Tricks of the T.R.A.D.E.

Posted 8/15 by Jeff Pasquino, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

"Deals are my art form. Other people paint beautifully on canvas or write wonderful poetry. I like making deals, preferably big deals. That's how I get my kicks." - Donald Trump

Finally, after weeks of your planning and a grueling four hours of drafting, you have your fantasy football franchise all set for the season. Barring injuries, coaching decisions, players not meeting expectations, or other players bursting on to the scene, you have nothing to worry about with the stable of talent you acquired in the draft.
Sound likely? That's what I thought.

For the rest of the season, you will be active in looking for any glimmer of talent to improve your team. It is also rather likely that one or more of your players are going to lose time to an injury. So what can you do to better your team, week after week?

Most leagues have waiver wires and free agency, which are either a free-for-all or a bidding process with transactions occurring at set times each week between games. Those decisions can be made in a vacuum - meaning that you can decide what to do to hopefully better your franchise by yourself and without anyone else's involvement.
There is another way that most leagues allow an owner to improve their team, but it is the most complicated method of all. This technique requires time and patience, and most of all interpersonal relations, which is a fancy way of saying "people skills". As you may have guessed already, I'm talking about trading players.

The Art of the Deal

What makes trading so difficult? First of all, it is the only method of improving your team that requires another team to be involved. It takes (at least) two owners to come to an agreement for a trade to happen, and that reason alone is responsible for many trades never coming to fruition. While you may think that you are offering a fair and reasonable trade, the other owner may think that you are way off in your valuation of talent, or simply may not want to help you improve your team.

There are ways that a good owner can improve his (or her) chances of making a deal. While there are more than just five things to keep in mind when working on a trade, remembering these will help you complete a deal that might lead you to a championship. I first introduced using the word "TRADE" as a handy pneumonic to remember five concepts here, and new for this season are five more:

"T" is for Targets - By targets I mean to go after a specific player, position, or both with your potential trade partner. Do not ask open-ended questions like "I'm looking for a deal - who would you like to move?" That shows indecisiveness and a lack of preparation. When you contact another owner, have someone or some form of a deal in mind. This shows you took the time to look over your roster and his (or hers) to decide what would make sense for both.
"R" is for Reluctance - This has two meanings, one for the owner who gets an offer and one who makes one. First, if you get an offer, don't jump at it if at all possible. Deadlines do exist, but if you "hem and haw" at the opening offer (and they all are usually opening offers), you start the process of negotiation. Continue that and eventually strike a deal, even if it looks 99% like the original offer. By negotiating both owners feel like they struck a good and fair deal and each had to give a little.
Now if you are making the offer, be wary of the other owner jumping on the deal. If he or she does, that may mean you offered too much. Don't give away the farm in the first offer.
"A" is for Aggressiveness - An owner who is aggressive will make more deals than a passive owner. Why? Well, a deal takes two to tango, but no deals take place if someone doesn't get out there and make some offers. You have all probably seen a deal go down in your league and thought "I would have given way more for Peyton Manning than that". That may be true, but you didn't make an offer, so you have no right to complain. Bottom line - make some offers to make more deals.
"D" is for Deadlines - Trade deadlines for leagues exist, but that's not what I am talking about here. When you make an offer, don't leave it flapping in the breeze forever. Tell the other owner that you have to get an answer in 48-72 hours (or less) else you are moving on to other owners and deals. No one likes to hear that an owner is holding up a trade, so don't be that guy.
"E" is for "Either / Or" - Sometimes you can feel out an owner even in an opening offer. If you are indifferent as to what he or she could take in exchange for what you want, offer two or more options. For example, if you think Brian Westbrook is either worth Willie Parker straight up or Ronnie Brown and a third round pick, offer both options and then let them decide. However, NEVER let them start to go "a la carte" on you. There is no counter of "Willie Parker and the third rounder and we have a deal" - that just doesn't fly.

The "T.R.A.D.E." ideas listed above are just some of the concepts that are needed to negotiate a successful fantasy football deal. Hopefully you can refer back to these as you learn to incorporate them into your interactions with other league owners and get more trades to come (and go) your way. Also be sure to check out Trader Joe's in our discussions forum that will also be featured on The Audible and in the weekly columns once again this season.