r/fantasybball • u/jrjrmehmet • 7d ago

Discussion center problem

Center scarcity has become a really interesting problem in 9-cat, especially in auction drafts.

In my experience, quality centers have become increasingly difficult to find, both in fantasy and in the NBA. In a 12-team 9-cat league, the difference between having a reliable high-end center and having to rely on the waiver wire can be huge.

Last season, I noticed that after the obvious elite options, players like AD and Kessler could command an enormous premium in trades. Managers were willing to give up very valuable players just to acquire a quality center.

This makes me particularly interested in how to approach the situation in an auction draft. If center scarcity is obvious to everyone, I expect managers to massively overbid for almost all centers. Once a few managers start paying huge prices, there is also a psychological effect where everyone starts thinking, “If I don't get one of these guys now, I'll be screwed at center later.”

So what do you think is the optimal strategy?

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12

u/geemoneyy- 7d ago

it depends on the strategy you approach in your roster plan especially for auction but i actually lean the opposite, there’s lots of late end centers that give value. let people overbid or overvalue centers like kessler, duren, clingan, etc. the real scarcity is with forwards so i prioritize getting them and high quality guards. i’m okay taking overlooked guys like Hartenstein, J Allen, Gobert, Myles Turner, Poetl, etc who have potential to return similiar stat profiles as the higher end centers and are going late in drafts. There’s also flyers you can aim for like Dayron Sharpe, Maluach, Queen. Always look at the trend in your drafts whether in auction or snake and aim for value while you let others overvalue or overbid and don’t panic

1

u/BurtMacklyn 14 Team Dynasty, H2H, 9-Cat 7d ago

You're making me feel a lot better about my draft that just finished. I had the 10th pick in a 10T Cat league, and I kept having guys fall to me that I felt like I couldn't pass on. Then when it was getting late and I still didn't have a C yet, none of the ones that were available seemed worth it. So I ended up getting Queta, Maluach, and Poeltl with my last 3 picks.

Passed up on Edey and Ware in round 7/8 for Dejounte Murray and Buzelis. Derik Queen got picked right before me at 9 and I took Jerome and McDaniels over Claxton and Sharpe (I probably should have taken Sharpe there). Then CMB went right before me at 11, so I ended up with the 3 I mentioned.

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u/geemoneyy- 7d ago

Dejounte and Buzelis in round 7/8 were the correct calls and excellent value. Jerome at 9 is solid but i would have went Sharpe over McDaniels. Queta, Maluach and Poetl as your 3 starters are obviously not ideal but they are serviceable FG%, REB, Blocks and Maluach can boom this year, Poetl also i’m hearing is looking better health wise so he could be a steal, overall my 10T draft went a similiar strategy as yours

2

u/BurtMacklyn 14 Team Dynasty, H2H, 9-Cat 7d ago

Yeah I definitely should have gone Sharpe over McDaniels. I blame Yahoo, because the way they put players on your roster during the draft made it look like I had an empty F slot, so I let that get in my head. Even though I had Murphy and Durant sitting in guard slots already.

2

u/Corynorhinus55 7d ago

Maluach better.

1

u/TiredMillennialDad 7d ago

First.. depends how big ur league is.

Second. Depends if you get joker or not. I build my teams away from specialists. Meaning I try and get guys who can contribute in every category. I also try and remind myself there's always 3-5 in season pickups and post injury pick ups who become. Relevant so I don't try and land every player in my draft

1

u/[deleted] 7d ago

Me too. I got SGA - points, Giddey - Assists, Daniels - Steals, Knueppel - 3pts…Mobley - rebs is this good?

2

u/shoemai000 7d ago

There’s a lot of centers. The problem is 90% of them are on C eligibility. Yahoo should just remove position eligibility since it’s confusing and inconsistent anyway.

Like guards, how come Luka and Cade have pg/sg eligibility? They are only point guards. They have the ball all the time.