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Streaming options for Week 8 - Who are you guys streaming next week? Here are my thoughts.
Ready to run over and crush your next week's opponent like a STREAMroller? You're in the right place!
If you got a roster spot to spare or a guy you're not particularly fond of and wouldn't mind sacrificing him to the Waiver Wire Gods in return for some more games played next week, streaming is your cup of tea. I'm taking a look at which teams play on scarce gamedays next week, as their players should help most fantasy GMs fill out their starting rosters on those days, and analyzing which players could bring you some juicy stats and a W in the upcoming matchup.
Here are my thoughts on the
fantasy basketball streamers for Week 8. Just one word before we go deep into next week. I've been getting some amazing replies to my posts in the past few weeks, and thank you guys so much for this! I just wanted to let you know that the whole RotoBaller crew is working hard to help fantasy GMs out, and there is a ton of quality stuff on plenty of topics on our website, so if you're looking for information about something else as well, you can probably find it here: https://www.rotoballer.com/category/nba-fantasy-basketball-advice NBA Schedule Guide - Week 8
Only Thursday and Saturday (with five games a piece) have fewer than seven games scheduled. There are five teams that play on both of these days, and their players will be the ones we will focus on here.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games: Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Cleveland Cavaliers
Dallas Mavericks
Denver Nuggets
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Washington Wizards
Teams with 3 games: Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Miami Heat
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings
Utah Jazz
Teams with 2 games: -
Number of teams playing each day: Monday: 16
Tuesday: 14
Wednesday: 18
Thursday: 10
Friday: 22
Saturday: 10
Sunday: 20
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest): Monday/Tuesday: GSW, HOU, SAS
Tuesday/Wednesday: BKN, NOP
Wednesday/Thursday: IND, TOR
Thursday/Friday: BOS, DET, ORL, POR
Friday/Saturday: ATL, NYK, UTA
Saturday/Sunday: PHO
Sunday/Monday the following: CLE, LAC, SAC
Days with SIX or fewer games: Thursday: 5 games
Saturday: 5 games
Teams playing on both days: Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Houston Rockets (4 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Indiana Pacers (3 games - Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Miami Heat (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Philadelphia 76ers (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday) Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Houston Rockets (4 games - Mon, Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Toronto Raptors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday) Boston Celtics (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Detroit Pistons (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Orlando Magic (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Portland Trail Blazers (4 games - Tue, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday) Atlanta Hawks (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Los Angeles Clippers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
New York Knicks (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday) Brooklyn Nets (3 games - Tue, Wed, Sat)
Chicago Bulls (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Wed, Fri)
Washington Wizards (3 games - Mon, Wed, Fri)
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 8
Thursday has only four, and Saturday only five games scheduled, while all other days have at least seven. So these are the two days most likely to bring empty starting spots for fantasy GMs. Five teams have games on both these days and their players could fill in these holes nicely. Primarily Golden State and Houston who have a four-game week, and also Indiana, Miami and Philadelphia who play one more time in addition to the two days mentioned above. Players from these five teams will be our focus.
Fantasy managers with a bigger acquisition limit who need some help on other days as well could potentially try to maximize their games played by combining several players with different schedules throughout the week.
For example, San Antonio has a back-to-back set on Monday and Tuesday, then Atlanta and Indiana play three games from Wednesday till Saturday, and 18 teams play on Sunday so you can have your pick. If you stream players from these teams in the correct order, you could potentially get a six-game week from just one streaming spot using three acquisitions. There are other options as well of course, but this is just one example.
Streaming Options for Week 8
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week (Rostered in 25-75 % of Yahoo leagues): Eric Gordon, SG/SF, HOU, (59% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, HOU, (67% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL - positive circumstance: will get more minutes while
Christian Wood is out
Justin Holiday, SG/SF, IND, (42% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, a bit of everything
Jeremy Lamb, SG/SF, IND, (53% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, a bit of everything
Duncan Robinson, SG/SF, MIA, (70% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Goran Dragic, PG/SG, MIA, (68% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, AST - buyer beware: sprained his ankle in the previous game and we don't have an update at the moment so be sure to check his status before adding him
Kelly Olynyk, PF/C, MIA, (26% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Seth Curry, PG/SG, PHI, (60% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, AST - buyer beware: an illness kept him out of his previous game
Shallower League Add
DeMarcus Cousins, PF/C, HOU, (67% Rostered) Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL Positive circumstance: will get more minutes while Christian Wood is out Boogie Cousins is a household name, especially in fantasy basketball. A top-10 player for years while back in Sacramento, Cousins is known to be able to stuff the stat sheet when he hits his groove. And with Wood being out for some time, he should be getting enough playing time to really be fantasy relevant.
You gotta take the good with the bad with Boogie, and he could be quite frustrating to have on your team, but when he shines, he shines brightly! Here is what I mean.
He is second on the all-time ejections list behind only Rasheed Wallace (found this on several unofficial websites so if it's not correct I apologize, although it sounds legit) and he is starting to gain on Rasheed with a few ejections this season as well.
Furthermore, Boogie doesn't care if he's got a cold hand as he is capable of shooting 2-of-16 from the field (in his first of three games that Wood has missed during January).
But, then he steps up and hits 9-of-15 (4-of-8 from three-point range), and goes 6-of-7 from the charity stripe for 28 points, adds 17 boards and five assists the very next game. Then he follows that one up with 6-of-11 from the field for 19 points with 11 rebounds, five steals and a block. Very hot and cold. But that's Boogie for you.
If you have nerves of steel, and you like having a high impact player (whether it's a positive or negative impact, only Boogie will tell), he is definitely worth a shout with Wood out. Especially with a four-game week with games on the scarce days.
Deeper League Add
T.J. McConnell, PG/SG, IND, (22% Rostered) Strong Cats: AST, STL I absolutely love McConnell! As I am a big fan of a three-way punt FT%, 3PM, PTS build, he is exactly my type of player in the final rounds of drafts (or off the waiver wire in most cases as well). He brings elite per minute assists and steals to the table, along with a few boards without hurting you FG% from the PG spot, which is quite useful in such builds.
Now, T.J. is definitely an acquired taste, as he doesn't shoot or score much, is not too good from the free-throw line and doesn't get many threes or blocks. Furthermore, he might hurt you in the TO department as well on an off night. So, if these categories are important to you, McConnell is probably not your guy.
However, in the previous month, he is averaging 5.5 PTS on 49.2 FG% and just 20.0 FT% (but on only 0.4 attempts per game), 0.3 3PM, 3.3 REB, 8.3 AST, 1.9 STL, 0.3 BLK and 2.3 TO in over 25 minutes a game. This is good enough for spot #118 in Yahoo rankings.
So, if you don't need much help in his weak categories from your streamer, and you do anticipate a close matchup in AST, STL and FG%, McConnell is your guy! Furthermore, Indiana doesn't play before Wednesday, so if you're a gambling man, and you believe T.J. will be waiting for you, you could potentially get in a Houston, San Antonio or Golden State player for the back-to-back on Mon/Tue and then switch to McConnell for his three games on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Insanely Deep League Add
Juan Toscano-Anderson, SF/PF, GSW, (10% Rostered) Strong Cats: FG%, 3PM, REB, BLK/STL The NBA is crazy, and this season is making it even crazier. Thus, it shouldn't come as too big a surprise that I am recommending a player here who has played just seven games from the start of the season until February and scored a total of 22 points in those seven games. He actually had 11 personal fouls in those seven games as well, so 2 points for every personal foul. Not quite what you want from your fantasy players.
Juan Toscano-Anderson is buried in a crowded Warriors' rotation when everyone is healthy. But at this very moment, almost no one is. We got
Marquese Chriss,
James Wiseman and
Kevon Looney already confirmed out for the next week (Chriss even longer of course), and
Eric Paschall missing the previous game and questionable for the Week 7 Saturday game, so he could potentially also miss games in Week 8 as well.
And in the two February games in these new circumstances, Juan has been quite good, averaging 15.0 points with 2.5 threes on 70.6% from the field and no misses (in just one attempt) from the line, 5.0 boards, 3.0 dimes, 0.5 steals, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 turnovers in 33 minutes a night. I will just mention that this has him ranked at #30 on Yahoo, although this isn't a reliable indicator on such a small sample size.
Nevertheless, Juan has been given a shot and has used it quite well. He even played 40 minutes in the previous game. And with so many players making way for him, and such a favorable schedule for GSW next week, Toscano-Anderson is someone who could really contribute to your fantasy team. Of course, he could do nothing as well, since he is a rotational player usually, but it seems he is as good a bet as any in deep leagues.
Other Deep League Options for the Week
Rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo leagues
Juan Toscano-Anderson, SF/PF, GSW, (10% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, 3PM, REB, BLK/STL
Eric Paschall, SF/PF, GSW, (6% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB - buyer beware: currently injured day-to-day
Kent Bazemore, SG/SF, GSW, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, REB
Brad Wanamaker, PG/SG, GSW, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM, AST, STL
Damion Lee, SG/SF, GSW, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
P.J. Tucker, PF/C, HOU, (16% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Jae'sean Tate,
SG, HOU, (7% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK - positive circumstance: rookie factor; - buyer beware: also the rookie factor
Sterling Brown, SG/SF, HOU, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, a little bit of everything
David Nwaba, SG/SF, HOU, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, a little bit of everything - buyer beware: missed a couple of games due to an ankle sprain and still hasn't returned
Danuel House Jr., SF/PF, HOU, (11% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, a little bit of everything
Doug McDermott, SF/PF, IND, (12% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
Aaron Holiday, PG, IND, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, FT%
T.J. McConnell, PG/SG, IND, (22% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Goga Bitadze, C, IND, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Kendrick Nunn, PG/SG, MIA, (19% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, STL, FT% - buyer beware: his minutes are very dependable on whether Goran Dragic is playing or not
Precious Achiuwa, SF/PF, MIA, (3% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK/STL, FG% - buyer beware: plays just 16 minutes a game so far this season
Andre Iguodala, SG/SF, MIA, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL, REB
Shake Milton, PG/SG, PHI, (22% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%, AST
Danny Green, SG/SF, PHI, (23% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, a bit little of everything
Tyrese Maxey, SG, PHI, (6% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Matisse Thybulle, SG/SF, PHI, (7% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL/BLK
Dwight Howard, C, PHI, (16% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: poor FT%
Furkan Korkmaz, SG/SF, PHI, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
I hope this article helps you jump over your next obstacle on the way to the Fantasy ring!
EDIT: If you read this post in the first 10 minutes of publishing, there were some mistakes in it. Thanks to
u/dubious_dinosaur for pointing it out. I've corrected the mistakes. Two games have been added to Week 8 and some schedules have changed a bit. This resulted in an extra game for Boston, Detroit, New Orleans and Toronto. The article should be fully correct now.
Streaming options for Week 5 - Who are you guys streaming next week? Here are my thoughts.
Row, row, row your teamGently down the STREAMFantasy, fantasy, fantasy, fantasyTitle's not a dream
In these crazy times, fantasy GMs need to be flexible and quick to react. Plenty of games are being postponed, and plenty of fantasy lineups are remaining unfilled. This is where streaming can come in handy and fill those holes left by poor schedules or game postponements.
Here are my thoughts on the
fantasy basketball streamers for Week 5. Just one word before we go deep into next week. I've been getting some amazing replies to my posts in the past few weeks, and thank you guys so much for this!
I just wanted to let you know that the whole RotoBaller crew is working hard to help fantasy GMs out, and there is a ton of quality stuff on plenty of topics on our website, so if you're looking for information about something else as well, you can probably find it here:
https://www.rotoballer.com/category/nba-fantasy-basketball-advice NBA Schedule Guide - Week 5
Very obvious week for streaming. Tuesday with two and Thursday with three will be the days we focus on. All other days have between seven and 13 games played so fantasy GMs should have less difficulty filling up the lineups there.
Here's the low-down:
Teams with 4 games: Atlanta Hawks
Brooklyn Nets
Dallas Mavericks
Detroit Pistons Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies
Miami Heat
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Orlando Magic
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers
San Antonio Spurs
Toronto Raptors
Teams with 3 games: Boston Celtics
Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Denver Nuggets
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
New Orleans Pelicans
Oklahoma City Thunder
Philadelphia 76ers
Sacramento Kings
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards
Teams with 2 games: None
Number of teams playing each day: Monday: 20
Tuesday: 4
Wednesday: 22
Thursday: 6
Friday: 26
Saturday: 14
Sunday: 16
Back-to-Backs (beware of older or banged-up players who might rest): Monday/Tuesday: -
Tuesday/Wednesday: -
Wednesday/Thursday: GSW
Thursday/Friday: MIL, NYK
Friday/Saturday: BKN, CHI, DAL, DEN, DET, HOU, MIA, MIN, PHI, PHO
Saturday/Sunday: -
Sunday/Monday the following: BOS, CHA, CLE, IND, MEM, OKC, ORL, POR, SAC, SAS, TOR
Days with SIX or fewer games: Tuesday: 2 games
Thursday: 3 games
Teams playing on both Tuesday and Thursday: New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams playing on Tuesday: Denver Nuggets (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams playing on Thursday: Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Milwaukee Bucks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
New York Knicks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Los Angeles Lakers (3 games - Mon, Thurs, Sat)
New Orleans Pelicans (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Utah Jazz (3 games - Tue, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD START to the week (three games from Monday to Thursday) Golden State Warriors (4 games - Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sat)
Teams with a GOOD END to the week (three games from Thursday to Sunday) Milwaukee Bucks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
New York Knicks (4 games - Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sun)
Teams with a POOR START to the week (one or no games from Monday to Thursday) Boston Celtics (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Charlotte Hornets (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Chicago Bulls (3 games - Mon, Fri, Sun)
Cleveland Cavaliers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sun)
Denver Nuggets (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sat)
Indiana Pacers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Los Angeles Clippers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Oklahoma City Thunder (3 games - Tue, Fri, Sun)
Philadelphia 76ers (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Sacramento Kings (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Washington Wizards (3 games - Wed, Fri, Sat)
Teams with a POOR END to the week (one or no games from Thursday to Sunday) None
Baller Streaming Strategy for Week 5
Absolute stars of this week will be players from the New Orleans Pelicans and the Utah Jazz. Although both teams have just three games this week, they play on both two-game Tuesday and three-game Thursday, along with Saturday which has the next fewest games with seven.
Furthermore, streaming players from these teams potentially allows you to have a five-game week from the streaming spot. Now, this is in an ideal situation, but you could have a guy play on Monday, then cut him in favor of a player from NOP or UTA, keep him until Saturday and then drop for another player who has a game on Sunday. Keep in mind though that you're probably not the only one streaming in your league so these players won't just wait around for you to pick them up. So it might be worth more to pick one of these guys up before Tuesday if you think they could be gone by then.
There are two more teams that play on Tuesday (Denver and Oklahoma City with three games apiece this week), and four more that play on Thursday (Golden State, Milwaukee and New York with four games and LA Lakers with three). We will be taking a look at their players as well.
One important thing to remember here though is to always check whether any new games have been postponed before adding a player based on his schedule.
Streaming Options for Week 5
Shallower League Streaming Adds for the Week (Rostered in 25-75 % of Yahoo leagues): Josh Hart, SG/SF, NOP, (27% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Bojan Bogdanovic, SF/PF, UTA, (71% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (67% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT%
Will Barton, SG/SF, DEN, (56% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, a bit of everything
Paul Millsap, PF/C, DEN, (40% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, FG%, BLK/STL
Darius Bazley, SF/PF, OKC, (54% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, a bit of everything
Hamidou Diallo, SG/SF, OKC, (37% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Luguentz Dort, OKC, (25% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB
George Hill, PG/SG, OKC, (25% Rostered) - Strong Cats: STL, AST, FT%, 3PM
Donte Divincenzo, PG/SG, MIL, (70% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, REB
Bobby Portis, PF/C, MIL, (60% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL
Elfrid Payton, PG, NYK, (60% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, STL
Alec Burks, PG/SG, NYK, (44% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT% - buyer beware: still hasn't returned from injury at the moment of writing this
Nerlens Noel, PF/C, NYK, (30% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, STL/BLK - buyer beware: plays very limited minutes
Marc Gasol, C, LAL, (27% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK
Kyle Kuzma, SF/PF, LAL, (41% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Shallower League Add
Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG, UTA, (67% Rostered) Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS, FT% If by any chance you're in a league shallow enough that Clarkson is still sitting on your waiver wire,
in case you need some help in threes, points and FT% and don't care too much about turnovers don't waste too much time pondering whether to pick him up or not.
Clarkson is the offensive leader of Utah's second unit and is averaging 13.4 field goal attempts per game (6.9 from beyond the arc). He is using his 25 minutes a game quite effectively with averages of 17.1 points, 2.9 3-pointers, 48.4% from the field, 93.3% from the line, 4.8 boards, 1.8 dimes, 0.9 steals, 0.3 blocks and 2.1 turnovers. This has him ranked inside the top 80 on Yahoo.
These stats are not too much out of the ordinary for Jordan, although he is rebounding a bit more, but is also turning the ball over more than usual. Therefore, he should be on a similar level next week as well, and with games on such scarce days, he could prove vital to you winning your matchup.
Furthermore, Utah plays two games against the Pelicans and one against the Warriors. Neither of these teams have had trouble with Covid so there is less risk of the games being postponed.
Deeper League Add
Royce O'Neale, SF/PF, UTA, (23% Rostered) Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything First of all, if someone told me that I would be recommending O'Neale as a pickup at the start of the season, I would have thought that Utah would have to have seven games that week, and he would still be in the "Insanely Deep" category. But lately, we are witnessing crazier things happen than O'Neale playing some of his best ball so far, so why the hell not?
His role on the Jazz team is that of a three-and-D role player who usually just sits in the corner on offense and waits to launch a three, occasionally running down the court for a transition basket. Rarely is the ball in his hands to try to create a scoring opportunity for himself or others. The fact that he is playing close to 32 minutes a game and is averaging 5.0 shot attempts says it all. And that is completely fine, just not that attractive for fantasy purposes.
Now, things didn't change drastically with Royce's role, but he is doing everything he does just a little bit better. Averages of 7.3 PTS with 1.8 3PM on 50.0 FG% and 62.5 FT%, 7.4 REB, 2.3 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.4 BLK and 1.1 TO are enough for him to be ranked at #103 in Yahoo leagues.
If you like what O'Neale brings to the table, which is a little bit of everything, you could do worse in deep leagues. And with such a low usage rate, he is a pretty safe bet that he won't hurt your fantasy team too much even on an off night.
Insanely Deep League Add
Immanuel Quickley, PG, NYK, (9% Rostered) Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, FT% Immanuel could prove to be both a streaming, but also a season-long pickup. Elfrid Payton is the designated starter at the PG position in New York at the moment, and we all know how much their coach Tom Thibodeau likes to play his starters plenty of minutes, but Quickley has been outplaying Payton in their last two games. Even Thibs said that everything is under consideration, so if Quickley was to take over the starting role and get 30 minutes a night, that would be huge for him and his fantasy value.
His upside was flashed quite brightly in the previous two contests with him scoring a combined 42 points (16-of-32 from the field, 4-of-5 from the line) with six 3-pointers, along with seven boards, seven dimes, two steals, a block and just one turnover in 25 minutes a game.
With four games (one of which is on the scarce Thursday) next week, Quickley is worth a gamble in deep formats and could pay dividends on this investment for months to come.
Other Deep League Options for the Week (Rostered in less than 25% of Yahoo leagues)
Jaxson Hayes, C, NOP, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, SG/SF, NOP, (21% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS - buyer beware: could see a drop in minutes upon
Lonzo Ball's return
J.J. Redick, SG, NOP, (12% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, PTS
Royce O'Neale, SF/PF, UTA, (23% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, a bit of everything
Joe Ingles, SG/SF, IND, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, a little bit of everything - buyer beware: missed his previous couple of games due to Achilles soreness
Georges Niang, SF/PF, UTA, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM - buyer beware: should see a drop in minutes upon Joe Ingles' return
Derrick Favors, PF/C, UTA, (11% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, BLK, FG% - buyer beware: plays just 16 minutes a game so far this season
Gary Harris, SG/SF, DEN, (18% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL, a bit little of everything - buyer beware: missed his previous couple of games due to personal reasons
Monte Morris, PG/SG, DEN, (20% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, FT%, 3PM
P.J. Dozier, PG/SG, DEN, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM
JaMychal Green, PF/C, DEN, (16% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, STL/BLK
Facundo Campazzo, PG, DEN, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: AST, 3PM
Mike Muscala, PF/C, OKC, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT% - positive circumstance: more minutes while
Al Horford is out
Theo Maledon, PG, OKC, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST - positive circumstance: rookie factor
Isaiah Roby, PF/C, OKC, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: REB, 3PM, FG% - positive circumstance: more minutes while Al Horford is out
Aleksej Pokusevski, SF, OKC, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, BLK - positive circumstance: rookie factor
Kenrich Williams, SF/PF, OKC, (0% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB - positive circumstance: more minutes while Al Horford is out
Kevon Looney, PF/C, GSW, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FG%, REB, BLK/STL
Eric Paschall, SF/PF, GSW, (12% Rostered) - Strong Cats: PTS, REB
Kent Bazemore, SG/SF, GSW, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL/BLK, REB
Brad Wanamaker, PG/SG, GSW, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FT%, 3PM AST
Damion Lee, SG/SF, GSW, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Bryn Forbes, PG/SG, MIL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%
D.J. Augustin, PG, MIL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST
Pat Connaughton, SG/SF, MIL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB, FT%, STL
Austin Rivers, SG/SF, NYK, (19% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, PTS
Kevin Knox II, SF/PF, NYK, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM
Immanuel Quickley, PG, NYK, (9% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, FT%
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PG/SG, LAL, (13% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, FT%, STL - buyer beware: sprained his ankle on Friday (Jan 1st), no news on his availability yet)
Talen Horton-Tucker, SG/SF, LAL, (10% Rostered) - Strong Cats: FT%, REB, STL/BLK
Wesley Matthews, SG/SF, LAL, (1% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, STL
Alex Caruso, PG/SG, LAL, (4% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, AST, STL - buyer beware: is currently in COVID-19 protocols - check his availability before adding
Markieff Morris, PF/C, LAL, (2% Rostered) - Strong Cats: 3PM, REB
Hopefully, some of these guys will help you win your next week's matchup and get you that one step closer to winning the whole thing!
Guarding our assets: Victor Oladipo and the franchise's path forward
I had started writing a post about what the next steps for the franchise could entail when I realized that a huge amount of it revolves around one guy... the player return we got from the Harden trade who happens to be entering Unrestricted Free Agency in a few months.
When the news came through that we had traded LeVert for Oladipo, many assumed that it was just a move to reduce salary by Tilman, but I reject that as overly pessimistic. Oladipo in his prime (which was not long ago at all) was a 2-time All Star and one of the premier defensive shooting guards in the league. His horrific injury has taken a bit of time to come back from, and worried Indiana enough to scare them off from wanting to deal with re-signing him to the max contract he will be requesting in Free Agency next summer. They saw so much value in having LeVert locked up on a cheaper deal for extra years that they were willing to take him on with his cancer concerns instead of dealing with a potential max deal for Vic. I don't see this as a salary move from Tilman so much as I see it as a gamble on a player returning from injury by Stone. Between taking chances on Wall, Boogie, and Nwaba, hoping players can come back from bad injuries is a common thread in his gambles and seems to be his "M.O.", so I'm thinking he honestly hopes Victor can come back to a significant percentage of his peak level.
Trading Harden for a younger All-Star SG +8 FRP assets is a massive coup of a deal...
if Oladipo is capable of playing close to the level he was at before his injury.
Unfortunately, Victor hasn't gotten back to that level yet... But he isn't
that far away, either. He has flashed his potential several times, but has had an equal number of horrific shooting nights. This lack of consistency is problematic, but if he could stabilize around the level of his better performances (which he is obviously capable of), there isn't really a question that he would be worth a near-max deal if not a full max.
Obviously, getting that consistency back is his primary goal and there is no reason to believe that it isn't our hope for him as well. If he does, then we can feel safe signing him to a long-term deal or, if he returns to form quickly enough, we can flip him for more assets.
The first option there is relatively straight forward. Re-signing him if he is close to his old production levels is a no-brainer. You've seen the reports that neither side are giving committed answers one way or the other at this point, which is sensible in terms of leverage in negotiations. Both sides know that he has more to prove and if he doesn't prove it, there isn't a good reason to offer him a max deal next summer. Some team will likely do it anyway, and there is even a chance that it may be us; but saying we are looking to do it before seeing that proof of play is a bad move (especially with no guarantee that another team will do it). It would be a mistake to offer him $34M/yr with 8% increases if he doesn't show serious progression from his current level of play. The question is... at what point does it no longer become a mistake?
Here is a list of available UFAs next summer (from Hoops Rumors):
2021 Unrestricted Free Agents
Point Guards Shooting Guards Small Forwards Power Forwards Centers Although there are some interesting names on the list, unless Schroeder ends up with a FMVP or Jrue Holiday or Kawhi Leonard decide to leave their teams, Victor Oladipo is probably going to be the most sought-after Free Agent next summer. A fair number of teams have max space, so it is likely that he will get his max deal from somewhere. Oladipo has expressed interest in Miami, but they aren't likely to have a max slot available after signing Bam to his extension. A number of other teams do have plenty of space available, though, including the Knicks, Bulls, and Spurs.
If you can't see where I'm going with this, the question is... should we also consider being a team that offers him a max contract? Obviously we don't want to get caught up in a bad contract that prevents us from missing out on other Free Agents! Well, who else on that list strikes you as someone we should spend money on? There are some interesting names. Harry Giles... Otto Porter... Hey, maybe we could get Kelly Oubre!
But anyone we would want will also be wanted by another team, and there will be a bidding war that also makes that guy overpaid. In short, I'm suggesting that year 1 of an Oladipo max would not be a problem even if it were an overpay.
Well what about year 2? Here is a list of available FAs the following summer:
Unrestricted Free Agents
Point Guards Shooting Guards Small Forwards Power Forwards Centers Zach LaVine is obviously the highlight here. Aaron Gordon and Terry Rozier are some other interesting names (and it's worth pointing out that Brooklyn's Big 3 could opt-out and enter FA). Is the hope of convincing Zach LaVine to sign here worth leaving open space for? Maybe you think so, but I'd suggest it's not.
Because here's the thing...
We can trade Oladipo. Obviously we can trade him in the next 7 weeks, but we can trade him after re-signing him, too. In fact, as long as he doesn't get re-injured or regress horribly (the latter being something we can probably determine this year if you aren't already convinced), it won't be so hard to move his contract. A 30% max contract is not the problem that a 35% supermax represents. Any of the big name Free Agents could be sign and traded by their teams in return for Oladipo. If his contract has turned negative, we may need to include a pick or two... but we have a lot of those! And using them to move a bad contract as a way to sign a top-tier FA really
isn't a waste of picks. It's essentially the same thing as using picks to trade for a superstar (WHICH WE CAN ALSO DO! more on that in a minute). Using Oladipo as salary filler in future trades is a good reason on its own to keep him around. There is a chance the deal will look like an overpay, but unless he has a horrific injury or falls off a cliff (which doesn't seem likely, imo), it isn't going to be
that negative.
Victor will make over $10M/yr less than Harden is scheduled to make next year. Add that to an increased salary cap, and we can probably re-sign him to a max, re-sign Nwaba with Early Bird Rights, and along with Wall, Gordon, Wood, House, Tate, KJ, Ma$e and KPJ, have room to use the MLE and still fill out a roster while remaining under the tax.
It's basically this year's roster minus PJ, Ben, and Brown, but with an MLE signing to help out. Is that a Championship roster? No. It is competitive and has significant upside if the youth improve and the vets recover further from injury, but Wall and Oladipo are not the top-tier superstar needed to win a title.
But either one of them could easily be the
3rd best guy on a Championship team (with the other being sent away as salary match if/when such a deal arises) and resigning Vic - even to a max contract, if necessary - allows us time to find a trade for a superstar (or sign one in Free Agency by trading one of our guards).
I hear you calling me crazy for suggesting it. But what are the alternatives? Let's game plan them out, too. The popular idea is trading Vic before the deadline for more assets. This is not a bad idea... in fact, it may even be a better plan than re-signing him... but only if he can bring back a good deal.
What does a good trade for Oladipo look like? Well, in his prime he was a decidedly better player than Jrue Holliday, who just got traded for a decent player in Eric Bledsoe as well as 3 FRPs. It's unlikely that Oladipo will return to that form in the next 7 weeks (although not impossible, especially with the extra opportunity that Wood's injury affords him), but if he continues to flash that level of potential, we would be getting robbed to let go of him for anything less than 2 very lightly protected FRPs.
If that's the price for someone to trade for him, do you see it happening? I really don't. Maybe we get lucky and Miami gets desperate. Maybe another contender with assets to spare (there aren't so many left) decides to throw down an offer with hopes of a promise that he will re-sign (likely a max contract) with them. Again, I don't see this as likely. It would be great if it happens, though!
No, it is unlikely we can trade Oladipo for more than a FRP and some expiring filler. Now you may think that sounds like a good deal, but is it? Certainly it isn't good compared to what New Orleans got for Jrue, and while Oladipo doesn't look as good as Holiday right now, he undeniably has the potential to look that good. So the question is, do we
certainly lose value on him by trading him on the cheap, or do we
take a risk of losing value if he can't regain max-contract form. The former is obviously safer, the latter could obviously blow up if he has a career-ending injury (but it could also pay off with significantly higher rewards than a FRP).
So unless we get a lucky deal, it comes down to what our appetite for risk is. I'd say roll the dice on Vic. He's only 28, so age is not really a factor on his next contract. It's completely a question of how close to his old self he can return to. We've seen some promising signs in the short season so far, and will now get a month of real opportunity to gather information on him.
And here's the biggest problem with trading him for bad value... if we trade him for a pick without getting a very solid player in return, our roster will absolutely get worse. It drops us from our current status of 'bottom bracket playoff team' to 'No-Mans land'... being in the 9-12 range.
That's a horrible spot to land. If we are there, it makes more sense to tank, leading us into the last section of this essay on guarding our assets...
DON'T TANK
It's 2 AM here and I've been writing for too long, so I'm gonna make this short and sweet.
Tanking sucks. Losing sucks. We don't want to be losers if we can be semi-competitive. Showing a commitment to winning attracts Free Agents, keeps Wood happy, and allows us to maintain a franchise that is literally one piece away from being right back as a contender.
We are not Oklahoma City. Free Agents want to play in Houston. Maybe its not LA, NY, or Miami, but there aren't many other cities above us on the list of destinations. If we trade for a guy, he's liable to stay. We don't need to rely on high draft picks to get talent.
(side note: tanking is not even a reliable way of getting talent! Between reduced lottery odds and the uncertainty of high picks panning out, it's a bad way to depend on getting a superstar. Philly and OKC are the closest examples of it 'working out' and those were under the old lottery odds... now it would be significantly harder. Additionally, remaining competitive keeps our Brooklyn pick swaps in play as being assets. If we sell all assets and aim for the bottom, then it will be a long climb out in which at least 2 and quite possibly 3 of our swaps are basically completely surrendered, whereas keeping competitive can allow those swaps to become quite valuable even if the Nets don't bottom out as badly as they did for Boston. Not to mention the increased danger of giving much better picks to OKC) Signing or trading for stars are
MUCH more reliable methods... and we now have the picks to trade with. So that should be our preferred path to contention. Wait for the next top-tier superstar to become unhappy and fire away to get him. Only OKC and NO can compete with our picks package (and we can offer a decent player in return as an additional bonus!)
So when that next disgruntled star shakes free (which has happened more and more frequently), we stand poised to strike stronger than any team in the league.
A new era of contenders is on the horizon. The Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, and Nets are aging out. The Nuggets and Celtics are the types of teams we look to be competing against in a few years. Those are the superstars we need to be worrying about for now... not the old guard, but the young ones. Tanking next year puts us way behind in a rebuild that is only one move away. So get those thoughts out of your heads. We can compete with those teams with Wood, another star, and Oladipo or Wall along with all our promising young talent.
We will be back sooner than anyone expects. And as surprising as it sounds, the first step may well be signing Oladipo to a max contract next summer.
Official /r/NBA Power Rankings #2 - MLK day
25/30 rankers reporting this week. /NBA's Power Rankings are published every two weeks which is a bit different from most rankings. Other than that we rank the teams the same way as our competition. If write ups are left blank the team rep decided not to submit. We encourage any user to fill in the blanks in the comment section. Rankings were completed prior to Today's games. We will be looking for a new Lakers tanker this week.
| # | Team | Δ | Record | Comment |
| 1 | Lakers | -- | 11-3 | |
| 2 | Clippers | -- | 10-4 | I still see some people defending doc. Lue saw some bad roatations, and cleaned them up. His willingness to experiement, and his apparent straight-forwardness with the players has seemingly relfected within the first 15 games. Plus it's pretty nice to have MVP PG13 giving us a show every game. I look forward to seeing what else Lue can scrounge up, and how well everyone meshes with Batum, Kennard, and Ibaka as the season goes on. |
| 3 | Bucks | +1 | 9-4 | It's been a wild start to the season for the bucks Bucks, going 6-1 in their last 7 after starting 3-3. With all the roster turnover, an updated offensive philosophy, and Bud finally showing some willingness to run a switching defensive scheme, there's been a lot of changes in a short time. It seems like the whole team is doing a bit of a "coasting" and really focusing more on figuring out how to play better together, than winning games (we're giving Thanasis legitimate rotation minutes for chrissake). The team has already made strides, but in a league where two teams have multiple MVP-Level players, there's still a lot of work to be done in order to be ready for the playoffs. |
| 4 | Nets | +3 | 8-6 | Despite the 8-6 record, the Nets are 4th in the leage in net rating and have only played a few games at full strength. With COVID taking out KD for a few games and then Kyrie going on a personal leave, Nash and co. have been scrambling to try new starting lineups and rotations. Kyrie seems to be close to returning so fans will finally get a full taste of Kyrie, Harden, and KD for the first time. It was just 5 years ago that the Nets were starting Donald Sloan and Wayne Ellington - now we'll get to unveil Kyrie and Harden. The trade was a huge gamble but with KD looking like himself again, the time to go for a championship is now. |
| 5 | 76ers | -2 | 9-5 | Making sense of a team's performance can get dicey once COVID regulations strike, and the Sixers are one of those teams. The decimation of the team's roster has led to head-scratching losses, bright spots like the emergence of Tyrese Maxey as a dark horse ROTY candidate, and general confusion about how the team ranks when weight record, net rating, and the eye test. Among all that, one thing is for certain: Joel Embiid is a legitimate MVP candidate. The team is a contender when he's in regardless of the other players. When the starting lineup is together this team can compete with anyone, but will they be able to weather another potential clash with the health and safety protocols? |
| 6 | Jazz | -- | 9-4 | The Jazz are on a roll! Winners of a league best 5 consecutive games, they enter this edition of power rankings with the third best record in the NBA. Over the last two weeks no team has recorded more triples than the Jazz who shot 41.1% from deep on over 40 attempts per game. Thumping victories against the Cavs and Hawks by 20+ points and a road win in Milwaukee were the highlights in a stretch that got off to a rough start with double digit losses to the Nets and Knicks. Rudy Gobert continues to put together the best defensive season of his career while Jordan Clarkson's season averages of 17.5PPG on 50/43/94 shooting splits in under 25 minutes per game sees him further establish himself as the 6MOTY favourite. After playing a league high 9 road games to began the year, the Jazz return to Salt Lake City where they will host 6 consecutive games, a great opportunity to build off some early season momentum. |
| 7 | Celtics | +1 | 8-4 | The Celtics went 4-1 since the last power ranking and Kemba is finally cleared to start playing on a minutes restriction, but the elephant in the room is the absolute beatdown of a blowout the Celtics took from the Knicks. Tatum has been out due to COVID, however it's still not an excuse to put up 75 points in this era of basketball, especially when you could argue 10-15 of those points came after the Knicks were just going through the motions at the end of the game. Luckily, Tatum should be back soon and as last reported might even be a go for their matchup on the 20th vs the 76ers. Between now and the next rankings, the Celtics will play 6 times. They'll face off against the 76ers in Philly two games in a row, play the Cavs at home, go on the road for two games vs the Bulls and Spurs, and then come home for a matchup against the Lakers on the 30th. |
| 8 | Suns | -3 | 7-4 | The Suns haven't played in a week since the embarrassing loss vs the Wizards that should have obviously not even been played given the Wizards exposure. The Suns are set to play tonight against the recently exposed Grizzlies, a game that likely would not be happening if it wasn't on TNT. |
| 9 | Pacers | -- | 8-5 | It's a new NEW era in Indiana, as the Pacers decided to insert themselves into the blockbuster James Harden deal and flip Victor Oladipo's expiring contract for Caris LeVert. LeVert's debut will have to wait a while due to an issue with a mass on his kidney, but the Pacers brass seems optimistic he will play this year. Meanwhile, Domantas Sabonis continues his excellent start to the season, routinely threatening 20-20 stat lines, and Myles Turner has firmly anchored down the paint with Mutumbo-esque block totals. A hand injury will sideline Turner for a bit, but for now, Indiana seems to be in good standing near the top of the East. |
| 10 | Trail Blazers | +4 | 8-5 | Basketball is dumb. There are so many things we could do with our lives instead. Read a book. Call our parents. Clean the kitchen. But here we are, getting our hopes up only for Nurk to break his hand and CJ to sprain his foot. All is lost. Life is misery. Dreams are for the young and the foolish. |
| 11 | Mavericks | +4 | 6-6 | Kristaps Porzingis returned to the lineup, but the depth of the Mavs is still on hold due to Covid-19. Rookie Josh Green and 4 year vet Wes Iwundu are getting significant run without josh Richardson present, but they still leave a lot to be desired. The Mavs need to improve offensive consistency, and with Porzingis healthy alongside a fully healthy Dallas starting 5, the upside is limitless for the Mavericks. |
| 12 | Nuggets | -- | 6-7 | Nikola Jokic continues to dominate with an MVP-worthy campaign, averaging 25 PPG/11 RPG/10 APG on the season with an absurd 31.43 PER, and has racked up 5 triple doubles in just 13 games thus far. Unfortunately I also have to talk about the rest of the Nuggets, who have looked better over the past two weeks, but have also taken some hard fought losses to Brooklyn and Utah. The loss of Michael Porter Jr. to the COVID protocol has not helped with their scoring, however the main crux thus far has been a severely lacking perimeter defense, with teams averaging 39% on 33.5 3PA per game against the Nuggets this season. The team is certainly trending in the right direction, and I wouldn't expect them to remain outside of the playoff picture for much longer, however the claims that the shortened season would help this team have been unfounded thus far. |
| 13 | Spurs | +9 | 7-6 | |
| 14 | Warriors | +7 | 6-6 | Warriors put together a couple nice games but have been on a skid this past week. Draymond's lack of any offensive threat right now is starting to take a toll on the offense. Oubre has started to find his 3 point shot with 3 makes in both of the past 2 losses @ IND and @ DEN. Wiseman has been a beast with only 21 minutes per game averaging 11.3/6.6. After the Lakers game today the Warriors have a relatively lighter schedule where they can idealy find some consistency. |
| 15 | Grizzlies | +8 | 6-6 | |
| 16 | Magic | +1 | 6-7 | With Isaac's torn ACL, Fultz' torn ACL, Okeke's bone bruise, MCW's tendon strain, Fournier's back spasms, and Aminu's knee, the Magic have had to really scrape the barrel to find some positive play. At least Bamba has managed to get some decent minutes in, but even he's dealing with COVID protocols at the moment. Vuc and Gordon are the only reason we're somewhat competitive in recent games but they can't perform miracles. The next few weeks the schedule gets easier so maybe we don't fall behind in a strenghtening eastern conference. |
| 17 | Heat | -6 | 4-7 | We haven't had the best of times since the last time power rankings were done. Played a total of 8 players in our two matches against the Phillies, and it was an admirable effort even though it didn't work out at all. Tyler Herro mostly carried us as best he could through those two matches as well as our scouting (Gabe Vincent and KZ Okpala had some nice outings). It's not time for all doom and gloom since we've had some nice games against good teams, but we're entering a stretch of the schedule where it might be hard to right the ship. Outside of COVID protocol it's amazing how the Miami Heat continue to do a good job of finding prospects. Some guys have to spend time developing with the G-League affiliate and others we sign from other teams, but it's been very impressive. The recent ones are Kendrick Nunn, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson, Chris Silva and before that we had Tyler Johnson (I miss him) and Rodney McGruder. We haven't always drafted well but I'll welcome this stretch of scouting and developmental success. |
| 18 | Pelicans | -5 | 5-7 | Yes, the Pelicans had an abysmal 0-5 stretch where they lost in OT to the Pacers in a game that should've been finished off, to the tanking Thunder by 1, and to Lonzo Ball's brother's team. But they also played the two best teams in the NBA, and played them well for portions of those games. Nickeil Alexander-Walker has emerged as a legit starter in the league already in his second season, and looks to be the absolutely perfect fit next to Lonzo when he returns from injury. As the coaching staff slowly figures out the offensive issues and rotations, this team will ramp it up into second and maybe even third gear. We're not ready to take it over the finish line yet or win any races, but this is the kind of team that will get into the mix as the finish line approaches. |
| 19 | Cavaliers | -1 | 6-7 | No SexLand, No Love. Admittedly, a hard to watch 2-5 stretch which included us utilizing a 5 man of Dotson/Nance/MakeMcgee/Drummond on the court played out exactly how it sounds. Still, the Cavs remaining hovering around .500 with the imminent return of Sexton, Garland, and Kevin Love (~2 weeks), any of which will be a jolt of offense for a team with the #2 defensive rating. A KPJ return would be wonderful, but it is sounding more and more like he is about to be traded or released. Meanwhile, Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince will make their Cavs debut on Wednesday vs the Nets |
| 20 | Hornets | +6 | 6-8 | The Hornets went on a four game winning streak, bringing our record to 6-5 before coming back to Earth a little bit in the past week. Regardless, that taste of above-.500 basketball was enough to offer Hornets fans a glimmer of hope. Gordon Hayward has played at an All-Star level. LaMelo Ball is an early frontrunner for Rookie of the Year. Scary Terry and Miles Bridges are dunking on everybody, and your favorite player might be next! Our glaring weakness is at Center, but Cody Zeller can hopefully come back soon. We have entered an alternate universe in which the Charlotte Hornets are very fun to watch. Tune in sometime. |
| 21 | Hawks | -11 | 5-7 | What stupid idiots we all are for falling for the Hawks 4-1 start. Injuries no doubt have played a huge factor, but the Hawks have lost 6 of their last 7 with the only win being over the Philadelphia COVID-19ers. Trae Young has seemingly forgotten how to play the sport of basketball and apparently he, John Collins, and Lloyd Pierce all hate each other. The sky is falling, but it's a long season and for some dumb reason I still believe the Hawks will turn it around and fight for the 8th seed. |
| 23 | Knicks | +1 | 6-8 | "Pleasure, scarcely in one instance, is ever able to reach ecstasy and rapture; and in no one instance can it continue for any time at its highest pitch and altitude. The spirits evaporate, the nerves relax, the fabric is disordered, and the enjoyment quickly degenerates into fatigue and uneasiness. But pain often, good God, how often! rises to torture and agony; and the longer it continues, it becomes still more genuine agony and torture. Patience is exhausted, courage languishes, melancholy seizes us, and nothing terminates our misery but the removal of its cause, or another event, which is the sole cure of all evil, but which, from our natural folly, we regard with still greater horror and consternation. Get Elfrid Payton off the Knicks" -David Hume |
| 23 | Raptors | -4 | 4-8 | Odd few weeks to the Raptors. Had our first decisive victory against the kings, with two very close wins against the Hornets at the end of the week. Against good teams though we’ve continued to lose, with losses to golden state, portland, Phoenix, and Boston since the last write up. Chris Boucher has been the bright spot of this season, with him really stepping up in place of Baynes/Len who continue to not provide any contributions. Our fan base remains torn on whether we should tank or not, but I personally believe it’s in our best interest to do so. |
| 24 | Thunder | +4 | 6-6 | After last season and the first month or so of this season, I'm running out of ways to say "this franchise just refuses to tank for real." This time around, it might have more severe consequences, given the potential franchise-transforming potential of the Cade Cunningham sweepstakes. In the meantime, another resemblance to last year's squad is the balance of scoring: after the incredibly smooth-finishing SGA's 22, OKC's next 7 players all score between 9 and 13 points per game. However, OKC's newfound affinity for launching threes this season has not been matched by success at actually making them: the team is currently hitting only 33.0% from deep, ranking 27th in the league. As a whole, the team's struggling offense (29th-ranked ORTG) threatens to sink the Thunder's currently .500 record to a much more expected range going forward. Clank for Cade? |
| 25 | Rockets | -9 | 4-7 | Newer NBA fans had never known a Rockets team without James Harden, but that is the new reality. Despite never achieving the ultimate goal, the Harden era gave this team many great memories. Rafael Stone now faces the tough task of slowly rebuilding this team back into contention. |
| 26 | Bulls | +1 | 5-8 | The growing pains are, well, painful. The Bulls are better than their record would have you think, as the team has 5 losses by a combined 12 points. It does mean that at the end of the day, the Bulls don't have the clutch gene. The final minutes of games are filled with bad turnovers and missed easy shots. These things are coachable though and that's what Billy Donovan, so don't count us out of a low seed playoff berth yet. The young starting 5 is showing clear signs of improvent and is complemented by bench pieces that slot in nicely. #4 pick Patrick Williams is proving he was worth what many called a reach! |
| 27 | Kings | -7 | 5-9 | The Kings have been largely unable to capitalize on their current homestand, since our last rankings the team had a stretch where they lost three of four games by over 20 points. Tyrese Haliburton has continued to impress, coming back earlier than expected from injury, and shooting 52% from the field and from three in 11 games played. Marvin Bagley has had a mini-resurgence in efficiency though he and Buddy Hield are still struggling offensively. The bigger problem remains the team's defense, as the Kings are currently giving up a blistering 50/40/80 shooting splits to opponents, and have the worst defense in the league. |
| 28 | Wizards | -3 | 3-8 | A COVID outbreak has stalled the Wizards' season, and as such, there isn't really much to report on for this edition. That being said, Scott Brooks' rotations continue to boggle the mind, as former first round pick Troy Brown Jr has appeared to have fallen in his doghouse and isn't coming out any time soon, while Jerome Robinson continues to throw up more bricks than a cocaine dealer. Hopefully this break will allow the team to get healthy and continue their play before the break, which concluded with a demoltion of the Suns. |
| 29 | TWolves | -- | 3-8 | Thoughts and prayers are with Karl-Anthony Towns who is going through the worst years ever. |
| 30 | Pistons | -- | 3-9 | The Pistons remain really bad, but they do compete. Blake Griffin still looks like he's basically done for, but Jerami Grant may be a legit All-NBA caliber player given how great he's been. Saddiq Bey and Beef Stew have shown flashes. Overall it's a tough season for Detroit, but there are good signs in the early going. |
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The Mystery of the Bakersfield 3: Two friends disappeared, a third died in a drive-by shooting. Their families suspected the crimes were linked. How did Baylee Despot, Micah Holsonbake, and James Kulstad end up in the middle of an arms trafficking and murder plot in their California city?
Over the course of 34 days in the spring of 2018, three unsettling crimes played out in the city of Bakersfield, California. The families of the three victims realized their children all knew each other and ran in the same circles, and they began to suspect that all three crimes were connected. But what began as a crusade for justice among grieving parents took a shocking turn when investigators discovered that the so-called Bakersfield 3 were embroiled in a criminal underworld of black-market weapons smuggling, the Hells Angels, unspecified ties to drug cartels, torture and kidnapping, and a convicted felon nicknamed “The Boogeyman of Bakersfield.”
This is a genuinely bizarre case, and while I’ve never written up a case for this sub before, I’ve been following this story closely for the past couple years. The
last time it was mentioned on here over a year ago, but there have been some huge recent developments in the last year that I thought deserved as comprehensive a telling as possible. And despite all that, it's nowhere near resolved. So without further ado...
Part 1: Missing On March 23,2018, Micah Holsonbake, 34, went missing in East Bakersfield near the intersection of Flower Street and Mount Vernon Avenue. Micah was a clean-cut dad who worked in finance, a former high school debater who loved karaoke despite not being any good at it. He was presumed endangered missing until August 22, 2018, when teenagers swimming near a local park found an arm in the Kern River that was identified as his. The rest of his body has never been found.
On April 18, 2018, James Kulstad, 38, was murdered on a quiet block in Southwest Bakersfield. A father of two daughters, James was a serial entrepreneur described as the type of man who “could sell a dollar bill on the side of the road for a million dollars if he could just get 5 minutes with you.” His brother Ryan heard the gunshots from the next street over, but didn’t see the shooter, and he claims he held James as he died in his arms.
On April 25, 2018, Baylee Parrent-Despot, 20, disappeared from Rosedale, the upper-middle-class neighborhood in Northwest Bakersfield where she’d grown up. Baylee described herself as a “flower child” who had been born in the wrong generation. After facing a number of serious challenges, she was struggling to get her life back on track, and was said to be pregnant and trying to leave her boyfriend when she went missing. She has never been heard from again.
Local media christened Micah, James, and Baylee the “Bakersfield 3” after the victims’ families discovered that all three victims knew one another. In the wake of the links between all three disappearances coming to light, Micah’s father told a local news reporter, “Just to be blunt, something happened to Micah… and a month later something happened to Baylee, and I think it’s because she knew what happened to Micah.” And in between them, there was James Kulstad, who ran in the same drug-fueled circles as Baylee and had helped Micah move just weeks before they both were killed. Bakersfield is a city of half a million people, but on a social level, it can feel as insular as any small town — you’re rarely more than one or two degrees removed from anyone you meet — and even in a city where everyone seems to know everyone, it’s hard to buy three friends all going missing within the space of a month by sheer coincidence. But as time went on with few official developments in the investigation, it seemed like people largely lost interest in the case by late 2019.
Then, in 2020, the Kern County District Attorney’s office charged three people with a total of 34 different charges, ranging from first degree murder, torture, kidnapping, assault with a firearm, and illegal manufacturing of assault weapons. Two of the defendants were already in custody — and the third may not even be alive.
Part 2: Some Local Context By every metric, Bakersfield is just a flat-out terrible place to live. It’s my hometown, I left for a reason, and the reason is that it sucks. Kern County suffers from a slew of serious socioeconomic and public health problems, the largest of which is probably related to economic and income inequality. A fifth of the population is under the poverty line, and crime rates are sky-high, especially drug-related ones. Opioid abuse is rampant, though it still falls second to methamphetamine, the most widespread drug in the area. There’s a significant issue with
white supremacist gang violence. When I was 16, my 70-year-old next-door neighbor got stabbed in a biker gang fight at a tattoo parlor by a Hells Angel called “Delano Mike.”
A high school chemistry teacher was literally arrested for trying to make meth in his classroom three months before Breaking Bad even premiered. This is a region with a lot of serious problems that go deeper than any one symptom, but suffice it to say, there’s a reason I moved away as soon as I tuned 18.
The other thing you need to know is that despite being one of the most conservative cities in California, there’s a widespread distrust of law enforcement outside of the police and courts themselves — and, frankly, for good reason. Corruption in the justice system is widespread, and basically a local tradition dating back to the tenure of longtime district attorney Ed Jagels, perhaps best known for ramming through
36 false convictions of ritual child abuse at the height of the satanic panic. (34 were eventually overtured, and the other two people convicted died in prison and never saw justice.) Jagels’ history of prosecutorial misconduct is also the subject of
Mean Justice, a 600-page doorstopper by Pulitzer-winning author Edward Humes about the wrongful conviction of Pat Dunn, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his wife despite a wealth of evidence that would suggest his innocence. In 2002, Jagels’ protege, an assistant district attorney named Steve Tauzer, was
murdered by a former Bakersfield police deputy, Chris Hillis, after Hillis allegedly learned that Tauzer had a sexual relationship with Hillis’ 22-year-old son, an addict in recovery; facing first-degree murder charges, he pled out to manslaughter and received a 12-year prison sentence.
In 2015, The Guardian published
an in-depth exposé about how widespread corruption within the local law enforcement community led to Kern County having the highest rate of police killings in the country: the deadliest cops per capita. And over the past several years,
the Kern County law enforcement community has been mired in a police corruption scandal in which members of the BPD abused asset forfeiture laws to illegally seize guns, drugs, and money from suspects, which they in turn trafficked for personal gain. All this is to say that Bakersfield cops and prosecutors have not engendered much public trust outside of their own communities. In a city with high rates of violent crime, law enforcement has consistently put its own interests above public safety, justice, or victims’ rights. That's just something to keep in mind while reading.
Part 3: Down the Rabbit Hole Micah In the weeks and months prior to Micah Holsonbake’s disappearance, his family could tell that something was troubling him. Lance and Cheryl Holsonbake both recalled their son behaving erratically in the days before he vanished. But none of it seemed to make any sense coming from someone like Micah, whose family described him as intelligent and hard-working. He had a comfortable upbringing in Rosedale and worked his way into a lucrative career as a financial advisor despite only one year of college. In the photo his family circulated following his disappearance, he wore the suit and tie and placid smile of someone posing for a corporate headshot. But Micah was going through a dark time following a rocky separation from his wife and family, and had been struggling with a painkiller addiction for the past two years. The year before, he’d been laid off from his job after going on disability leave due to depression.
According to court documents, Micah owed drug-related debts to members of the Hells Angels as well as “the cartel.” One friend of Micah’s told police his life seemed to be headed in a downward spiral after he lost the ability to see his son, and often got in fights with others at bars. In one witness statement, an unidentified woman told police of a prior incident when she and Holsonbake were kidnapped at gunpoint and driven to an orchard in west Bakersfield. Holsonbake bolted from the vehicle as it was moving, she told police. That account was corroborated by a friend of Holsonbake's who told police that he said he had been kidnapped at gunpoint. He told his parents that he feared for his life, frequently thought he was being followed in his car, and rambled about various people he believed were out to get him, but they mostly wrote it off.
James Micah had been hanging around with James Kulstad for some time before he disappeared. It’s not clear when they first met, but it appears they become friendly through the drug scene. Like Micah, James first became addicted to prescription painkillers after being hit by a car, before progressing to fentanyl patches and eventually heroin. He’d been a single father to his daughters Camryn and August. His obituary characterized him as a free-wheeling surfer who held a patent for an action sports product and earned the nickname “Joe Vegas” for his love of gambling and table games. Camryn, now 19, says she and James had an especially close relationship after her mother died when Camryn was an infant, and James often warned her against getting involved with drugs and partying in a clear-headed way, which made it even harder to watch him spiral downward in the years before his death. “I felt like I lost him before I even lost him, but I worked so hard,” she told a reporter. “I was working so hard on everything I could do to make him get better… I was hanging onto hope and whoever killed him took that away from me. I don’t have that anymore, I don’t have hope.”
In the wake of her father’s death, Camryn says that a number of stories and rumors about his life surfaced, further complicating her grief. “Some of the stories I’ve heard is that he was a really bad person these last 3 years,” she said in 2019. On the night of his murder, James reportedly drove to an acquaintance’s home in Southwest Bakersfield where his brother Ryan Kulstad was hanging out. Ryan claims that the homeowner allegedly owed money to James and told Ryan that if James came over to his house, he’d “call his boys and they’d come over there strapped,” which Ryan says he didn’t interpret as a serious threat. Ryan and James reportedly argued about this on the phone, and James showed up at the house a couple hours later. Ryan says he had just returned from driving someone else home and noticed a driver in a silver sedan behaving suspiciously as he returned to the house. Moments later, Ryan and his unidentified male passenger heard gunshots on the next block: an unknown gunman opened fire on James from another car, causing him to crash into a parked trailer. The same silver sedan was seen speeding away from the scene.
The owner of the home where this all took place was Dr. Sukhjeet Bajwa, who at the time was a chiropractor with a local practice. Bajwa lived in a quiet subdivision in Southwest Bakersfield. It was an unlikely setting for a drive-by, and according to initial news reports, police were at a loss for the motive behind the killing, or what James was even doing in the neighborhood at all. Then things began to unravel: Bajwa, it turned out, had been arrested twice in 2016 and 2017 after driving while impaired, and in addition to liquid heroin, Xanax, and hydrocodone, police also found two unregistered, loaded guns in his car, an AR-15 and a .22LR semi-automatic rifle with a fake silencer attached. All of this was detailed in a disciplinary complaint filed by the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners, and after Bajwa’s name began repeatedly surfacing in connection with the shooting, a rumor began to circulate about a black-market gun and drug trafficking ring in which Bajwa was supposedly a central figure.
It was the type of conspiracy theory most people instinctively write off as too bizarre to be credible. But it must have rung a bell to Lance Holsonbake. Before Micah’s disappearance, he told his father that he was “putting together guns for people,” according to a 2019 interview. Lance said he reacted in disbelief to this confession, because the idea that Micah would risk his career by getting involved in illegal gun manufacturing just didn’t make sense. “If you’re this afraid, just stop,” Lance recalls telling him. “And he’d say, ‘I can’t do that I can’t do that.’ He was afraid he did that they would hurt his family.” He wrote it off as paranoia exaggerated by his son’s drug use, and didn’t know how much of it was real and how much was in Micah’s mind. According to Lance, Bakersfield police initially suggested that Micah had left town of his own volition after getting mixed up in criminal activity and, from what I can tell, didn’t make much of an effort to investigate. Though the family says he was last seen on March 23, 2018, Bakersfield police claimed he wasn’t reported missing until April 4, and it appears they waited until April 13, when he’d been missing for almost a month, before BPD made its first public statement regarding his disappearance. After James was murdered a few days later, the Holsonbake and Kulstad families grew increasingly frustrated with the apparent lack of interest in investigating either case, and told the media later that as they began digging into the circumstances surrounding both cases, one name kept coming up with everyone they talked to: Baylee Despot. And within a week, Baylee Despot had also gone missing in Bakersfield.
Baylee Baylee Parrent-Despot was 20 years old when she was reported missing in April 2018, and the families say that it was her disappearance that finally motivated the police and local news to start investigating the links between all three cases, for reasons that seem obvious to anyone who has ever seen the media react to a pretty white 20-year-old going missing. Her sister, Katelyn Parrent, describes her as “a girl that’s grown up in a good neighborhood, raised by good parents, had a good childhood, could’ve had everything she ever wanted,” much like James and Micah. And beneath the surface, she was as troubled as either of the men: after graduating high school, she’d run off to Vegas to marry her boyfriend, but their rocky relationship turned into an abusive marriage that ended just a year later in 2017. In the aftermath, she wrecked her car, lost her job, and in her mother’s words, “Her life just spiraled out of control.”
In July 2017, Baylee was arrested for disorderly conduct in front of her friend Micah Holsonbake’s house. This came as a surprise to her sister, who had at one point been friendly with Micah herself — she didn’t realize he and Baylee even knew each other. But even though he was 14 years Baylee’s senior, Katelyn remembered him as a clean-cut guy who worked at a bank, and their mother, Jane Parrent, says Micah helped her get a restraining order against an abusive ex-boyfriend. They didn’t see any cause for concern. Still, Baylee’s life continued to spiral out of control. The following month, she was drugged and gang-raped at an acquaintance’s apartment complex. She disappeared for days at a time and resurfaced with “horrible stories” or pleading phone calls begging to be picked up. On one occasion, Katelyn remembers, “She had none of her belongings, no shoes… A couple nights after that there were two vehicles that came to pick her up and we could tell by the look on her face that she didn’t want to go, but if she didn’t go, we didn’t know what would happen.”
Matthew Not long after that incident, Baylee had a new boyfriend.
Matthew Queen was 43 years old, a convicted felon, and an all-around bad dude. Not much is known about his background, with one major exception: in the early 2000s, he plead guilty to one count of making a false statement to a federal firearms dealer after he used a false address, but his real name, to purchase $11,000 in guns from dealers in Indiana. Many of those guns were later recovered at crime scenes in Detroit and Chicago.
If you want an idea of what type of criminal mastermind we’re dealing with here, I recommend reading just the final ruling on that case from the 7th Circuit court of appeals: “We reject Queen's argument that gun buyers may lie about a street address so long as they live within the state where the gun is sold . . . Queen in fact had once lived in an apartment at 2072 Egret Court, but he did not live at this address when he completed the forms and bought the guns because he was evicted on December 18, 2000, for nonpayment of rent."
Great. Sounds like a great guy.
Lest you assume Matthew Queen might have hypothetically seen the error of his ways and cleaned up his act after this early foray into gunrunning, he absolutely did not. In December 2017, just a couple weeks into Matthew and Baylee’s relationship, they were arrested after police found four unmarked, unregistered, loaded assault rifles in Matthew’s car during a traffic stop. Neither he or Baylee said a word to the police, but while Matthew (who, as a convicted felon, was prohibited from carrying any guns or ammunition at all) was charged with several felonies, while Baylee pled no contest to a lesser misdemeanor and received three years probation. Later that month, she moved in with Matthew, his mother, and his estranged wife. Baylee’s family saw and heard even less from her. And in April, a month after Micah’s disappearance and just one day after she and Matthew attended a court date for the weapons charges, Baylee went missing. Her mother believed she was pregnant with Matthew’s child and was trying to leave him at the time. Matthew told police that she had connections through her father's side of the family with a Mexican drug cartel and believed they had something to do with her disappearance.
Local interest in the case reached an even greater frenzy after Micah’s severed arm was found in the Kern River in Hart Park on the east side of town, not far from from where he was last seen. It was positively identified in late December 2018. By this point, the family of the Bakersfield 3's investigation had amassed around 10,000 followers on Facebook and another 5,000 in a private group, and the story was a fixture on local news.
Another curveball came around this time too, when a former friend of Baylee’s named Sara Wedemeyer, 21, filed a restraining order against Baylee’s mother, Jane Parrent. As it was reported, Sara had moved in with Matthew mere weeks after Baylee disappeared, and she was four months pregnant with his child when she attempted to take out legal action against Mrs. Parrent, whom she claimed was harassing her and her “fiancé” by hanging up missing person fliers in their neighborhood. The restraining order wasn't granted, but Queen allegedly began making disturbing social media posts about Baylee, Micah, and the Parrent family, with Mrs. Parrent as the primary target. And in mid-2019, the investigation seemed to grind to a halt.
Part 4: New Developments On May 27, 2020, roughly two years after the first developments in the Bakersfield 3 case, the Kern County District Attorney held at a press conference to announce they believe
Baylee Despot and Matthew Queen “deliberately and with premeditation" murdered Micah Holsonbake. Despot and Queen, along with a third man, Matthew Vandecasteele, were charged with the alleged kidnapping, torture, and first degree murder, as well as unlawful manufacturing of assault weapons, conspiracy relating to the murder and torture plot, and a slew of other assault and gun charges (34 in total). Queen and Vandacasteele were both in custody at the time the charges against them were filed, but even though Baylee still has not been seen or heard from since 2018, the DA’s office issued a warrant for her arrest, leading some to speculate she may still be alive.
According to court records, Matthew Queen allegedly believed that Micah Holsonbake had stolen a .44-caliber revolver from him. He and Baylee Despot kidnapped Micah, zip-tied him to a chair in Matthew Vandecasteele’s garage, and attempted to torture him in order to extract information from him. A blood stain in the garage matched Holsonbake’s DNA. Vandecasteele told police that he didn’t see or hear Micah on the night he was killed, but knew that the other two had brought him there to question him. After several hours, Baylee allegedly returned to the apartment seeming “flustered” and changed her clothes in a back bedroom. Before they left, “Queen told Vandecasteele that he had cleaned everything up and it was OK to go inside the garage.” The next day, Queen returned to Vandecasteele’s apartment and said he “needed help disposing of something” in a large black storage container in the trunk of his car. Vandecasteele claims he refused to help with disposing of the body, but according police reports, his Google history during that period of time included searches for “lye chemical formula,” “lye for sale” and “how long does it take to dissolve a human body,” as well as browsing for lye on the Home Depot and Lowe’s websites.
Queen, Despot, and Vandacasteele allegedly manufactured and sold AR-15s from gun build kits. Other witness testimony released by the courts described various kidnappings that witnesses allege Queen, known as “the boogeyman of Bakersfield,” committed. In one incident, Queen allegedly handcuffed one victim to a chair and put an electric dog collar around his neck because he believed the man had stolen a gun part from him. Another witness said that Queen and Vandacasteele showed up armed at his hotel room after the witness told Baylee where he was staying, and that he believed they intended to kill him because he’d been arrested “with a large quantity of narcotics that he was fronted or given without paying for them and the people who had gave him the narcotics could have been upset.” (According to the police report, surveillance footage from the hotel corroborates this account.)
It’s also believed that he made anonymous calls to the police tip line to misdirect the investigation away from himself: one such caller referred to Baylee as a “sugar momma,” a phrase which Queen reportedly used to describe her when he spoke to investigators in August 2019, and he also used the same pseudonym on the tip line that he did on social media. When police questioned him around this time, he denied being part of a criminal enterprise and claimed he could barely pay his bills. Then, while out on bail for
unrelated gun charges in January 2019, Queen allegedly kidnapped another man at gunpoint and forced him to walk into the Kern River while Queen accused him of snitching to the cops. He’s been in custody since July of 2019 due to this kidnapping.
Part 5: No Body, No Crime So where is Baylee Despot?
According to official statements from law enforcement, no one knows. After the warrant was issued for her arrest, a wave of speculation followed that she had faked her own death or fled to Mexico with the help of unspecified “cartel connections.” That story seems less and less likely as more details have emerged from court documents. Vandecasteele told the police that Despot was “falling apart mentally” after murdering Micah. He and Queen both suspected that she was cooperating with police on an investigation relating to the illegal weapons charges, called her a “snitch” in one interview, and told investigators he believed Queen “made her disappear.” In one interview, a female witness said Queen kidnapped her at gunpoint, took her to an orchard, and held an AR-15 to her head while he questioned her about whether Baylee was faithful to him.
When police questioned him about Baylee’s disappearance in July 2019, he said was depressed and off her medications, and she had said she wanted to die. When the investigator told Queen there had been allegations of domestic violence involving him and Baylee, some of which resulted in bruises, Queen said he never laid a hand on anyone. He told the detective she was clumsy. Despite all of this, Jane Parrent says that police have told her that they don’t consider Matthew Queen a person of interest in Baylee’s disappearance, and that there is "no known physical evidence that definitively confirms her possible death." She is now offering her own personally-funded $1000 reward for information about her daughter’s location.
The rest of Micah Holsonbake’s body has not been recovered, though according to court documents, investigators believe Queen may have buried him in the hills near Taft, a rural area about 45 minutes west of Bakersfield.
There have been no developments in the investigation of James Kulstad’s murder since 2018. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Bakersfield Police Department at (661) 327-7111, or the Kern Secret Witness program at (661) 322-4040. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information leading to an arrest in this case.
Ultimately, what really frustrates me about this case is that even after this avalanche of charges, so many questions remain unresolved, and not just what happened and who did it, but
why. If the investigation concluded that James Kulstad’s death was unrelated to the disappearances of Baylee and Micah, who ordered his murder, and what was the reason? To what extent was the chiropractor involved with Queen and Vandecasteele’s trafficking racket? Was Sara Wedemeyer involved with Baylee’s disappearance, and if not, how’d she end up living with Matthew and expecting his child just two months after her “friend” went missing? Why did Sara and Matthew harass Baylee’s mother for months after the disappearance?
More than anything, I’m still lost as to Baylee Despot’s motivation for any of this. Did she just find herself in too deep with no way out? Did she actively make the choice to become a gunrunner? Did Matthew, looking to settle a grudge against Micah, seek out a relationship with Baylee with the intention of using her to get to him? Did he kill her because she was cooperating with the cops, because she attempted to leave him, or because he was just a sociopath who felt she was no longer useful?
Or is there a chance that law enforcement knows more than they’ve let on? When investigators told Mrs. Parrent that Matthew isn’t a suspect in her disappearance, was that an indication that she may, in fact, be alive?
Probably not. But at this point, anything is possible.
Sources: - Baylee’s page on The Charley Project: https://charleyproject.org/case/baylee-cheyanne-despot
- First news story about Micah Holsonbake’s disappearance, 4/13/20: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/breaking/man-reported-missing-april-has-medical-condition-family-says/article_8af62936-3f73-11e8-a82e-4b2ef30f031f.html
- “Baylee Parrent-Despot reported missing for more than a month,” 6/8/18: https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/baylee-parrent-despot-reported-missing-for-more-than-a-month
- “The Bakersfield 3: Reward offered in Baylee Despot case,” 9/18/18: https://www.kget.com/news/the-bakersfield-3-reward-offered-in-baylee-despot-case/
- “Bakersfield 3 mothers recall their last contact with children,” news article dated 10/24/18 https://www.bakersfield.com/news/momma-loves-you-bakersfield-mothers-recall-their-last-contact-with/article_418f70a8-d7e0-11e8-ac3c-67a7fc8df3d1.html
- “BPD: Missing man in Bakersfield 3 believed to have been killed, and his death shares similarities with disappearance of missing woman,” 10/20/18: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/breaking/bpd-missing-man-in-bakersfield-believed-to-have-been-killed/article_fbeb8eb4-04b8-11e9-bb07-17e07813288b.html
- “Mother of missing woman fights harassment claims stemming from her daughter’s disappearance,” 12/18/18: https://www.kget.com/news/mother-of-missing-woman-fights-harassment-claims-stemming-from-her-daughters-disappearance/
- “Micah Holsonbake dead; DNA test confirms arm found in river his,” 12/20/18: https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bpd-believes-a-man-missing-since-march-was-murdered
- “Stories behind the Bakersfield 3,” 12/20/18: https://www.kget.com/news/homicide-news/stories-behind-the-bakersfield-3/1669785945/
- Ryan Kulstad appearance on Dr. Phil, 1/14/19: https://www.drphil.com/videos/a-young-man-describes-what-led-up-to-him-holding-his-older-brother-in-his-arms-as-he-died/
- “A closer look at the Bakersfield 3: Where is Baylee Despot?,” 3/5/19: https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/domestic-violence/a-closer-look-at-the-bakersfield-3-where-is-baylee-despot/
- “A closer look at the Bakersfield 3: Who killed James Kulstad?” 3/6/19: https://www.kget.com/news/a-closer-look-at-the-bakersfield-3-who-killed-james-kulstad/
- “A closer look at the Bakersfield 3: What happened to Micah Holsonbake?” 3/7/19: https://www.kget.com/news/a-closer-look-at-the-bakersfield-3-what-happened-to-micah-holsonbake/
- “One year later, mothers of Bakersfield 3 continue their search for answers,” 3/23/19: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/one-year-later-mothers-of-bakersfield-3-continue-their-search-for-answers/article_528a7650-4cfc-11e9-886c-23d55ec3c32d.html
- “One year since death of James Kulstad, one of the 'Bakersfield 3’,” 4/8/19: https://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/one-year-since-death-of-james-kulstad-one-of-the-bakersfield-3
- “Mother of missing Baylee Despot speaks out on arrest of kidnapping suspect Matthew Queen,” 7/15/19: https://www.kget.com/news/local-news/mother-of-missing-baylee-despot-speaks-out-on-arrest-of-kidnapping-suspect-matthew-queen/
- “Investigating the mysteries of what happened to the Bakersfield 3,” 11/3/19: https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/investigating-the-mysteries-of-what-happened-to-the-bakersfield-3
- “Defendant in alleged kidnapping waives right to preliminary hearing,” 11/9/19: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/defendant-in-alleged-kidnapping-waives-right-to-preliminary-hearing/article_b5a3274c-00c4-11ea-a1e9-635cd4a35c9e.html
- “More charges filed against accused kidnapper Matthew Queen,” 1/1/20: https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/more-charges-filed-against-kidnapping-suspect-matthew-queen/
- Press release announcing charges filed against Queen, Despot, and Vandacasteele: https://www.kerncounty.com/home/showpublisheddocument?id=4595
- “Matthew Queen makes a court appearance in connection to 'Bakersfield 3' case,” 6/12/20: https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/matthew-queen-make-a-court-appearance-in-connection-to-bakersfield-3-case
- “‘Bakersfield 3’ member Micah Holsonbake believed killed by Matthew Queen over alleged stolen gun, defendant says in court documents,” 6/18/20: https://www.kget.com/news/crime-watch/bakersfield-3-member-micah-holsonbake-was-killed-by-matthew-queen-over-alleged-stolen-gun-defendant-says-in-court-documents/
- “Documents suggest Micah Holsonbake was afraid of suspect Matthew Queen; suggest Queen attempted to mislead investigation,” 6/17/20: https://www.turnto23.com/news/crime/documents-suggest-micah-holsonbake-was-afraid-of-suspect-matthew-queen-suggest-queen-attempted-to-mislead-investigation
- “Documents detail depth of investigation into suspected murder of Bakersfield 3 member,” 6/19/20: https://www.bakersfield.com/news/documents-detail-depth-of-investigation-into-suspected-murder-of-bakersfield-3-membearticle_ac1fb9a4-b278-11ea-962b-6b8ee0b03647.html
- “Bakersfield 3 update: Matthew Queen appears in court, pleas not guilty to all charges,” 6/11/20: https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bakersfield-3-update-matthew-queen-appears-in-court-pleas-not-guilty-to-all-charges
- “‘Bakersfield 3’ member Micah Holsonbake was afraid of murder suspect Matthew Queen, became increasingly paranoid before he disappeared, documents say,” 6/17/20
- Appellate court decision against Matthew Queen: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/408/337/509670/
- Obituary of James Kulstad: https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bakersfield/obituary.aspx?n=james-john-kulstad&pid=188771330&fhid=6140
Which Actress had the best run in the 40s?
Best Run in terms of anything
Ingrid Bergman: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Casablanca, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Gaslight, Spellbound, The Bells of St. Mary’s, Notorious, June Night, Adam Had Four Sons, Rage in Heaven, Saratoga Trunk, Swedes in America, Arch of Triumph, American Creed, Under Capricorn, and Joan of Arc.
Olivia De Havilland: The Snake Pit, Santa Fe Trail, Their Boots On, The Heiress, To Each His Own, In This Our Life, My Love Came Back, The Strawberry Blonde, The Male Animal, The Well Groomed Bride, Hold Back the Dawn, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Devotion, The Dark Mirror, Princess O'Rourke, and Government Girl.
Judy Garland: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, Strike Up the Band, Little Nellie Kelly, Meet Me in St. Louis, Presenting Lily Mars, For Me and My Gal, Thousands Cheer, Girl Crazy, Babes on Broadway, Life Begins for Andy Hardy, Ziegfeld Girl, In the Good Old Summertime, The Pirate, Words and Music, Easter Parade, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, and Ziegfeld Follies.
Gene Tierney: Son of Fury: The Story of Benjamin Blake, Heaven Can Wait, Laura, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, The Razor’s Edge, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Tobacco Road, The Return of Frank James, Hudson's Bay, The Shanghai Gesture, A Bell for Adano, China Girl, Sundown, Belle Starr, Thunder Birds, Rings on Her Fingers, The Iron Curtain, and That Wonderful Urge.
Bette Davis: In This Our Life, Thank Your Lucky Stars, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Little Foxes, The Letter, Now, Voyager, Beyond the Forest, Winter Meeting, June Bride, A Stolen Life, Deception, Hollywood Canteen, Old Acquaintance, Mr. Skeffington, Shining Victory, The Bride Came C.O.D., Watch on the Rhine, All This, and Heaven Too, and The Corn Is Green.
Joan Crawford: When Ladies Meet, Possessed, Mildred Pierce, Hollywood Canteen, Humoresque, Flamingo Road, It's a Great Feeling, Daisy Kenyon, Reunion in France, They All Kissed the Bride, Strange Cargo, Susan and God, Above Suspicion, and A Woman's Face.
Carole Lombard: They Knew What They Wanted, To Be or Not to Be, Vigil in the Night, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Agnes Moorehead: Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Dark Passage, Journey into Fear, The Big Street, The Youngest Profession, Government Girl, Jane Eyre, Dragon Seed, Since You Went Away, The Seventh Cross, Mrs. Parkington, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Tomorrow, the World!, Keep Your Powder Dry, Her Highness and the Bellboy, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Moment, Summer Holiday, The Woman in White, The Stratton Story, Station West, The Great Sinner, and Without Honor.
Shirley Temple: A Kiss for Corliss, Fort Apache, Adventure in Baltimore, The Story of Seabiscuit, Mr. Belvedere Goes to College, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, Since You Went Away, Kiss and Tell, I'll Be Seeing You, Honeymoon, Kathleen, Young People, Miss Annie Rooney, The Blue Bird, and That Hagen Girl.
Ava Gardner: The Killers, The Hucksters, Singapore, One Touch of Venus, The Bribe,The Great Sinner, Major Barbara, East Side, West Side, Reunion in France, Fancy Answers, H. M. Pulham, Esq., Shadow of the Thin Man, Babes on Broadway, This Time for Keeps, Joe Smith, American, We Do It Because, Sunday Punch, Kid Glove Killer, Calling Dr. Gillespie, Mighty Lak a Goat, Du Barry Was a Lady, Hitler's Madman, Ghosts on the Loose, Two Girls and a Sailor, Lost Angel, Young Ideas, Swing Fever, Maisie Goes to Reno, 3 Men in White, She Went to the Races, Blonde Fever, and Whistle Stop.
Katharine Hepburn: The Philadelphia Story, Song of Love, Adam's Rib, Undercurrent, Without Love, State of the Union, The Sea of Grass, Stage Door Canteen, Dragon Seed, Woman of the Year, and Keeper of the Flame.
Maureen O Hara: Dance, Girl, Dance, How Green Was My Valley, The Black Swan, The Spanish Main, Miracle on 34th Street, Sinbad the Sailor, A Bill of Divorcement, They Met in Argentina, To the Shores of Tripoli, Ten Gentlemen from West Point, Immortal Sergeant, This Land Is Mine, The Fallen Sparrow, Buffalo Bill, Sentimental Journey, Do You Love Me, The Homestretch, The Foxes of Harrow, Forever Amber, The Forbidden Street, Father Was a Fullback, Sitting Pretty, and A Woman's Secret.
Lauren Bacall: The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, Confidential Agent, and Confidential Agent.
Vivien Leigh: Caesar and Cleopatra, Anna Karenina, 21 Days, Waterloo Bridge, and That Hamilton Woman.
Greer Garson: Mrs. Miniver, The Valley of Decision, Desire Me, That Forsyte Woman, The Miracle of Sound, Pride and Prejudice, Random Harvest, Blossoms in the Dust, Madame Curie, The Youngest Profession, When Ladies Meet, Adventure, Mrs. Parkington, and Julia Misbehaves.
Claudette Colbert: The Palm Beach Story, Since You Went Away, Bride for Sale, Sleep, My Love, Without Reservations, Family Honeymoon, Arise, My Love, Boom Town, Remember the Day, Skylark, No Time for Love, Practically Yours, So Proudly We Hail!, Guest Wife, Tomorrow Is Forever, The Secret Heart, and The Egg and I.
Lana Turner: Johnny Eager, Honky Tonk, Ziegfeld Girl, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Somewhere I’ll Find You, Week-End at the Waldorf, Green Dolphin Street, Homecoming, The Three Musketeers, The Youngest Profession, Keep Your Powder Dry, We Who Are Young, Cass Timberlane, Slightly Dangerous, and Marriage Is a Private Affair.
Rita Hayworth: Gilda, Cover Girl, Blondie on a Budget, Tales of Manhattan, You Were Never Lovelier, The Lady from Shanghai, The Strawberry Blonde, You'll Never Get Rich, The Loves of Carmen, Affectionately Yours, My Gal Sal, Susan and God, Down to Earth, Tonight and Every Night, Blood and Sand, Angels Over Broadway, The Lady in Question, Music in My Heart, and Blondie on a Budget.
Joan Fontaine: Rebecca, Suspicion, The Constant Nymph, Jane Eyre, The Affairs of Susan, Ivy, Letter from an Unknown Woman, This Above All, Kiss the Blood Off My Hands, The Emperor Waltz, From This Day Forward, You Gotta Stay Happy, and Frenchman's Creek.
Jennifer Jones: The Song of Bernadette, Since You Went Away, Love Letters, Duel in the Sun, Madame Bovary, We Were Strangers, Portrait of Jennie, and Cluny Brown.
Hedy Lamarr: Comrade X, Come Live With Me, H.M. Pulham, Esq., Samson and Delilah, Tortilla Flat, Dishonored Lady, Ziegfeld Girl, Boom Town, Crossroads, The Strange Woman, White Cargo, Experiment Perilous, The Conspirators, Let's Live a Little, I Take This Woman, and The Heavenly Body.
Ginger Rogers: The Barkleys of Broadway, Tender Comrade, Kitty Foyle, Tom, Dick and Harry, I'll Be Seeing You, Roxie Hart, The Major and the Minor, Lucky Partners, Primrose Path, Week-End at the Waldorf, Once Upon a Honeymoon, Lady in the Dark, Magnificent Doll, Heartbeat, and It Had to Be You.
Barbara Stanwyck: East Side, West Side, Hollywood Canteen, Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Sorry, Wrong Number, Double Indemnity, Meet John Doe, You Belong to Me, Remember the Night, The Gay Sisters, The Great Man's Lady, Flesh and Fantasy, Lady of Burlesque, California, My Reputation, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, The Bride Wore Boots, Christmas in Connecticut, Cry Wolf, The Two Mrs. Carrolls, Variety Girl, The Other Love, The Lady Gambles, and B.F.'s Daughter.
Veronica Lake: Sullivan’s Travels, This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, I Married a Witch, So Proudly We Hail, Bring on the Girls, Miss Susie Slagle’s, The Blue Dahlia, I Wanted Wings, Forty Little Mothers, The Hour Before the Dawn, Ramrod, Hold That Blonde, Duffy's Tavern, Miss Susie Slagle's, Out of This World, Slattery's Hurricane, The Sainted Sisters, Isn't It Romantic?, Star Spangled Rhythm, and Saigon.
Setsuko Hara: Late Spring, Toyuki, Hebihimesama, Totsugu hi made, Onna no machi, Futari no sekai, Shimai no Yakusoku, Anî no hânayomê, Ôinaru kanô, Kêkkon no seitaî, A Story of Leadership, Kibô no aozora, Seishun no kiryû, Wakai sensei, Midori no daichi, Haha no chizu, Hawai Mare Oki Kaisen, Hawai Maree oki kaisen, Ahen senso, Bôrô no kesshitai, Toward the Decisive Battle in the Sky, Searing Wind, Suicide Troops of the Watchtower, Ikari no umi, Young Eagles, Shôri no hi made, Kita no san-nin, Koi no fuunjî, Midori no kokkyô, Reijin, Midori no kokkyô, No Regrets for Our Youth, Yuwaku, Kakedashi jidai, A Ball at the Anjo House, Onnadake no yoru, Sanbon yubi no otoko, Toki no teizo: zengohen, Fujisancho, Taifuken no onna, Kofuku no genkai, President and a female clerk, Tonosama Hotel, Ojôsan kanpai, Aoi sanmyaku, and Zoku aoi sanmyaku.
Betty Grable: Down Argentine Way, Mother Wore Tights,When My Baby Smiles at Me, The Dolly Sisters, Pin Up Girl, Springtime in the Rockies, Coney Island, The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend, Tin Pan Alley, Sweet Rosie O'Grady, A Yank in the R.A.F., Footlight Serenade, I Wake Up Screaming, Song of the Islands, Diamond Horseshoe, Do You Love Me, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim, Four Jills in a Jeep, Moon Over Miami, and Hollywood Bound.
Deborah Kerr: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, Contraband, Penn of Pennsylvania, A Battle for a Bottle, Love on the Dole, Major Barbara, Major Barbara, Edward, My Son, Hatter's Castle, The Day Will Dawn, If Winter Comes, Perfect Strangers, and I See a Dark Stranger.
Donna Reed: Shadow of the Thin Man, Calling Dr. Gillespie, It's a Wonderful Life, Convicted Woman, The Get-Away, Babes on Broadway, The Courtship of Andy Hardy, The Bugle Sounds, Mokey, Apache Trail, Eyes in the Night, Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case, The Human Comedy, The Man from Down Under, Thousands Cheer, See Here, Private Hargrove, Green Dolphin Street, Chicago Deadline, Beyond Glory, The Picture of Dorian Gray, They Were Expendable, Faithful in My Fashion, and Gentle Annie.
Kim Hunter: A Matter of Life and Death, When Strangers Marry, You Came Along, The Seventh Victim, Tender Comrade, and A Canterbury Tale.
Alida Valli: The Third Man, Piccolo mondo antico, The Paradine Case, The Miracle of the Bells, We the Living, T'amerò sempre, I pagliacci, Apparizione, The Song of Life, The Two Orphans, The First Woman Who Passes, Light in the Darkness, The Secret Lover, Manon Lescaut, The Last Enemy, Red Tavern, Beyond Love, Schoolgirl Diary, Invisible Chains, Stasera niente di nuovo, The Za-Bum Circus, Life Begins Anew, and Eugenia Grandet.
Anne Baxter: 20 Mule Team, The Magnificent Ambersons, Five Graves to Cairo, The Razor's Edge, Yellow Sky, The Great Profile, Swamp Water, Charley's Aunt, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, The Fighting Sullivans, The North Star, Smoky, The Purple Heart, The Eve of St. Mark, Guest in the House, You're My Everything, The Walls of Jericho, Homecoming, The Luck of the Irish, Blaze of Noon, Angel on My Shoulder, and A Royal Scandal.
Teresa Wright: The Little Foxes, Mrs.. Miniver, Enchantment, Shadow of a Doubt, The Best Years of Our Lives, Pursued, The Trouble with Women, The Pride of the Yankees, The Little Foxes, Casanova Brown, and The Imperfect Lady.
Mary Astor: The Maltese Falcon, The Palm Beach Story, The Great Lie, Act of Violence, Meet Me in St. Louis, Fiesta, East Side, West Side, Young Ideas, Blonde Fever, Turnabout, Brigham Young, Across the Pacific, Claudia and David, Little Women, Any Number Can Play, Desert Fury, and Cynthia.
Ann Sheridan: They Drive by Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Kings Row, Nora Prentiss, I Was a Male War Bride, Honeymoon for Three, One More Tomorrow, City for Conquest, Torrid Zone, Castle on the Hudson, It All Came True, Navy Blues, George Washington Slept Here, Wings for the Eagle, Juke Girl, Silver River, The Unfaithful, Edge of Darkness, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Cinderella Jones, Shine On, Harvest Moon, and Good Sam.
Ida Lupino: They Drive by Night, Devotion, In Our Time, The Sea Wolf, High Sierra, Thank Your Lucky Stars, Out of the Fog, Life Begins at Eight-Thirty, Moontide, Ladies in Retirement, Hollywood Canteen, Forever and a Day, The Hard Way, Pillow to Post, Road House, The Man I Love, Escape Me Never, Deep Valley, Not Wanted, Never Fear, and Lust for Gold.
Joan Bennett: Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The House Across the Bay, The Man I Married, The Son of Monte Cristo, Green Hell, She Knew All the Answers, Wild Geese Calling, The Reckless Moment, Secret Beyond the Door, Hollow Triumph, The Woman on the Beach, Margin for Error, Twin Beds, Confirm or Deny, The Wife Takes a Flyer, Colonel Effingham's Raid, The Macomber Affair, Girl Trouble, and Nob Hill.
Tallulah Bankhead: A Royal Scandal, Stage Door Canteen, and Lifeboat.
Jane Greer: Out of the Past, Pan-Americana, Two O'Clock Courage, Sinbad the Sailor, George White's Scandals, The Falcon's Alibi, Dick Tracy, The Bamboo Blonde, Station West, Sunset Pass, They Won't Believe Me, and The Big Steal.
Margaret O'Brien: Jane Eyre, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Unfinished Dance, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Lost Angel, Three Wise Fools, Big City, Little Women, Tenth Avenue Angel, The Secret Garden, Music for Millions, Bad Bascomb, Journey for Margaret, You, John Jones!, and The Canterville Ghost.
Lucille Ball: Without Love, Ziegfeld Follies, Dance, Girl, Dance, The Big Street, Du Barry Was a Lady, The Marines Fly High, You Can't Fool Your Wife, A Girl, a Guy and a Gob, Too Many Girls,Thousands Cheer, Seven Days' Leave, Easy Living, Abbott and Costello in Hollywood, Look Who's Laughing, Valley of the Sun, Lured, Easy to Wed, Two Smart People, Her Husband's Affairs, Sorrowful Jones, The Dark Corner, Lover Come Back, Best Foot Forward, and Meet the People.
Cyd Charisse: Ziegfeld Follies, Escort Girl, Something to Shout About, Thousands Cheer, Mission to Moscow, The Harvey Girls, Till the Clouds Roll By, In Our Time, Three Wise Fools, Fiesta, The Unfinished Dance, On an Island with You, and The Kissing Bandit.
Susan Hayward: The Lost Moment, Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, My Foolish Heart, Adam Had Four Sons, Sis Hopkins, They Won't Believe Me, Canyon Passage, And Now Tomorrow, Deadline at Dawn, Hit Parade of 1943, Star Spangled Rhythm, A Letter from Bataan, Young and Willing, Tulsa, The Saxon Charm, House of Strangers, Tap Roots, Among the Living, Reap the Wild Wind, The Forest Rangers, Jack London, The Fighting Seabees, and The Hairy Ape.
June Allyson: The Secret Heart, Music for Millions, Best Foot Forward, Meet the People, Two Girls and a Sailor, Girl Crazy, All Girl Revue, Her Highness and the Bellboy, The Three Musketeers, Good News, The Stratton Story, Words and Music, High Barbaree, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Sailor Takes a Wife, Two Sisters from Boston, and The Bride Goes Wild.
Susan Peters: Young Ideas, Tish, Santa Fe Trail, The Big Shot, Random Harvest, Keep Your Powder Dry, Song of Russia, Assignment in Brittany, The Sign of the Ram, Dr. Gillespie's New Assistant, Andy Hardy's Double Life, A New Romance of Celluloid: Personalities, Sockaroo, River's End, Meet John Doe, The Strawberry Blonde, Scattergood Pulls the Strings, Three Sons o' Guns, Young America Flies, Money and the Woman, and The Man Who Talked Too Much.
Betty Hutton: Duffy's Tavern, Hollywood Victory Caravan, Dream Girl, Red, Hot and Blue, Star Spangled Rhythm, One for the Book, Happy Go Lucky, Strictly G.I., Skirmish on the Home Front, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, Cross My Heart, The Perils of Pauline, The Stork Club,Here Come the Waves, And the Angels Sing, Incendiary Blonde, The Fleet's In, and Let's Face It.
Celeste Holm: Road House, Gentleman's Agreement, Come to the Stable, The Snake Pit, Everybody Does It, Chicken Every Sunday, A Letter to Three Wives, Three Little Girls in Blue, and Carnival in Costa Rica.
Celia Johnson: In Which We Serve, Brief Encounter, This Happy Breed, Dear Octopus, and A Letter from Home.
Jane Wyman: Brother Rat and a Baby, Bad Men of Missouri, Johnny Belinda, The Lost Weekend, An Angel from Texas, Flight Angels, Gambling on the High Seas, My Love Came Back, Tugboat Annie Sails Again, Honeymoon for Three, You're in the Army Now, The Body Disappears, Larceny, Inc., My Favorite Spy, Footlight Serenade, Princess O'Rourke, Make Your Own Bed, The Doughgirls, Crime by Night, One More Tomorrow, Night and Day, The Yearling, Magic Town, Cheyenne, A Kiss in the Dark, and The Lady Takes a Sailor.
Angela Lansbury: National Velvet, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Gaslight, The Harvey Girls, The Private Affairs of Bel Ami, If Winter Comes, The Hoodlum Saint, Till the Clouds Roll By, The Red Danube, The Three Musketeers, Tenth Avenue Angel, State of the Union, and Samson and Delilah
Jean Simmons: Hamlet, Kiss the Bride Goodbye, Give Us the Moon, Black Narcissus, The Way to the Stars, Great Expectations, Caesar and Cleopatra, Meet Sexton Blake, Mr. Emmanuel, Sports Day, Adam and Evelyne, The Blue Lagoon, The Woman in the Hall, Uncle Silas, and Hungry Hill.
Jane Darwell: The Grapes of Wrath, My Darling Clementine,Untamed, Brigham Young, Private Nurse, Chad Hanna, Thieves Fall Out, Youth Will Be Served, The Devil and Daniel Webster, All Through the Night, It Happened in Flatbush, Young America, On the Sunny Side, Men of Texas, Small Town Deb, Music in Manhattan, Captain Tugboat Annie, Three Wise Fools, The Dark Horse, Sunday Dinner for a Soldier, She's a Sweetheart, I Live in Grosvenor Square, The Ox-Bow Incident, Gildersleeve's Bad Day, Tender Comrade, The Great Gildersleeve, The Impatient Years, Reckless Age, Stage Door Canteen, Government Girl, Train to Alcatraz, 3 Godfathers, Red Canyon, Keeper of the Bees, The Red Stallion, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, and Highways by Night.
Jeanne Crain: A Letter to Three Wives, Centennial Summer, Pinky, Leave Her to Heaven, In the Meantime, Darling, Margie, State Fair, Apartment for Peggy, The Gang's All Here, Home in Indiana, The Fan, You Were Meant for Me, and Winged Victory.
Linda Darnell: My Darling Clementine, Chad Hanna, The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe, A Letter to Three Wives, Unfaithfully Yours, Forever Amber, The Mark of Zorro, Star Dust, Rise and Shine, Blood and Sand, It Happened Tomorrow, The Song of Bernadette, City Without Men, Sweet and Low-Down, Summer Storm, Buffalo Bill, The Great John L., Hangover Square, The Walls of Jericho, Anna and the King of Siam, Centennial Summer, Fallen Angel, Everybody Does It, and Slattery's Hurricane.
Alice Faye: Fallen Angel, The Gang's All Here, Hello, Frisco, Hello, Tin Pan Alley, Four Jills in a Jeep, The Great American Broadcast, That Night in Rio, Little Old New York, Lillian Russell, and Week-End in Havana.
Deanna Durbin: Christmas Holiday, Lady on a Train, For the Love of Mary, Something in the Wind, Up in Central Park, Because of Him, I'll Be Yours, Can't Help Singing, The Amazing Mrs. Holliday, It Started with Eve, Nice Girl?, It's a Date, Hers to Hold, His Butler's Sister, and Spring Parade.
It’s Gene Tierney or Rita Hayworth for me
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Top 3 Financial Mistakes in my 20s (Please make one on a chosen decade for me to read)
I was on the YouTube site browsing videos about money and I found a great video where the host was explaining his story about financial mistakes made in his 20s. This inspired me to share my lessons learned from that decade. Now, I could probably write a book about all the mistakes I made. But who has time for that? Please enjoy my short and sweet top 3 mistakes below.
1. Bought a home with no money
To this day, this mistake still hurts. When I was in my early 20s, I bought a home with no money in the bank. I had a crappy job living paycheck to paycheck. I was somewhat aware of the threats of committing to the 30-year loan, so I decided to get two roommates. My thought was, their rent will cover the mortgage. With all these great plans what could go wrong? Here’s what happened in the first 30 days,
- My garbage disposal broke: This isn’t a huge problem right? Well, it rendered my kitchen sink useless because the water wouldn’t drain. And keep in mind, I wasn’t one of those rich middle-class folk with two sinks in the kitchen. Also, this was before the days of YouTube. So I had no clue on how to change a garbage disposal. Nor was I willing to gamble with messing up the replacement unit that took me a week to purchase.
- My hot water heater broke: I had to take cold showers in the Indiana winters for two weeks while I saved. Funny story, I decided to get a membership to a 24-hour gym to take hot showers while I saved enough money to pay a contractor.
- Rent payments were late: One of my roommates wore baggy pants and did not have a bank account. So, he would cash his paycheck working construction for two weeks then and keep a huge stack of money in his back pocket. Gravity being unforgiving as it is, my dear roommate would consistently lose money due to his style of clothing and wouldn’t be able to pay rent on time.
- Water Damage: A pipe burst in the thinly insulated garage and spewed water all over the ceiling. When drywall meets water they form an unscrupulous relationship and fuse into a nice heavy sponge of disaster. After some time, this will render mold. It’s a nice chaotic orgasm of Murphy’s law all over your life and the perfect example of what can go wrong when you are too poor, and in my case, ignorant to learn about the nuances of home ownership before diving right in.
2. Bought an impractical car with a loan
Here are some minor pointers while I lament on the many woes of the dumb car purchases of my past.
- I bought a rear wheel drive muscle car in a state that snows. Not only was I sliding all over the place, but this handicap would cause me to be late for work. And thank God I never got into a wreck.
- Because I was poor, I kept maximum coverage on my stupid metal depreciating mass since I could not afford to pay for any repairs if there was a wreck. Now, I acknowledge that my next statement is controversial, but I keep the bare minimum insurance coverage on my $3,000 12-year old Toyota Yaris. I do understand the risks and have taken measures to protect myself (I can elaborate if requested). The savings from this practice then gets converted into beautiful, succulent compound interest giving me super-human financial powers so great, that it would make a modern Marvel character blush. (But those who belong to this group already know this.)
- Negative Compounding effect: Because I had an expensive muscle car, I got bad gas mileage, I had to spend more on big tires, my insurance rate was higher, the list goes on. Because this vehicle was all consuming, it was sucking too much money in the wrong direction.
3. Avoided Risk
On the surface, this doesn’t seem like it’s related to money. But hear me out, when you chase what’s comfortable you ultimately become soft and fluffy. I am not saying go after dangerous jobs or make hasty decisions without guidance. I am talking about doing something hard because it’s, you guessed it,
hard. Or, taking a calculated risk because the payoff is aligned with your personal goal. You will grow out of adversity. You regress when you don’t challenge those precious muscle fibers.You see, I wanted a comfy white collar job where I worked behind a computer all day. I figured, I could have stability with that type of career. My ego liked the idea of using my brain for a living. So, I became a systems analyst for a large pharmaceutical company in the city. What that meant in practice was, I had an unhealthy sedentary life bending my back and sitting on my butt all day hunched over eating the fake preserved so called, “food” in the vending machine.Prepping for the early morning meetings was a nice event that kept me up at night. Each day, I sat in my car on my 40 minute commute, waiting in traffic, coping with the pressure of the stomach pain that accompanies diarrhea due to the tension of stress and possibly, too much coffee. When I got to work each morning, I would grab a toilet stall that wreaked of another poor soul who just crapped their brains out. As ounces of coffee violently escaped my body, all I could do is sit and wonder how many smelly particles of others fecal matter were entering my body as a result of this warm toilet seat.But at least I had stability right? Wrong! As I came to find out, I was the fool automating my job away with the software I was developing. Not to sound like a Luddite, but during the mandatory quarterly meetings it would be nice to see CEO’s show a graphical chart displaying stats employees really care about such as,
- amount of hours employees spent at home with the family.
- how many hours employees spent learning a new hobby.
- how much money was given out via bonuses to the staff.
Instead, I got to hear about how a few millionaires became richer. As I grew the corporate ladder, I learned that my job became more about squeezing hours out of people who would be replaced by cheaper labor overseas, and or automation in the following year. So much for stability.So, in my early 30s, I quit corporate America and joined a startup tech company in the heart of Indianapolis. The job was intense. The company doubled its growth in a year, I had to learn or re-learn concepts on the fly and struggled to keep up. But I had more control to make decisions on my own or talk to different departments. And here’s the best part, the pay was 40% higher, each day was a new unconventional challenge and I grew as a consequence. The threat of losing my job was greater than the office position in corporate America, but I had a nice stash of cash as an insurance policy, so I could afford to gamble.Had I taken this risk earlier, perhaps my growth wouldn’t have been delayed. Stress still existed. But at the startup, I had more control over my destiny. It felt liberating as opposed to the tyrannical order I felt in the corporate world.Perhaps I’ll do another post like this once I exist my 30s. Thanks for reading!
Offseason Blueprint: The Detroit Pistons are an NBA basketball team. Hopefully, they can remind fans of that in the next few years.
The playoffs continue to rage on, but there are 26 teams sitting at home with nothing to do but twiddle their thumbs, watch the Conference Finals, and wait for next season to start.
For their sake, we wanted to look ahead with the next edition of the
OFFSEASON BLUEPRINT series. In each, we'll preview some big decisions and make some recommendations for plans of attack along the way. Today, we're looking at the Detroit Pistons.
step one: weave a new narrative
Some teams are good, some teams are bad -- but almost all of them have a general direction. Are you a young team on the rise? Or a veteran team trying to squeeze out as many wins as possible?
Right now, the Detroit Pistons are in a wonky grey area. They're missing an identity. When they tried to make the playoffs, they were fairly mediocre (records of 37-45, 39-43, 41-41). When injuries hit this past season, they plummeted down to 20-46. While that generally suggests a young and rebuilding team, the roster doesn't reflect that yet. Their marquee players are Blake Griffin (age 31) and Derrick Rose (age 31.) They also have a veteran coach in Dwane Casey who's more accustomed to competing than rebuilding. All in all, they feel like a confused, forgotten franchise.
Fortunately, there's a new sheriff in town. The team hired a new GM in Troy Weaver, who had been Sam Presti's right-hand man in Oklahoma City. Weaver's been on the verge of a GM job for several years now, and his hire represents something of a coup for this embattled organization.
Going forward, the franchise needs to hold the keys over to Weaver and allow him free reign to do whatever he wants. Back in OKC, he had experience with a variety of makeups: with a rebuilding team, with a contending team, with a rebuilding-wait-whoops-we're-accidentally-pretty-darn-good team. It's up to him to look at this roster and this payroll and determine the best path forward from here.
step two: hold a garage sale for your old homeowner's property
Presumably, Troy Weaver will treat this project as more of a teardown than a remodel. Mainstay center Andre Drummond is already out of the door, and the other veterans may join him on the bus out of Detroit.
Unfortunately, that may be easier said than done. It makes a lot of sense to trade star PF Blake Griffin to a veteran team, but his injuries and his contract ($37M + $39M player option) would make that difficult from a logistical perspective.
There's a chance that a desperate team may be willing to roll the dice on Griffin. Throughout his career, he's been one of the more misunderstood players in the league. People want to treat him as an athlete-dunker only, but he's actually a skilled ballhandler and passer. In his last healthy season in 2018-19, he averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.4 assists, and even showcased an improved three-point shot (36.2% on 7.0 attempts per game.) If healthy, he'd be a major difference maker to a team like Portland.
Still, teams aren't going to give up major assets for Blake Griffin until he proves that he is healthy. From Detroit's perspective, it makes more sense to wait to trade him. They need him to come back, put up some good stats, and then float him in offers. Right now, you'd be trading Griffin for 20 cents on the dollar.
In contrast, Derrick Rose's stock may be at a high. He put up good raw numbers this year (18.1 points, 5.6 assists), and he's on a reasonable $7.5M expiring contract. He'd be a positive addition to a playoff team, best served as a Sixth Man scorer. The Pistons and their fans like Rose (and he likes playing here), but it'd be irresponsible for them to not consider trade options. If they get any decent offers, they have to pull the trigger. If the offers are weak -- R2 picks or so -- then the team can keep him around as a veteran leader and placeholder starter.
step three: don't let your breakout break out
As bad as the Pistons were, they had a few bright spots. Derrick Rose played better than expected. Luke Kennard looks on track to be a rising starter. And, most surprising of all, rando Christian Wood broke out as a legitimate NBA player. As a starter, Wood averaged 21.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Wood is a springy, energetic player who also has an improving range (40% from three as a starter.)
You can read a longer deep dive about Christian Wood here, but to sum it up. A) His production looks legitimate, as he's been putting up numbers in virtually every stop as a pro. But B) His breakout may be poorly timed for the Pistons, because he's slated for free agency and about to get more expensive. He's a 24 year old whose best days should be ahead of him.
Based purely on his stats and scouting profile, you could talk yourself into a contract closing in on $15M a year for Wood. However, players with his "pedigree" (undrafted, limited sample size) rarely get that type of contract right away. To me, paying him somewhere in the range of 3 years, $36M would be a fair deal on both sides. There's too much uncertainty to justify much more of a commitment.
Of course, the Pistons should know better than any of us whether to trust Wood. Prior to this year, he had a mixed reputation in terms of his basketball IQ and work habits. If Coach Casey can sign off on Wood's character, then the team can feel more comfortable with him as a building block. If there are still red flags, perhaps it's better not to get too attached. The Pistons have more cap room than most teams this offseason, so the money shouldn't be a major deterrent to this decision. It should be entirely about Wood as a person and a player. If you believe that he's the real deal, then you keep him around.
step four: find your next field general
Christian Wood is a solid young player -- Luke Kennard is a solid young player -- but these aren't franchise players. They're secondary scorers and members of a supporting cast. To truly advance to the promised land, the Detroit Pistons are going to need to find transcendent talent, somehow and some way.
Unfortunately, the NBA Draft Lottery didn't help. The Pistons slipped down from the # 5 slot to the # 7 pick, making it unlikely that they'll land a future star.
On the bright side, the "supply and demand" may be on their side. This draft class happens to be heavy with point guards. There's LaMelo Ball (the # 1 prospect on ESPN), Killian Hayes (the # 1 prospect on The Ringer), and Tyrese Haliburton (one of the safer picks in the class.) If any of them slip down to # 7, the Pistons should strongly consider them. It usually takes a point guard a year or two to find their footing, but they can sit behind Derrick Rose for a year and then get unleashed in 2021. From a personality standpoint, Rose isn't going to mentor and educate like Aristotle, but he's capable of soaking up 25 minutes and allowing the next PG some time to develop.
If those top guards are not available (and they are unlikely to be), the Pistons may have to take some chances. One name I'm intrigued by is R.J. Hampton.
On face value, that'd be a "reach." Like LaMelo Ball, Hampton was a top high school prospect who went off to play in the Australian league. Unlike Ball, his NBA stock suffered as a result. While Ball put up numbers (17-8-7), Hampton put up weak stats -- 8.8 points, 2.4 assists on 41-30-68 shooting splits. As a result, Ball is now locked into top 3 pick status, and Hampton is seeing his name ranked around the 10-20 range in mock drafts.
However, I'd defend Hampton to some degree. We have to consider the context here. LaMelo Ball joined a struggling team called Illawarra. With Ball, the team went 3-9 (and finished 5-23.) When you're playing on a bad team like that, you can be the "star" and jack up as many shots as you want. In contrast, Hampton joined the New Zealand Breakers, a better team that relegated him to 20.6 minutes a night and a more limited role. His raw stats may not do him justice.
No doubt, Hampton has a long way to go, especially as a shooter. At the same time, he's a big lead guard (6'4" with a 6'7" wingspan) who flashes a lot of explosive scoring ability when he's getting downhill to the hoop. He's also a smart kid and allegedly a good worker. There's some legitimate "star" potential here, even if it's a narrow bull's eye. Hampton doesn't have the same athleticism as Russell Westbrook (hardly anyone does) but maybe there's a parallel here. After all, Weaver and OKC selected Westbrook after he'd been a little under the radar after playing off the ball at UCLA.
To be clear, I'm not urging Detroit to take R.J. Hampton at # 7. I'm not endorsing him as a future star like Westbrook. I don't know enough to do that; I don't sit around and splice up tape of New Zealand basketball. Still, the point is, the Pistons should be looking at upside players in that vein, knowing that they're going to need to hit a home run in the future.
step five: keep one hand on the detonator
The Detroit Pistons only have $68M committed on the books for next season, which means they could be players in free agency even if they re-sign Christian Wood.
If the team decided to go "all in" in a desperate attempt to compete, then you could maybe talk yourself into retaining Blake Griffin, handing out a big contract for Fred VanVleet, and shooting for the playoffs. That may work. But to what end...? The 7th seed? The 8th seed? Is that the end goal here?
More realistically, the team should (as discussed) try to get Blake Griffin back and fully healthy in order to showcase him for a trade. After that, they'd then dive into a full rebuild.
Presuming that's going to be the ultimate destination, then the Pistons may as well get a jump on that with free agency. With their remaining cap space, they can take on a toxic asset that comes attached with future picks, or take some fliers on young and promising players. Among my favorite gamblers of this offseason may include PG Kris Dunn (CHI), SG Denzel Valentine (CHI), SF Josh Jackson (MEM), and C Harry Giles (SAC.) None of them should draw huge money offers, making them reasonable purchases and lottery tickets.
If the Pistons end up blowing it up, then they should play their younger players over the course of the season. That should mean a lot of Sekou Doumbouya (entering Year 2) and even some Thon Maker (entering Year 42). If that means you only win 25-30 games, that's all right. It'll only help your odds for next year's lottery.
I've mentioned this before with some potential tankers (CLE, CHA, etc), but next year's draft could be quite strong. The group is headlined by point forward Cade Cunningham (heading to Oklahoma State) and scoring swingman Jalen Green (heading to the G-League), but there are about 4-5 other players who have the potential to join the # 1 pick conversation in time. The Detroit Pistons aren't likely to be bad enough to get a top 3 pick on their own, but the flattened lottery odds make it possible for the 7th or 8th worst team to leapfrog into that territory.
Of course, before Weaver and the Pistons officially press the detonator and go into full-blown rebuild/tank mode, they need to have a heart to heart with Coach Casey. He's 63 years old already, and entering the third year of a five-year deal. Is he going to embrace the rebuild? Is he going to be the scapegoat if they rack up losses? They need to get on the same page, out of fairness to Casey and out of fairness to this franchise. A reasonable solution would be to promise Casey that, if he does tank like a good soldier, he'll still be retained for next season. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will chrome.
previous offseason blueprints
ATL, CHA, CHI, CLE, DAL, IND, GS, LAC, MIL, MIN, NYK, POR, SA, SAC, UTA
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