Trade Ethics (1 Viewer)

[GroveDiesel]

Hypothetical situation

You have 3 teams: A, B and C. The league is a keeper league with, say, a salary cap.

Team A makes a trade proposal to Team B. The offer is a 2 for 1. Team A probably can't keep both guys anyway and the player he would get in return would be a top 10 guy at the position. Even better, Team A doesn't have to give up any draft picks.

Team A is then talking to Team C and finds out that Team C has offered a top 3 player at that same position to Team B in a trade. Team B would have to give up a 2nd round pick, but is apparently willing to do the trade.

Team A has two first round picks and could easily up the offer to his lower 1st round pick and get the top 3 player from Team C at the same salary as the top 10 player from team B. But it would cost a draft pick and he'd still have to drop his other 2 players. Team A tells Team C that if Team B does decide that they want to give up a 2nd, to come back to Team A and he may be able to beat that offer.

Team A would prefer to deal with Team B since he doesn't have to give up any draft picks in the trade. If Team C and Team B make a deal, then Team A probably ends up with neither trade. On the other hand, knowing the information that he currently know, if he waits on Team B to make a decision, either Team B or Team C could end up screwed.

Is it unethical for someone to leverage inside information against teams or is it just part of the game? Should Team A let Team C know that he has a trade offer out to Team B? Should Team A just offer the 1st rounder to Team C now? Should Team A let Team B know anything? Should Team A just keep his mouth shut and play the other owners against each other without their knowledge?

 

[Black Box]

Wow, totally didn't follow that.

But I say Team A should just do whatever is best for his own team. Information is information and should be used as such.

 

[tomarken]

Hypothetical situation You have 3 teams: A, B and C. The league is a keeper league with, say, a salary cap.Team A makes a trade proposal to Team B. The offer is a 2 for 1. Team A probably can't keep both guys anyway and the player he would get in return would be a top 10 guy at the position. Even better, Team A doesn't have to give up any draft picks.Team A is then talking to Team C and finds out that Team C has offered a top 3 player at that same position to Team B in a trade. Team B would have to give up a 2nd round pick, but is apparently willing to do the trade. Team A has two first round picks and could easily up the offer to his lower 1st round pick and get the top 3 player from Team C at the same salary as the top 10 player from team B. But it would cost a draft pick and he'd still have to drop his other 2 players. Team A tells Team C that if Team B does decide that they want to give up a 2nd, to come back to Team A and he may be able to beat that offer.Team A would prefer to deal with Team B since he doesn't have to give up any draft picks in the trade. If Team C and Team B make a deal, then Team A probably ends up with neither trade. On the other hand, knowing the information that he currently know, if he waits on Team B to make a decision, either Team B or Team C could end up screwed.Is it unethical for someone to leverage inside information against teams or is it just part of the game? Should Team A let Team C know that he has a trade offer out to Team B? Should Team A just offer the 1st rounder to Team C now? Should Team A let Team B know anything? Should Team A just keep his mouth shut and play the other owners against each other without their knowledge?

That was way too confusing. Why don't you just move it to the AC so you can just spell out the details of the trade you're trying to make.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Simplified version:

If you receive information from another owner who is talking as a friend and not as an owner, and that information can be used against that owner, are you obligated to say something?

 

[FantasyTrader]

In my league we have a rule stating that prior to a 3-party trade, ALL parties must be informed of all parts of the trade. Though I didn't track your question very well, I don't think that's what you were talking about here.

I personally don't feel that you have an obligation to disclose trade talks you've had with other parties. But I would also factor in what this would do to your image if the other two parties ever started talking and were able to piece together what you were doing.

Unethical? No. Potentially bad for your image? Yeah.

 

[Pipes]

Nothing wrong with this at all. In fact if I'm team B I let both team A & team C know that I'm getting 2 similar offers (I probably wouldn't be too specific) and that I'm taking the best deal.

I'm guessing team C knows already knows about Team A's offer as well.

 

[Coeur de Lion]

Getting the best deal you can and playing other interested owners off against each other is just smart business. It is pretty expected in all of my serious leagues. When two friends are in the same fantasy league, there really isn't any "off the record," unless you promised to keep things confidential prior to him talking to you, in which case you are being a bit underhanded.

 

[SSOG]

I'm a very ethical trader- not because it makes me feel warm and fuzzy, but because it helps my time. I have played in leagues with the same players for a half-dozen years, and they all have a pretty good memory. If I screw someone in a trade, I might win in the short term, but I've just lost a trading partner for the next 5 years, so I wind up screwing myself in the long term. Trading in good faith really is in your own best interests as an owner (unless you're only in the league for 1 year). In fact, I have intentionally made trades that I knew I would be on the losing end of provided the trade didn't hurt me any (i.e. I was trading a backup or someone of little value to me and I wasn't trading it to a big rival), especially if I had made several trades with that player in the past where he felt like he got shafted (usually do to injuries after the fact). The result is that if that owner gets wary of trading with me because of all the times he's "lost", I now can say "but remember when we traded X for Y and you clearly came out way ahead?".

Long story short, I'd recommend doing whatever gets you the best deal without costing you potential trading partners in the future.