I agree with Lubbock. Lubbock always a great franchise I don't know if he's the same owner but I used to face the Losers absolute beast but very friendly and always was willing to help out.
Yeah Marauders, Kites is onto something here. You can get away with bidding on someone else's player when you've got considerable clout. Took me about 3-4 years to have enough respect from the community that I could bid on an active team's player
Just find dead teams (haven't logged in in a month or more) and hope they have what you need. Also, make a queue for the draft and always try to get trades done on Unlimited Trade Day.