Trades (!)

Trades throw curve balls into fantasy leagues. They can mean the difference from winning championships to completely ruining your season. You have your managers who always scheming throwing out low ball offers on a weekly basis and you have those who clamp down on their team and refuse to take any offers ever.

Most of the time you want to facilitate trades with the end game in mind. To help you get into the playoffs with the best chance to win, or you have locked your spot in the playoffs and are maximizing your odds.

Some basic rules:

1. The best deals are made when both sides win.
2. Buy low, sell high.
3. Do not make a 1 for 2 unless you are extremely confident both players will produce.

Some scenarios to consider trading a piece on your team include injuries to your team (or an opponent's) and playoff and regular season schedules. Look at trades as if you're fitting together a puzzle. Sometimes your puzzle is missing a piece and you just need that one player to round out your team. You want your team to be as top heavy as possible when headed into the playoffs. No need for depth if you're not going to use it. If you have depth in one position, try to swap that depth for more top end production. You want to maximize for upside, not reduce downside.

This is where the scout in you can really excel as well. Look for extraneous factors that may be inhibiting players production. Look for reasons players might be over producing. If you had traded for Doug Martin before week six last year, you came out on top. Sometimes the luck monster hits you in the nuts and you trade for Fred Jackson right before he gets hurt.

Here is a thread of trades that went wrong for people: http://www.reddit.com/r/fantasyfootball/comments/1519jt/i_traded_aj_green_and_it_cost_me_a_playoff_spot/