Can’t seem to get the right deal done? Not comfortable with making trades? Not sure when to pull the trigger on a deal? Its okay, we have you covered. There are many things to keep in mind, and to use to your advantage when trying to get a deal done. Doing the right trades at the right time can make or break your fantasy season. So let’s make sure you are winning your trades…

Targeting

This one is pretty simple: take advantage of someone who has a position of need. You have two solid WR’s on your bench and notice someone who is struggling at the position, take advantage of them and attempt to trade for something of theirs that will help you. If the position is an issue for that manager, they may be willing to give up too much for too little in an attempt to try and fix their roster. Another way to use targeting to your advantage is trying to trade with someone who is in a losing streak, or just simply doing bad. These managers may take drastic measures to try and bust out of the slump, and be willing to blow up their roster. Losing sucks, everyone knows it, and when you are losing it is hard to just stay the course with your team. Managers will become annoyed with players on their roster if they are not getting the job done, that is when you come in and make their team even worse with a trade favoring you. Targeting doesn’t mean you insult them with an absurdly bad trade, but it can be useful to try and get a trade that slightly benefits your roster.

Filling Needs

On the opposite end of the spectrum from targeting, is being the one with having a position of need. The best way to get a fair deal done here is to trade with someone else who has a position of need. If both owners have a position of need, both parties involved will be more willing to get a fair deal done, which helps both rosters. The most important thing is to not ruin your roster trying to fix a position of need. Just because you have a need at RB doesn’t mean you trade a starting caliber WR for a handcuff RB who does nothing for your roster, barring injury. Don’t give up a guy like Kelvin Benjamin just because you have talent at WR for a guy like T.J. Yeldon just because RB is a weak spot on your roster. This kind of trade does not fix anything. What will happen, if you do a trade like that, is one of your starting WR’s will get hurt, and then not only are you still thin at RB but now you are also thin at WR. This is how your season can be lost really quick. Work the waiver wire, send out trades that will actually help your team, and avoid making drastic mistakes.

Know Your League Members

Knowing how your fellow league members think, play, and run their team is crucial. Who is more willing to work with you on getting a deal done? Who is more likely to abandon ship if their team starts out slow? Who is more likely to jump for players off to hot starts? Who is more likely to let their heart come into play and take a bad trade to get players they like or players from their favorite team? These are all questions that you need to know the answers to, so that you can help yourself find good trades. The more you know about how your league members think, the more likely you are to find success in trades. The longer you play with people, the better you will understand them, but this also can work against you, as they will also know the way you think and play. This means you need to be careful when they are sending you trades that involve players you like, as it most likely is not a great deal, despite how highly you think of the player you are getting in return. The biggest thing here is to continually pay attention to what your league members are doing.

Hit on Early Value

So you drafted someone like Keenan Allen, Sammy Watkins, Alshon Jeffery, etc, etc. You will notice the guys I named all have one thing in common… they are super injury prone. They are risky players to rely on. After they have a few big games to start the season (which they likely will, being how talented they are) it is time to play it smart and look to trade them for top value. Yes, this can be difficult, as you want to hang on to them and continue to rack up points from them. The problem is, the very next week could be the week they roll their ankle, or land on their shoulder wrong, and now they are out for 4-6 weeks, and lose nearly all trade value. Sure, injuries can happen to anyone, but with this type of player it happens at an alarming rate. Trade them at the apex of their value, and in return get someone who you can count on each and every week. Find the person in your league who will allow the current production of these players to cloud their judgment of how big of a risk they are. More likely than not, you will be happy you did.

Dynasty/Keeper Trading

Dynasty/Keeper leagues bring an entirely different aspect to fantasy football trading. The biggest thing about these leagues is to know when to wave the white flag, or to push hard for the championship in the current season. If you are enduring a losing season, you need to be able to understand that it may just not be your season. Accepting defeat is hard, but in these leagues it can sometimes be for the best. At this point you are sitting at 3-6, a few games back of playoff position, and you're just not going to be able to make it happen. It is time to prepare for next season, and future seasons. You will want to trade your top-talent players to one of the fringe contending teams, who is trying to make a surge for the title. In return you will want either draft picks for next season and/or guys who will make for strong keepers. Do not wait until it’s too late. On the flip side of it, if you are in the hunt, it is time to make a move that could potentially vault you into taking home the trophy and bragging rights.  However, it is still important to not completely ruin your chances for years to come.  Be aggressive, but also be smart.

 

If you are not sure on a trade, you can always head to the forums and ask! Myself, or one of my colleagues will be more than willing to help you out and provide some advice. You can also find me on twitter @JustinVreeland and I will be more than willing to help you out.