So your league's trade deadline is coming up, but it doesn't matter. Nobody trades, so who cares?
Well, there's another league where trades never happen: The NFL. But there were a number of fantasy-relevant moves this year. And that should be enough motivation to give it a shot in your league.
Usually, nothing interesting happens when the NFL's trade deadline approaches. No major deals, no blockbusters and no league shakeups. Maybe a phone call or two, or a half-hearted inquiry. But by and large, the rosters don't change much.
Until this year. Jay Ajayi, Kelvin Benjamin and Jimmy Garoppolo all have new teams. And AJ McCarron was a bumbling front office away from going to Cleveland (hint: It was their front office). Those moves have ramifications beyond this season, but some impacted fantasy teams just a few days later.
Maybe you can replicate those opportunities before your own trade deadline. A lot will depend on your fellow owners, of course. If you play in multiple leagues (and who doesn't?) then you know that each one has its own character. And one way that character comes out is in trades.
Some leagues have a pretty free flow of talent, with a few interesting deals popping up each season as receptive buyers and sellers get together to make deals before the deadline.
Many of you are shaking your heads right now, because your league is nothing like that. In those leagues, owners are like catty stars on a "Housewives of Whatever" show. They interact with each other, but help someone out? Work toward a common benefit? A mutually-advantageous transaction? No chance. They'd rather go down in flames than admit they need help from someone else. Proposing a trade would be admitting weakness, and that will never happen. So deadlines come and go, and the rosters stay the same.
But here's the thing: if you want to give yourself a chance this year, it's time to swallow your pride and break with league tradition. It's time to be proactive and propose trades to owners you don't think would ever consider one. You should still have a little time to get some discussions going, and it could make a big difference in a couple of months.
I'm not saying it will be easy. You're going to have to do a lot of the work yourself. But if you're willing to put in the time, it could pay off for you. Here's what I would suggest.
Identify strengths and weaknesses. Is the Aaron Rodgers owner suffering as badly as the Packers? Did some unlucky soul draft David Johnson and Dalvin Cook as their starters? Does one team have more receivers than they'll need for the home stretch? Look at which teams have glaring weaknesses, and whose cup runneth over. These owners could be your best trade partners. Just don't limit your focus on those teams. Which leads me to...
Don't make assumptions. You'd think a 4-5 team would be eager to improve their roster, or a 8-1 team would be prefer to stand pat. Owners target trade partners who they think should be interested in trading. And that philosophy can be a big mistake.
The 8-1 owner might not feel good about the stretch run. The 4-5 owner might be stubborn, or think they're about to turn things around. The point is, you don't know. Make offers to everyone who has a player you could use. Forget records or activity. An owner might have used the waiver wire twice this year and still be willing to make a deal. You won't know if you don't ask.
Prepare to overpay. This is the second-best piece of advice I can give you. Sometimes you have to "lose" a trade in order to get what you want. What I mean is, you might have to give up more than you think is fair.
Besides, who cares about winning a trade? You want to win the league, right? So if you give up a great receiver for a great tight end, and that feels like too much, who cares? Forget what you think is fair. You had the depth to cover it and you now have another piece of the puzzle you need to move forward. That's all that matters.
When you stop worrying about making a deal that other owners will envy, and start thinking about the big picture, you'll realize that "overpaying" and "underpaying" are relative terms. It's all supply and demand. You either pay or you don't. Let your trade partner "win," and they might be more willing to pull the trigger. Just make sure you have what you need when all is said and done.
Call your trade partners. This is the absolute best piece of advice I can give you. And it's kind of dumb, right? Why call someone when you can email or send a message through the league site? What's the point?
The point is that nobody else will do it. The point is it's better to hammer out details in seconds on the phone, instead of weeks in a back-and-forth email chain. The point is that it's much, much harder to say no to an actual person than to ignore a message or reject a trade. In an actual conversation, owners will listen, be polite and maybe feel a sense of pressure to get something done. The transaction will be friendlier, faster and won't get ignored.
In the end, they might say yes. But even if they say no, you probably improved your relationship with that owner and you saved a lot of time, so you can move on to another owner. And you should call that one, too.
Hopefully, you can improve your team before the trade deadline. And if you do make a deal, have your ducks in a row and finalize the deal in time. You don't want to be a league-wide laughingstock because you couldn't adhere to a simple deadline you've known about all year.
As Spinal Tap would say, "Hello Cleveland!"
Are you going to try to pull off a trade this year? Any tips on how to get things done with stubborn owners? Share your thoughts below.