Good discussion.
-I think restricting trades wouldn't be the best option.
-I think there does
need to be some type of change.
As things currently stand it creates an atmosphere that rewards "gaming" new/inexperienced owners into lopsided trades.
That is not fun. MFN is fun. Trying to keep up with other owners who "go out of their way" to "fleece" owners is
not fun. Taking advantage of other people.... is not fun. (
Maybe it's just me though)
I am very competitive, and like to do well, because of this I pick at the back of all the draft rounds. This is ok. It's kinda fun picking late and searching for some gems. On average I will get less talented players in the later portion of a round than the earlier. This helps to "equalize" things for the new/inexperienced owners to get a little boost on talent over me. This is great for the game. Whats not great for the game is someone with a "good" team like mine, selecting in the top of the draft every year because they can take advantage of someone who just wants to "have fun/play well" and is "tricked" into some trade that makes little sense for their team. This makes the league less competitive/fun at both the top and bottom.
-The bottom because it makes the "bad" teams even more bad.
-The top because it takes a top team, and gives them access to players they have no business drafting.
The best way to compete with this type of team is the old mantra "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." But again.....this is not fun. The game is meant to be fun. I want to wish the best for my fellow owners, not try to dupe them.
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I like to do trades. Though negotiating a trade can be very difficult, so many times I don't bother.
I think the best fix for all the current trade issues, is to make trade offers "public" knowledge. This would still allow everyone the freedom to build their team however they wish, in fact it would almost give you more freedom, because you would have more information to go off of when trading. This wouldn't force anyone to play the game a certain way, or build their team a specific way, it would only make things transparent for all owners to see. I think this would increase the amount of trades and drastically increase the competitiveness when offering trades. This is not a bad thing, this would make trades much more fun when you can get feedback from 31 other owners instantly. New owners would get
way more information to consider when dealing with experienced owners.
-This would greatly reduce the "trade police" criticism we see frequently in the forums, because anyone can offer a better deal to prevent the "new/inexperienced owner" from getting "fleeced".
-The trade bar could immediately be loosened up to allow more trades, because the "free market"(owners out-bidding each others trade offers) will keep trades at "market value" and prevent lopsided ones. Thus the trade bar wouldn't have to enforce "fairness", the league's community would do so inadvertently.
-This is more realistic than I think many people realize. NFL teams have whole staffs that can call and communicate with other team's staffs 24/7.
We do not. "Public trade offers" would simulate the hundreds of call/texts being sent around the league during trade season.
-The only owners this would hurt are the one's who try to take advantage of other owners. This would essentially destroy their ability to rip off other owners because their deals would always be less than what other owners would offer.
-I fully support all my trade offers being shown to others. I have nothing to hide. If you can offer a better deal than me, go for it. Maybe that team will give up too much and the deal won't be worth it to me anymore. That's fine.
Trades shouldn't happen in a vacuum. Teams play off of each other when making offers, that's how the NFL works, and it creates a very competitive trade environment. I
should be able to offer a better deal then someone else, instead of not knowing someone was available until
after the trade.
That's not realistic at all. What team would only shop a trade to one other team......NONE! EVER! No team would
ever limit themselves in this way, but we all do it everyday here on MFN. Open up the lines of communication! Let's make trades more interactive and create a more fun atmosphere for everyone!