Co-ownership of a fantasy basketball squad can be both a blessing and a curse. With a co-ownership, you have more man-hours to review information, check your waiver wire for free agents, and you have somebody to talk you out of questionable decisions. However, in order for this to be effective, you must have someone that you can get along with, and who is knowledgeable about the subject. This article looks to examine these points and highlight some of the important issues surrounding dual-ownership.

This is probably the biggest asset of all. By having two owners you can work to "divide and conquer" the massive amount of NBA information that is freely available. There are several ways to do this, but an easy division of labor would be to assign one owner to the Eastern Conference and one to the Western Conference teams. This is even more logical if you and your co-owner follow teams on different coasts. Now, instead of worrying about trying to devour a large breadth of information, you can instead focus I depth on half of the teams when creating lists of potential busts, sleepers, and players with the potential to move into the upper echelon. This is especially helpful in larger leagues, where everyone’s roster is not packed with all-starts. In these leagues the rosters tend to be thinner, and any late-round, high PPM players that you can find are going to be very valuable. In these larger leagues, the difference between winning and losing the championship often comes down to the fact that one team has a much deeper bench than the other. By knowing that the backup shooting guard on the Grizzlies has a relatively high PPM, you have a decided advantage. A team that needs to scout every team may not have the time and resources to determine this. This principal can also be applied to the reviewing of box scores during the season.

Every season, even in the deepest of leagues, there are players who come out of nowhere and perform at an unexpectedly high level. In order to acquire these players, you need to be the first to log on to hoops.sports.ws and pick them up. With two owners, your chances of getting this player greatly increase. Oftentimes, you are busy one evening or are not checking box scores due to work/exams/significant others/beer miles, etc. However, all is not lost if you have a co-owner. If you are at a bar and notice that Milt Palacio just dropped in 50 against the Spurs, well, without a co-owner there is no way you will be able to pick him. However, if you do have a co-owner, then one phone call is all it takes to add him to your team.

Ok, first off, everyone has them. Each year, it is inevitable that you will have some crazy idea that this is the year scrub player X finally breaks out. Whether it is Mikki Moore, Greg Buckner, or Boneyard Bissell, we all have those thoughts. In these situations, it is imperative that you have someone to talk you out of them. Nothing will hurt your team more than to draft a bunch of these guys based on your elevated expectations for them. It doesn’t matter that they once dropped 45 on your high school team, or that your sister was a party with one of them, and he supposedly talked about how this was his year. It is not going to happen. Hearing this from a co-owner who only has the best interests of the team in mind will bring you back to the real world. You can then leave them undrafted. Additionally, this is also useful in proposing trades and making free agent pickups. Having someone else review a trade proposal before you actually send it will give you a fresh perspective on the proposal. If your co-owner doesn’t think that it is feasible, you can re-work it before actually sending it out. This will save you the ridicule of having your trade called out on the message boards, and your reputation in the league sullied.

One of the most important factors in deciding to co-own a franchise is to make sure that your co-owner has a similar level of dedication to the team as you do. If they do not have that same dedication, it would probably be better to own separate teams. This is because the purpose of the co-ownership is to give you an advantage, and to help reduce the burden on yourself. If your co-owner is not contributing, or contributing in a negative manner, it will harm your franchise. You do not want a co-owner who will just propose horrible trades, and spout nonsense on the trash talk boards, as it will lower your reputation around the league. Therefore, you need to choose someone you can trust, and who is just as much of a basketball enthusiast as you are.

Having a co-ownerr is tough during the draft, especially during the later rounds. Sometimes, it is nearly impossible to come to a consensus on whom to draft after round 7 or so. In this case, you don’t want to damage your relationship with the co-owner by drafting against their will. Rather, you should work out some agreement where if he lets you take the player you want this round; next round you take his player. This is sometimes difficult to do, especially when it comes to fan-favorites who are on your hometown team. Blind loyalty to certain players is one of the quickest ways to tank your basketball season. In-season, you should work quickly to make decisions on potential free agents and trades. Too much discussion and too little action will cause you to miss out players you otherwise could have acquired.

Hopefully, the issues discussed in this article will shed some light onto the pros and cons of dual-ownership. If done correctly, it can give you a decided advantage even in the toughest of leagues.

By Leonardo VanDinty