^{Copyright © 2009 Jay Charles Johnson, all rights reserved}

Introduction

Trading in Dynasty leagues is essential to long term success.  Winning in the first few years of any league is tied to the players you have initially drafted, but beyond that you must trade if you wish to contend for your league championship.

Why is trading so important?  It is very simple - if you don’t trade you are limiting yourself to acquiring players only in rookie drafts or on the waiver wire.  I suppose one can succeed with a no trade philosophy, but I have yet to see it work in the long term.

Making good trades is a skill that is not easily acquired.  In my 7 years in Dynasty leagues I have seen people who are otherwise intelligent and successful consistently make the most idiotic and boneheaded trades imaginable.

What is the problem here?  One would think it should not be that difficult for anyone who has been in redraft leagues for a few years to work out a trade that it not so lopsided against them, but, alas, that is not the case.

Part of it has to do with not having a firm grasp of the long term value of players. However, I think the real reason is that most people have not encountered anything akin to trading in their everyday life and that impact is more pronounced in a Dynasty league setting.

Most of us work for someone else and are rarely involved in negotiations for products or services that our company uses.  And, of course we never experience the real life horse trading that occurs in a bartering economy, where you are trading dissimilar items, such as “I will give you 2 pigs for 4 cows.”

In this article, I will go over the basic things to keep in mind before making or accepting a Dynasty trade offer.

Know Player Values

If you don’t know the market value of players as per the scoring in your league, you will always be on the losing end of any trade.  Determining long term value is difficult for many who are new to Dynasty leagues, so please consult the player rankings listed on this or other sites.  Unfortunately, these rankings will only be helpful if you are trading players in the same position (i.e. a QB for a QB).

Once you are considering a trade involving different positions, you are making an apples and oranges comparison.  If you owned Adrian Peterson, how much is he worth in trade?  Would he be worth both Calvin Johnson and a Top 12 RB?

Hard to say, as player value is subjective and even the top analysts are not always in agreement.

I am getting ahead of myself here, but if any trade feels right to you on an intuitive or a gut level, I would say go for it.  If in doubt, ask for the opinion of people you know or make a message board posting: “Would you take player A for players B and C?” You should get several responses, as those in this hobby love to talk about it and give advice.

Evaluate Your Team

Take a critical look at your Dynasty squad, or ask a friend to help you. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Where will this team be next year or 2-3 years down the road? Identifying where your team stands is the first step before making or accepting any trade offer.

Are you over-stocked or under-stocked at any position? For example, let’s say your TEs are Jason Witten, Kellen Winslow and Anthony Fasano, but your team is weak at the WR or RB position.  Your league only requires you start one TE, so Winslow would be expendable and you might swing a deal for either a WR or a RB ranked somewhere in the # 13 - # 24 range (or better).

Another thing to consider is the age of your team.  If you are top heavy with players on the wrong side of 30, it is time to think about acquiring or developing their replacements.  It is just a matter of time until they either retire or lose their Fantasy value.  As the saying goes, it is better to trade a player a year too early rather than a year too late.