#player-valuation

#player-valuation

Oliver Ekman-Larsson has had an unbelievable season with the Maple Leafs. He has consistently been the Maple Leafs' best defenceman, while having the second-best season of his career with 32 points in the team's first 54 games. Ekman-Larsson is set to represent Team Sweden at the Olympic Games starting within the next two weeks. Now you may be thinking to yourself, why would the Maple Leafs even think about trading him if they want to retool?

It's no secret that Toronto made some questionable choices with their extension offers to Immanuel Quickley and Jakob Poeltl. Quickley was signed to a five-year, $175 million extension as a restricted free agent in the 2024 offseason. In hindsight, this summer revealed that IQ's contract essentially broke the RFA market, as many players in his position tried to justify similar figures, but no other NBA teams were willing to match that price.

RJ Barrett has been at the heart of trade speculation since the moment the Toronto Raptors first acquired him in 2023. Cast aside by critics as a player who simply doesn't play a winning style, Barrett has quietly grown into the type of contributor many swore he couldn't be. As the trade rumors return in 2025-26, it's become perfectly clear that those who expect him to be moved aren't properly quantifying how valuable he is to the Raptors.

In June 2023, the Suns acquired Bradley Beal from the Washington Wizards, a deal that came on the heels of Phoenix landing Kevin Durant from the Brooklyn Nets before that year's trade deadline. After the moves, new owner Mat Ishbia hailed the creation of the NBA's next superteam. Those trades rattled the NBA landscape. The league is in a far different place two years later.

Charlotte's LaMelo Ball, Memphis' Ja Morant and Atlanta's Trae Young all seem to be stuck in a sort of limbo with the franchises that they've been the faces of since entering the league as high lottery picks. There is rampant speculation among rival teams that Ball, Morant and Young could all be available leading up to the Feb. 5 trade deadline.

The Toronto Blue Jays' front office is notoriously firm in its valuations of players when pursuing free agents and exploring contract extensions. President Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins stick to their assessments of what players are worth throughout the negotiating process, and their discipline has paid off on many occasions. However, not every negotiation can be won with pragmatism. Sometimes front offices need to be emotional and push themselves to uncomfortable places to secure the long-term services of a true difference maker.

Nottingham Forest are preparing to play hardball over the future of Elliot Anderson, with the club convinced that the 22-year-old is on track to become the next 100m-plus English superstar, according to The Telegraph. The midfielder has emerged as one of the most influential players in the Premier League this season, and Forest have made it clear that they will not entertain any offers in January, no matter how large.

The right shortstop could play 150+ games (well I guess we're all about that club 162, though right?), hit above average and field at least average shortstop level. The Braves lineup looked much better with Ha-Seong Kim rather than the more offensively-challenged group of Nick Allen, Orlando Arcia, and Luke Williams (although Vidal Brujan was decent). The right shortstop could add two or as many as eight wins to a playoff-adjacent team.

How did injuries to the quarterbacks for top wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson impact their draft value? When did Christian McCaffrey, whose preseason ADP was affected by his previous injury history, get selected? And how far did early-season disappointments like Brian Thomas Jr. and Brock Bowers slide? Let this mock draft help guide you as you make your own decisions moving forward, including assessing trade value and which players we feel you can trust ... for now.

With just a few days left before the market shuts, the Red Devils are weighing up whether to cash in on one of their brightest academy graduates of the last five years. Mainoo, 20, has long been regarded as one of the jewels of United's famed Carrington production line, but his future at Old Trafford is now being called into question.

Plenty of factors go into determining a transfer fee: wages, length of contract, age, position, whether a club has a need to acquire a player or has a need to offload, what the budget is, and how far along the player is in his development. Galleni says there's a premium for upside: an exceedingly athletic player might be able to improve technically and therefore be worth the investment. (The opposite -- a very technically gifted player who becomes a better athlete -- is far rarer.)

Palmer is a classic FPL troll. If you own him, he blanks. If you don't, he somehow manages to haul big points. His recent injury in the warm up at West Ham looks concerning. For those holding him, it's an unlucky injury but he could be back this weekend. But with Chelsea's fixtures looking mixed and Palmer priced at 10.5m without a guaranteed start at this stage, keeping him long term feels risky at his price.

With that being said, Morris is a more valuable player than it might seem. He was better at right tackle than he was at left tackle, and the 2023 third-round pick will make $2.6 million over the next two seasons. In a market in which Dan Moore and current Chiefs lineman Jaylon Moore received $15 million or more per season in free agency, Morris would have meaningful value if he were on the open market.

The proposal from Juventus for Randal Kolo Muani includes a €10 million loan extension fee and a €40 million buy option, totaling €55 million after six months.

First of all, I have to say that I'm used to Uli Hoeneß' insults and I don't take them seriously anymore. He's been doing that for 20, 25 years. I don't let it get to me; that makes you thick-skinned.