Fantasy Sports Ethics: Question 3 (cycling players)

[Roy Hobbs]

The final "ethical" fantasy question I can think of is a personal pet peeve of mine.  We've all been there:  we're in the fantasy finals, and we're tempted to start adding / dropping players via the waiver wire, cycling through the weakest players on our roster to guarantee a games-played advantage.  This way, you can guarantee that you have a player playing in the "cycled" slot every night.

Is this acceptable?  I personally think it's a bit sleazy, and can't stand it.  However, I understand the desire to win, and think it's up to commissioners to set rules against this behavior, by limiting the number of add/drops during the playoffs.

[furball]

On this one I agree with you.  If it's allowed by rule then that's up to the person, I wouldn't do it myself.  But I believe there should be rules against it and the leagues I play in all have such rules. 

[Steve Weinman]

If there are no limits on drop-adds, I've got no issue with it.  Just as legal and accessible an option for everyone.

If there are limits, then no one will be doing it.  Still fair.

(Note at this point that I've got a rather laissez faire attitude when it comes to fantasy sports.)

-sw

[Rida]

The final "ethical" fantasy question I can think of is a personal pet peeve of mine.  We've all been there:  we're in the fantasy finals, and we're tempted to start adding / dropping players via the waiver wire, cycling through the weakest players on our roster to guarantee a games-played advantage.  This way, you can guarantee that you have a player playing in the "cycled" slot every night.

Is this acceptable?  I personally think it's a bit sleazy, and can't stand it.  However, I understand the desire to win, and think it's up to commissioners to set rules against this behavior, by limiting the number of add/drops during the playoffs.

Its very simple. Don't play in a daily league. I personally hate Daily leagues, it just comes down to who is the most active on the waiver wire. There is little skill involved. In a weekly league there is much more strategy and as a team owner you feel like your lineup choices play a huge role in your team performance.

I refuse to play daily leagues now, they are just not as much fun as weekly leagues

[LB3533]

How can a "weekly league" have more strategy?

Daily leagues, owners have to pay attention to detail, injuries & assess their bench players.

Just like any real GM out there, players and teams will be tinkered with.

Why wouldn't a team add a waiver player who just got significant boost in minutes & production?

Why did the Celtics just add Finely?

Bottom line is, you play to win and you have to try your hardest to win within the rules set by the league.

I've got 300 bucks on the line in my NBA league playoffs....you mean to tell me I am not supposed to cycle my bench players with waiver guys, if said waiver guys are producing more?

[Rida]

How can a "weekly league" have more strategy?

Daily leagues, owners have to pay attention to detail, injuries & assess their bench players.

Just like any real GM out there, players and teams will be tinkered with.

Why wouldn't a team add a waiver player who just got significant boost in minutes & production?

Why did the Celtics just add Finely?

Bottom line is, you play to win and you have to try your hardest to win within the rules set by the league.

I've got 300 bucks on the line in my NBA league playoffs....you mean to tell me I am not supposed to cycle my bench players with waiver guys, if said waiver guys are producing more?

A weekly league has way more strategy because you have to pay close attention to matchups and the number of games the player has that week. Your decisions when starting your team come down to how well you asses them doing against the team you are playing against.

In a daily league I personally believe there is less strategy and ultimately it comes down to who is the most active on the waiver wire. For me thats not a skill, there is more skill to knowing your team and knowing who to play when rather than picking a player simply because hes playing that day.

Weekly leagues are won by tactics, daily leagues are won by the players that are on the website the longest, picking up and dropping on a daily basis

[JSD]

I don't see a problem with this so long as the waiver picks rotate.

[Greenbean]

How can a "weekly league" have more strategy?

Daily leagues, owners have to pay attention to detail, injuries & assess their bench players.

Just like any real GM out there, players and teams will be tinkered with.

Why wouldn't a team add a waiver player who just got significant boost in minutes & production?

Why did the Celtics just add Finely?

Bottom line is, you play to win and you have to try your hardest to win within the rules set by the league.

I've got 300 bucks on the line in my NBA league playoffs....you mean to tell me I am not supposed to cycle my bench players with waiver guys, if said waiver guys are producing more?

A weekly league has way more strategy because you have to pay close attention to matchups and the number of games the player has that week. Your decisions when starting your team come down to how well you asses them doing against the team you are playing against.

In a daily league I personally believe there is less strategy and ultimately it comes down to who is the most active on the waiver wire. For me thats not a skill, there is more skill to knowing your team and knowing who to play when rather than picking a player simply because hes playing that day.

Weekly leagues are won by tactics, daily leagues are won by the players that are on the website the longest, picking up and dropping on a daily basis

There are arguments for both sides. There is day to day strategy in daily leagues in knowing who to play according to matchups, while there is more guess work and research in weekly leagues.

Daily leagues do require the most time on the website though.

[Fan from VT]

i think it's sleezy and there should be no add/drops in the playoffs.

Of course (plug alert!) the solution is to play at hoops.sports.ws

it's the best fantasy basketball i've seen. It's game by game head to head, so you can't get an advantage by packing multi game weeks. It's also per minute production, which is cool. the main drawback is that it's very simplified, so those who like multiple categories won't like it.

[Donoghus]

I hate add/drops in the playoffs.  It pretty much undermines what people have done through the draft and regular season movements and comes down to who's better at signing scrubs when it counts.

That being said, its up to the commish and the league owners to implement a rule barring that action.  If there is no rule, its fair game but I think that process undermines things quite a bit.