst to best.( this will still make some teams dump but gives a reward for people to continue to check.)
There is alot of money on this so i want to keep it as competitive as possible without making it so the best teams are auto the best every year.
1. Since the season is already in progress, you can't make any changes until next season. That means that if, as of now, it's set so draft order next season is reverse-standings, then you have to keep it that way unless you get unanimous approval by the league. Teams have been preparing for next season based on the current rules and shouldn't be punished for doing so.
2. Dump trades are an inevitable part of keeper leagues. It's the best way for teams that are out of it to get ready to be competitive the next season. A team should still be able to make a dump trade if they want to.
3. I think the best way to discourage awful dump trades (the one's the can, on their own, determine a league champion) is to increase the number of keepers in the league. I can understand if you are concerned about allowing there to be turnover between seasons (not letting the league become a de facto dynasty league), but to me the best way to discourage dump trades is to ensure that if they give up a ton of solid players for a great one, then their last few keepers are going to be very weak compared to the rest of the league. How many you keep is up to you, but I'd say somewhere in the 6-10 range is a good amount.
4. I think instituting a conciliation tournament to determine draft order for the following season is a very interesting idea. Again, I think you shouldn't do it for this season, since it would be changing the rules midseason, but over the offseason I think it's an idea that has merit. I would only offer one small tweak: instead the bracket determining draft position it determines the order in which teams select their draft position. The means the concillation winner would get to choose their draft position prior to the draft, then the runner-up, and so on. It would add a layer of strategy (would I rather have the 4th pick or 11th and 14th?).
We do a consolation bracket in my dynasty, but have tweaked it over the years. Now the draft order among the non-playoff teams is determined by the most points scored (H2H points leagues) over the last 8 weeks of the season. This rewards teams that improve over the season or who dont dump too much.
This is the first year for our 12 team, money keeper league so the jury is still out, but we instituted a policy where the winner of the consolation bracket gets to choose their draft slot. From there, the consolation bracket runner up gets to choose second and so on until the league champion is left with the last draft slot. We're hoping that this will keep everyone competitive through the playoffs knowing that they have a shot to get the #1 overall pick next year. Our league also brackets the keepers and you cannot keep anyone who was drafted in rounds 1-4. Therefore, the #1 overall pick has a lot of value.
Dump trades are going to happen in keeper leagues. In my league, I just acquired Ethier, Kemp, Garza and Zimmerman for Wieters, Hanson, Greinke and Quentin. I'm fighting for the last playoff spot and the guy I traded with is too many games back to contend. He had a lot of interest in Wieters and Hanson for next year and I was willing to part with them to make a run at my division and the playoffs. Two other teams, one in last place and the other in 10th have announced "fire sales" and are looking to grab some talent for next year. Chances are names like Santana, Beckett, Wainwright and Manny could be traded before Sunday's deadline. As commish, I try to be vigilent about reminding everyone of their keeper options so that if they do dump players, they get something good in return. I hated to let go of Hanson, and I feel like the deal will burn me some next year, but I gambled. Such is fantasy sports.
1. Since the season is already in progress, you can't make any changes until next season. That means that if, as of now, it's set so draft order next season is reverse-standings, then you have to keep it that way unless you get unanimous approval by the league. Teams have been preparing for next season based on the current rules and shouldn't be punished for doing so.
4. I think instituting a conciliation tournament to determine draft order for the following season is a very interesting idea. Again, I think you shouldn't do it for this season, since it would be changing the rules midseason, but over the offseason I think it's an idea that has merit. I would only offer one small tweak: instead the bracket determining draft position it determines the order in which teams select their draft position. The means the concillation winner would get to choose their draft position prior to the draft, then the runner-up, and so on. It would add a layer of strategy (would I rather have the 4th pick or 11th and 14th?).
I agree though that you can't really make any changes mid-season. Our league constitution allows us to make changes to the league only if we have a 2/3 vote (8 teams must vote in favor of any proposed changes). The last thing you want to do is piss people off and have them lose more interest.
Cafe Home
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by cnasty » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:59 am 
