Meta Draft Lottery, aka "The LeBron Sweepstakes"
The date: July 15, 2013. (Yes, it was that long ago, and I'm only posting now. Sue me. Seriously, sue me; I need the work.) League members Vivek (28 Light Years Old) and Andy (Metta World Peas, The Commish) gathered at a local coffee house in Chicago, IL. Small pieces of paper mingled in a hat. Vivek drew them out one by one, and a Meta Draft order was born. The stakes: a chance to draft LeBron James.
Worlds shook. Babies cried. Metta World Peace was amnestied. And when it was all over, here's how it shook out.
Pick 1: Anna (Block O, last place last year)
Pick 2: Alan (Brew Ha Bandits, 8th place)
Pick 3: Vivek (28 LYO, 9th place)
Pick 4: Annan (WWJKD, 7th place)
Pick 5: Angelo (Knights of Rodanthe, 4th place)
Pick 6: Bob, aka my dad (Balding Ballers, 6th place)
Pick 7: Nick (Nutcrushers, 2nd place)
Pick 8: J.J. (Linbitches, 5th place)
Pick 9: Me (Metta World Peas, 3rd place)
Pick 10: Chris (YoungGayLoveFavors, Champion)
No big shocks. Angelo and Nick moved a bit above their station, but other than that everybody was right around where the odds put them.
Now, we've gots to get the actual Meta Draft started. Here's the schedule (as per the youjsh, we'll be doing this by email):
Anna: get your pick in to everyone by Saturday, October 12, at noon Central
Alan: Monday, October 14, noon Central
Vivek: Tuesday, October 15, noon Central
And et cetera. Anna, if you want to get this kicked off earlier, by all means. As always, if you don't get your pick in on time, you will default to the earliest available pick.
Eligible Keeper List
Let's make the keeper declaration deadline Sunday, October 20, at midnight Pacific time, shall we? Like last year, we'll be using Yahoo!'s keeper declaration system, where you input your own keepers on your team page. If you have any questions, just email me.
A reminder on formatting and rules: if a player has a decimal for the round, that means they can be kept in either of those rounds (i.e., 1.2 means the player can be kept either in the first round or in the second round if you are keeping someone else in the first). If a player has only one keep left, that means this is the last year you can keep them (i.e., they're on an "expiring contract"). Also remember that guys who went undrafted last year but were picked up off the waiver wire only have a 1-year keeper contract.
Without further delay, here's the list of eligible keepers:
| Team | Keeps | Player | Round |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Josh Smith | 1 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Rudy Gay | 1.2 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Danny Granger | 1.2 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Pau Gasol | 1.2 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Steve Nash | 2.3 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Monta Ellis | 3.4 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Marcus Thornton | 3.4 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Tony Parker | 4 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Brook Lopez | 5 |
| 28 LYO | 1 | Andrew Bynum | 6 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Andrew Bogut | 7 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Jason Terry | 7 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Gordon Hayward | 8 |
| 28 LYO | 3 | Ray Allen | 9 |
| 28 LYO | 1 | Vince Carter | 10 |
| 28 LYO | 1 | Antawn Jamison | 16 |
Balding Ballers |
3 |
Dwight Howard |
1 |
| Balding Ballers | 2 | Paul Millsap | 1.2 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | David Lee | 2.3 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | Kyrie Irving | 4 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | Rajon Rondo | 4 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | John Wall | 4 |
| Balding Ballers | 2 | Kevin Love | 5 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | Evan Turner | 6 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | Jared Dudley | 7 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | DeMar DeRozan | 12 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | Luke Ridnour | 13 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | Omer Asik | 13 |
| Balding Ballers | 1 | Carlos Delfino | 14 |
| Balding Ballers | 3 | Chandler Parsons | 14 |
| Block O | 2 | Chris Paul | 1 |
| Block O | 3 | Chris Bosh | 2.3 |
| Block O | 2 | Marc Gasol | 3.4 |
| Block O | 3 | Manu Ginobili | 4 |
| Block O | 2 | Roy Hibbert | 4 |
| Block O | 3 | Nene Hilario | 5 |
| Block O | 3 | Damian Lillard | 5 |
| Block O | 3 | Luol Deng | 6 |
| Block O | 3 | Kenneth Faried | 7 |
| Block O | 3 | Kawhi Leonard | 8 |
| Block O | 3 | Bradley Beal | 9 |
| Block O | 3 | Isaiah Thomas | 10 |
| Block O | 3 | Harrison Barnes | 10 |
| Block O | 3 | Dion Waiters | 11 |
| Block O | 1 | Eric Bledsoe | 13 |
| Block O | 3 | Tristan Thompson | 14 |
Brew Ha |
2 |
Deron Williams |
1 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | Anthony Davis | 1.2 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | 2.3 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | Gerald Wallace | 3.4 |
| Brew Ha | 2 | Jeff Teague | 6 |
| Brew Ha | 2 | J.J. Hickson | 8 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | David West | 9 |
| Brew Ha | 1 | Danny Green | 9 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | Emeka Okafor | 12 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | Austin Rivers | 12 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | Devin Harris | 13 |
| Brew Ha | 1 | Patrick Patterson | 13 |
| Brew Ha | 2 | Brandon Knight | 14 |
| Brew Ha | 3 | Derrick Favors | 15 |
| Brew Ha | 1 | Randy Foye | 15 |
| Brew Ha | 1 | Mickael Pietrus | 16 |
Knights of Rodanthe |
3 |
Dwyane Wade |
1 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 3 | Nicolas Batum | 1.2 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 3 | Mike Conley | 2.3 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 2 | Ty Lawson | 3.4 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 3 | Tyreke Evans | 4 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 2 | DeMarcus Cousins | 5 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 3 | O.J. Mayo | 7 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 3 | Kemba Walker | 8 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | Nikola Vucevic | 8 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | Amir Johnson | 8 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | Serge Ibaka | 9 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | Martell Webster | 11 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | J.J. Redick | 12 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | Al-Farouq Aminu | 14 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | Jimmy Butler | 14 |
| Knights of Rodanthe | 1 | Reggie Evans | 16 |
Linbitches |
3 |
Al Jefferson |
1 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Paul Pierce | 2.3 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Raymond Felton | 5 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Carlos Boozer | 6 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Luis Scola | 7 |
| Linbitches | 2 | Ricky Rubio | 8 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Jonas Valanciunas | 9 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Greg Monroe | 10 |
| Linbitches | 1 | Robin Lopez | 10 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Danilo Gallinari | 12 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Wilson Chandler | 12 |
| Linbitches | 1 | Andre Miller | 13 |
| Linbitches | 3 | Tiago Splitter | 15 |
| Linbitches | 1 | Maurice Harkless | 15 |
| Linbitches | 1 | Derrick Williams | 16 |
| Linbitches | 1 | Kenyon Martin | 16 |
Metta World Peas |
3 |
Al Horford |
1.2 |
| Metta World Peas | 3 | Derrick Rose | 3 |
| Metta World Peas | 3 | Zach Randolph | 5 |
| Metta World Peas | 1 | James Harden | 8 |
| Metta World Peas | 2 | Stephen Curry | 9 |
| Metta World Peas | 1 | Jeff Green | 13 |
| Metta World Peas | 1 | Tobias Harris | 16 |
| Nutcrushers | 2 | Kevin Durant | 1 |
| Nutcrushers | 1 | Blake Griffin | 1.2 |
| Nutcrushers | 3 | Andre Iguodala | 2.3 |
| Nutcrushers | 3 | Tim Duncan | 5 |
| Nutcrushers | 2 | Brandon Jennings | 9 |
| Nutcrushers | 3 | DeAndre Jordan | 10 |
| Nutcrushers | 3 | Spencer Hawes | 12 |
| Nutcrushers | 3 | Shawn Marion | 15 |
| Nutcrushers | 3 | Nate Robinson | 15 |
| Nutcrushers | 1 | Tayshaun Prince | 16 |
| Nutcrushers | 1 | Earl Clark | 16 |
WWJKD |
3 |
Dirk Nowitzki |
1 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Carmelo Anthony | 1.2 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Joe Johnson | 2.3 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Eric Gordon | 3.4 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Ersan Ilyasova | 4 |
| WWJKD | 3 | JaVale McGee | 5 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Kevin Martin | 7 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Anderson Varejao | 8 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Darren Collison | 8 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Jameer Nelson | 9 |
| WWJKD | 1 | Kyle Korver | 9 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Glen Davis | 10 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Jamal Crawford | 12 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Lou Williams | 13 |
| WWJKD | 3 | Byron Mullens | 14 |
| WWJKD | 1 | Gerald Henderson | 15 |
YoungGayLoveFavors |
3 |
LaMarcus Aldridge |
1 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 3 | Nikola Pekovic | 7 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 1 | Larry Sanders | 7 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 2 | Ryan Anderson | 8 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 1 | Thaddeus Young | 9 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 3 | J.R. Smith | 9 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 3 | Russell Westbrook | 10 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 3 | Paul George | 11 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 3 | George Hill | 11 |
| YoungGayLoveFavors | 3 | Jrue Holiday | 13 |
Item for League Discussion: Supplemental/Expansion Keeper Draft?
In addition to the Meta Draft, Chris and I have been throwing around the idea of doing a Supplemental Keeper Draft. The idea would be that, after all teams have submitted their keepers, the remaining keeper eligible players could be claimed by those teams who did not keep the full four keepers. This might help out those teams that either (a) have crappy keeper options, (b) strategically decide to let one of their keepers expire for a stretch run (rather than trade that expiring for assets), and/or (c) experience bad luck with a previously keepable commodity getting injured or losing their role (either through usurpation, trade, or FA exchange). Overall, we think it might make the distribution of keepable talent more equitable. The downsides are (a) it takes away the strategic option of "keeper blocking," i.e. rostering a guy you don't intend to keep just so he's available to draft next year; (b) it will push the keeper declaration deadline earlier, because we'll need to get those in with enough time to actually execute the Supplemental Draft, which means you will be locked in to your keepers without the benefit of seeing preseason action; (c) it adds another layer of complication and strategy, which some of you might rather not deal with.
Nothing has been decided on this front. I wanted to bring it up for discussion. Good idea? Bad idea? Should Chris and I develop some models for how this might work, or is it not even worth it? We won't have time to do it this year, but let's get the discussion started for next year.
Truncated League Awards for Last Season
So, I wrote up something much longer than what you're going to get, but it was lost when Windows decided to restart my computer. Windows graciously saved a temp version of the file, but somehow I screwed up the saving of it, so there we are. But here are the basics, and an update of our All Time Rankings.
Best Keepers (75 ATPs): Meta World Peas. This one wasn't close. LeBron. Harden. Curry. Klay Thompson. Even if I kept them all where they were drafted in redraft leagues, that would have been the best slate, but I didn't -- I had Harden, Curry, and Thompson in the late rounds. Honorable mention was Chris, who -- as usual -- had an embarrassment of keeper riches, and could only keep four.
Best Draft (75 ATPs): YoungGayLoveFavors. Chris maintained a roster that consistently supported top-100 players (and sometimes was almost full of top-50 players). He didn't really miss on that many draft picks. I would say that my draft was pretty close in terms of quality, but it's hard to beat taking the risk on Kobe in round two (he was straight balling for most of the year as a top 5 guy); Lowry in the third; Pek in the 8th; JR Smith was a steal; and George Hill was useful. As a side note, I was pretty sure that Angelo was going to win this one, as I don't know how in the hell he competed like he did without a dope slate of keepers or really any studs outside of Nick Batum (having the easiest schedule during the year and catching some other scheduling breaks helped). In short, if Rose had come back at all, this would have been my award, but he didn't, so whatever. /bitterness
Master of the Waiver Wire (75 ATPs): YoungGayLoveFavors. G'dammit, Chris. Larry Sanders. I'm not even going to do more analysis.
Here's where the ATP rankings end up after last year's finishes and awards:
(As a quick reminder, here's how you earn ATPs: League Championship: 500 ATPs; Second Place: 200 ATPs; Third Place: 100 ATPs; Seventh Place (winner of the Consolation Bracket): 75 ATPs; Master of the Waiver Wire: 75 ATPs; Best Keepers: 75 ATPs; and Best Draft: 75 ATPs.)
1. Bob Josephson (Balding Ballers): 1400 ATPs
(Rank last year: 1.)
2012 Master of the Waiver Wire (75)
2011 League Champion (500)
2011 Best Draft (75)
2011 Best Keepers (75)
2010 League Champion (500)
2009 Best Draft (75)
2009 Third Place (100)
2. Chris Quiroga (Young No Mo Still Gay, Thabeet Goes On, Young Gay Love Favors): 1300 ATPs
(Rank last year: tied for 2.)
2013 League Champion (500)
2013 Best Draft (75)
2013 Master of the Waiver Wire (75)
2012 Best Draft (75)
2012 Master of the Waiver Wire (75)
2009 League Champion (500)
3. Nick Quiroga (Nutcrushers): 850 ATPs
(Rank last year: tied for 2.)
2013 Second Place (200)
2012 League Champion (500)
2011 Best Keepers (75)
2009 Master of the Waiver Wire (75)
4. Andy Josephson (Something Clever, Del Harris Del Negro, Metta World Peas): 525 ATPs
(Rank last year: tied for 4.)
2013 Third Place (100)
2013 Best Keepers (75)
2012 Seventh Place (75)
2012 Best Keepers (75)
2011 Second Place (200)
5. J.J. (Moo Moo Mussolini, Mao Meow ZeMeow, TEAM CHAMPIONS, Vujabitches): 350 ATPs
(Rank last year: tied for 4.)
2011 Seventh Place (75)
2010 Second Place (200)
2010 Best Draft (75)
6. Angelo Alexander (Knights of Rodanthe, Liberal Elite Media): 300 ATPs
(Rank last year: 6.)
2012 Second Place (200)
2010 Third Place (100)
7. Alan Robey (Brew-Ha Bandits): 275 ATPs
(Rank last year: 7.)
2010 Master of the Waiver Wire (75)
2009 Second Place (200)
8. Annan Moy (Arbitrageurs, Phi Slamma Jamma, Joakim Noah 4 EVR): 250 ATPs
(Rank last year: tied for 8.)
2013 Seventh Place (75)
2012 Third Place (100)
2011 Master of the Waiver Wire (75)
9. Vivek Raval (28 Light Years Old): 175 ATPs
(Rank last year: tied for 8.)
2011 Third Place (100)
2010 Seventh Place (75)
10. Anna Robey (Block O): 150 ATPs
(Rank last year: 10.)
2010 Best Keepers (75)
2009 Seventh Place (75)
