SuperCoach BBL: Can you afford to start both Matt Short and Glenn Maxwell in BBL14?

They are the two most-expensive players in SuperCoach BBL - taking up more than 25 per cent of your $2m salary cap. But can you really afford not to have Matt Short and Glenn Maxwell?

How much is too much to pay for Matt Short for you SuperCoach BBL squad?

That’s the key question SuperCoaches are asking themselves after the Adelaide Strikers’ captain was given a sky-high price tag for BBL14.

Short, who averaged 103 points a round last summer, costs more than 15 per cent of the $2m SuperCoach BBL budget — $304,200.

The 28-year-old scored 173 points more than any other player last season and costs $56,800 more than Glenn Maxwell ($247,400) — the second most-expensive player for BBL14.

The question then becomes, can you really afford not to pick him?

The biggest complication is that Adelaide plays twice in round 2, when not having Short could prove catastrophic.

Early indications are most coaches will be prepared to pay the huge price to start with the Victorian and he will be the most-popular captaincy choice come Round 2.

Sure, there will be some coaches who are prepared to wait and trade in Short after the opening round of BBL14.

But the issue remains that even with a low score against Sydney Thunder in the Strikers’ first match, his price will still be astronomical.

Trying to squeeze Short into your starting team is made more difficult by Maxwell’s Stars having a Round 1 double, making him a must-have.

If you thought 15 per cent of your salary cap was a lot for one player, how about 27.6 per cent on two players?

Matt Short. Picture: Getty

Glenn Maxwell. Picture: Getty

That leaves you with 72.4 per cent of your budget for 15 players, or $96,540 per player.

That scenario would force coaches to be frugal to complete their squads, but would also guarantee they have the best two players in SuperCoach for a stretch where Short and Maxwell play six times in the opening four rounds.

The easiest solution could be flipping Maxwell and Short for the opening four rounds to ensure you have at least one to be your captain during their run of doubles.

So you would start with Maxwell, trade him to Short in Round 2, bring Maxwell back for Round 3 and then flip him to Short again in Round 4.

That means devoting at least one of your three trades each round to the star pair, which will limit your options to strengthen your overall side.

You should get the picture by now.

There are positives and negatives to each option when it comes to affording SuperCoach’s big two.

The ultimate risk would be going without Maxwell and Short and praying they start the season slowly.

Be prepared to watch BBL games from behind the couch if you choose that approach though.

Short scored more than 250 points twice last season and only went below 66 once.

Maxwell didn’t score less than 56 points and also had a ceiling above 250 points in BBL13.

Here are three ways you can make the Short-Maxwell conundrum work.

Originally published as SuperCoach BBL: Can you afford to start both Matt Short and Glenn Maxwell in BBL14?