This dynasty trade was made in mid-July on one of my strongest teams. The league is a 14-team non-PPR, start 1-2-2-1-1Flex-K-DST with shallow 22 man rosters and no taxi or injured reserve. I have finished in the top-3 in all three years of the league. You can find more of my work by following @PwinDynasty on Twitter.
The Approach
Despite the shallow roster size, I had room to add some rookie picks after a previous trade this off-season.
Jameis Winston is a target player after a solid 4,042-yard, 22-touchdown and 15-interception season as a 21-year-old rookie. He is the first 21-year-old to start all 16 regular season games, and the first to eclipse even 2,500 yards at that age. Only Cam Newton and Andrew Luck had more pass yards in their rookie seasons, but Winston had fewer interceptions than both.
To acquire Jameis Winston, my strategy is loosely based on two common closing techniques; the Yes-set Close and the Alternative Close. First step was to get the other owner to say ‘yes’ to trading Jameis Winston plus for Andrew Luck. Then I started to set the terms by sending two or three offers that are similar in value. I have found the most success when I include the same pieces on the other owner’s side and prefer to do this in an email exchange as opposed to sending multiple trade offers through the league site. For example, I sent the below offers via email to the Winston owner.
- Luck for Winston 1.10, 2.4
- Luck for Winston 1.10, 2017 2nd
- Luck for Winston 1.10, 2.12, 2017 3rd
This makes them focus on comparing differences in each offer, as opposed to deciding if they want to make the trade. After one quick counter, we had an agreement.
The Trade
Gave Andrew Luck
Received Jameis Winston, 1.10, 2.12, 2017 4th
This trade was all about the ‘juice.’ While I would have been happy with settling for Winston and pick 10, I was able to squeeze out a couple more picks in the deal that I can use to make a larger deal or to move around in the rookie draft. In addition, I have reset the clock on my quarterback position and acquired my preferred replacement.
My Post Trade Roster
Jameis Winston, Kirk Cousins
Le’Veon Bell, Todd Gurley, (Ezekiel Elliott)
Odell Beckham Jr., Sammy Watkins, Kevin White, Jordan Matthews, Breshad Perriman, Devin Funchess
Travis Kelce, Clive Walford, Austin Seferian-Jenkins
2016 1.1, 1.9, 1.10, 1.12, 5.7, 5.12
2017 1,1,4,4,5,5
Takeaways
Know what you are trying to accomplish in your trade negotiations. This will allow you to apply the correct strategy to land the deal you want. My goal was to move Andrew Luck for Jameis Winston plus rookie picks. I was able to maximize that value by applying the Yes-set Close and Alternative Close sales techniques. This combination of closing techniques works especially well when trying to move a stud for a target player and some ‘juice.’
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