Michael Chen

Fantasy Sports

Reading the room, then trading for my timeline

By Michael ChenPublished

My plan going into the dynasty auction was to get a vibe of the room. I wanted to see how expensive people were going to be and adapt, rather than force one approach the whole way through.

People bid really high on the first few players. I took a more casual depth approach and tried to get deals.

Starting with Johnson and Giddey

My first buy was Jalen Johnson for $225. He was the 18th sale of the auction, right after Cade Cunningham went for $304 and before Ryan Rollins went for $38.

Then I got Josh Giddey for $153 at sale #21. Stephen Curry had just gone for $47, and Giannis Antetokounmpo went next for $221. Those numbers are the order players sold, not rankings or snake-draft picks.

Johnson and Giddey appealed to me because they're young and I think they have very high potential. Once I had Johnson, I wanted to lean toward players around 24–28 rather than build around older stars.

Curry's age put me off. With Giannis, my concern was how well he'd age.

Towns at $80

Towns was 30, and I thought $80 was pretty cheap for him. He was sale #28, right after I bought Austin Reaves for $75 and before Cameron Boozer went for $250.

The rest of my auction included Walker Kessler for $94, Franz Wagner for $91, Trae Young for $70 and Jaylen Brown for $51. I finished with 25 players and spent $987 of the $1,000 budget.

My full auction draft

All 25 original purchases, in auction order. These are the prices I paid on draft day, including players I later traded. The numbers are overall auction sale numbers, not rankings.

  • #18: Jalen Johnson, $225
  • #21: Josh Giddey, $153
  • #27: Austin Reaves, $75
  • #28: Karl-Anthony Towns, $80
  • #34: Walker Kessler, $94
  • #40: Franz Wagner, $91
  • #57: Trae Young, $70
  • #69: Jaylen Brown, $51
  • #80: Morez Johnson Jr., $6
  • #101: Jeremiah Fears, $6
  • #107: Isaiah Hartenstein, $6
  • #108: Joan Beringer, $10
  • #129: CJ McCollum, $8
  • #135: Jarrett Allen, $18
  • #149: Norman Powell, $10
  • #151: Coby White, $11
  • #153: Andrew Wiggins, $8
  • #161: Mikal Bridges, $8
  • #164: Tari Eason, $2
  • #172: Ayo Dosunmu, $20
  • #179: RJ Barrett, $29
  • #183: Ousmane Dieng, $2
  • #186: Jusuf Nurkić, $2
  • #190: Zuby Ejiofor, $1
  • #207: Moses Moody, $1

Total: $987 spent, $13 left from the $1,000 budget.

Fears for Alexander-Walker

On October 28, I sent Jeremiah Fears, my 2027 second and my 2028 first for Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

I sent Fears away before he started to pop off because he didn't match my timeline. Alexander-Walker is 28. I like his three-point shot and his defense, and I think that should age well.

Fears had cost me $6 at sale #101, between Immanuel Quickley at $19 and Kyshawn George at $14. The day after the trade, Fears put up 22 points, eight rebounds and 13 assists. I didn't have that game to look at when I made the deal. Alexander-Walker later had 20 points, four assists, two steals and two blocks on November 9.

Kessler and picks for three known players

On November 11, I sent Kessler, my 2027 first, my 2028 second and my 2029 first for Darius Garland, Tyler Herro and Jaren Jackson Jr.

I wanted more known quantities in that 26–27 age range. Garland and Herro are 26. Jackson is 27. All three had already been All-Stars, including selections in 2025.

I don't value my future picks very highly for this team because I plan to contend for the next three years. I already have Chris Cenac Jr. and Karim Lopez in my taxi slots. I don't feel like I need more picks right now.

There are health questions with the players coming back. Utah reported Jackson's right-knee MCL tear and a six-week reevaluation in October. That's a reevaluation, not a promised return date. Herro also missed November 10 with a bruised right knee.

I knew about the injuries, but I was fine taking on Jackson because I have IR spots. Injuries happen. I saw Herro as day-to-day, so that didn't really matter to me in the deal.

The second trade only happened on November 11, so there's no post-trade result to judge yet. I want to contend for the next three years. We'll see how it goes.

Auction prices and completed trades are from my Sleeper and Pancake league records. Game lines are NBA statistics, not my league's fantasy scores.

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