Last year's trade value column was primarily focused on dime-store deals across COMO (Rio's Andre Drummond was No. 1 with a $3 million contract), but this offseason, we're talking about the 50 most valuable assets in the league. Based on a combination of talent and cap numbers (with talent winning most battles), our league reporter has compiled a half-century list of the guys GMs dream of having on their books. These rankings are in a vacuum, meaning that a team's other assets and cap issues were not considered. Therefore, some guys (even a couple Top 10 guys) are bound for free agency thanks to an abundance of talent in certain zip codes. With the trade window now open until next February, let's take a look at the state of COMO: Honorable mentions (“Let’s see what we can do.”) Tyson Chandler, Minnesnowta (6) Al Jefferson, Hollywood (20) Tim Duncan, Chaska (16) Jeff Teague, Rio (6) Tyreke Evans, Colorado (6) Kemba Walker, Newport Beach (8) George Hill, Newport Beach (3) Goran Dragic, Hollywood (5) Bradley Beal, Rio (5) Brandon Knight, Minnesnowta (6) Monta Ellis, Kansas City (11) “There’s some wear on the tires, but you still need to impress me with your offer.” 50. Ty Lawson, Chaska (12) 49. Jrue Holiday, Duval United (11) 48. Hassan Whiteside, Minnesnowta (4) 47. Brook Lopez, Kansas City (6) There are reasons to be nervous about all four of these guys (injuries being the most common objection), but all four can get over the 20-bone hump next year, and none of them are breaking the bank. Lopez is the most intriguing, because he’s a candidate for a 28-average, “where did he come from?” year, but he can’t stay healthy. If Whiteside isn’t a flash in the pan, then Minnesnowta made the waiver pickup of the year. “20-plus guys don’t grow on trees, you know.” 46. Serge Ibaka, Kansas City (27) 45. Rudy Gay, Kansas City (12) Ibaka is likely gone this fall thanks to ownership fatigue with a roster that hasn’t wanted to sniff the playoffs over the past two years. But he’s still a serviceable (albeit overpaid) piece for somebody at $27 million. Gay is nearing the chopping block, but there’s no reason KC can’t fit him into its plans for one more season, especially given his valuable SG/SF eligibility. “Have you ever heard of upside? It’s not cheap.” 44. Gorgui Dieng, Minneapolis (6) 43. DeMar DeRozan, Minneapolis (6) 42. Victor Oladipo, Rio (6) Hindsight is 20/20, but can we admit that Minneapolis didn’t exactly hit a home run when it gave away the league’s most expensive asset (No. 7) to Shorewood at the trade deadline? There are certainly recoupable parts — Dieng and DeRozan being the prized return, alongside Joakim “Please Make Gasol Leave Town” Noah — but the Player Haterzz probably should’ve used some leverage to get another team involved (Duval United, namely) or at least demanded a first-rounder. Fittingly, Oladipo joins those two in this group; Rio GM Brendan Halleron made the oft-criticized decision to unload Paul Millsap for him in 2013-2014. “I’m well aware that this guy is the extra bump you need to make the playoffs.” 41. Chris Bosh, Rio (12) 40. Greg Monroe, Rio (10) Two X-factors on the same team? Given that Rio has four players above these two on this list, one could say the Rainmakers are in a position to make some noise in 2015-2016 (or at least own the trade block). “Don’t think you’re going to buy low here.” 39. Carmelo Anthony, Minnesnowta (37) 38. Paul George, Rio (13) This is a big caveat, but if George can stay healthy, he’ll be Top 15 on this list by next summer. Last year, he commanded nearly $40 million before Rio let him test the free agency waters. Meanwhile, Anthony’s $37 million is probably worth it for a select few teams, but Minnesnowta has seen enough. There’s a chance ‘Melo will return to second-team All-COMO form, but his prime is slipping away, fast. “You’re not interested in keeping your lottery pick, huh?” 37. Klay Thompson, Chaska (12) 36. Gordon Hayward, Hollywood (7) 35. Draymond Green, Duval United (4) Green is not going anywhere, but it remains to be seen how much more he can improve. There’s a big difference between $4 million and $8 million, so he needs to show the Duval management some clear flashes in 2015-2016. Hayward and Thompson are potential All-COMO players, but they’re simply not at the peak of their powers, and there’s a chance they never will be. “This guy eats up your frontcourt every time we play. Why would I let you have him?” 34. Marc Gasol, Kansas City (33) 33. Kevin Love, Colorado (35) 32. Dwight Howard, Minnesnowta (29) 31. Al Horford, Chaska (16) All of these players are potential cuts in September, especially Love and Howard. But both of those are mostly team-specific. Love is weighing down a Colorado roster that already has No. 6 on this list, and Howard is probably a package toss-out with Carmelo in Minnesnowta. Neither Dwight nor ‘Melo contributed to the Chill’s playoff run, so GM Matthew Taylor will likely just take the extra cash. Still, there might be a team that wants to take a chance on Howard before he officially hits free agency. “You’d better not be wasting my time.” 30. Joel Embiid, Newport Beach (1) 29. Nikola Vucevic, Newport Beach (8) 28. Rudy Gobert, Minnesnowta (3) 27. Elfrid Payton, Shorewood (2) 26. Jabari Parker, Rio (4) There are no ceilings here. Vucevic is by far the most established COMO weapon, but Gobert is sneaking up behind him. Embiid is a huge question mark, but his potential at $1 million is very tough to top. Payton and Parker are stars, plain and simple. The former made a decent impact in this year’s COMO Finals, while the latter had an inside track for Rookie of the Year before his knee injury. Trade these five at your own risk. “Keep this between us.” 25. Pau Gasol, Shorewood (20) 24. Damian Lillard, Kansas City (18) 23. Eric Bledsoe, Minnesnowta (17) 22. Kyle Lowry, Chaska (8) 21. Kyrie Irving, Minnesnowta (21) 20. Paul Millsap, Chaska (11) Make no mistake: All of these guys should probably stay put. But that doesn’t mean GMs have to lock them down. There are certainly warts (Gasol’s and Millsap’s age, guards’ questionable health), but they all can be steady No. 3s on a championship squad. 2015-2016 will be a huge year for Lillard and Irving — they need to make big strides to be worth next year’s contract. Lowry is one of Chaska’s key salary cap glue guys. Great scouting equals more cap space, which means big win totals, people. “Do I hear multiple first-rounders and a stud prospect?” 19. John Wall, Newport Beach (18) 18. Jimmy Butler, Hollywood (17) 17. Derrick Favors, Duval United (9) 16. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shorewood (2) 15. Kawhi Leonard, Rio (9) 14. Andre Drummond, Rio (8) Butler could be expendable if the Hornets decide to keep their No. 2 guy (more below), but other than him, nobody in this group appears to be going anywhere. Leonard and Drummond lead a surprisingly solid cast of Rainmakers that underwhelmed this past season. But there’s plenty of value and talent in Rio. Meanwhile, Giannis remains one of COMO’s biggest wildcards. But after this past season, pundits are much surer about his star potential than last summer. Shorewood’s young core (Payton, Giannis and No. 11) are looking mighty dangerous. “You have five seconds.” 13. DeAndre Jordan, Duval United (17) 12. LaMarcus Aldridge, Shorewood (25) 11. Nerlens Noel, Shorewood (2) 10. Andrew Wiggins, Hollywood (3) 9. Blake Griffin, Minneapolis (18) This is a hodgepodge of younger players at different stages of their careers. Jordan, Aldridge and Griffin are No. 2 guys on a championship team. Noel and Wiggins are the league’s two most valuable young guns. Not to spoil the rest of the list, but Hollywood has three Top 10 guys, and has the financial ability to keep all three going into next year. If Wiggins can make a big leap in his sophomore season, the Hornets won’t need much else besides him and their two studs (more below). Noel and Wiggins are certainly looking like All-COMO locks in the next few seasons, so their price tags are obviously sexy. “Buy me a few drinks and I’ll pretend to consider it.” 8. Chris Paul, Hollywood (40) 7. LeBron James, Shorewood (54) In a vacuum, both of these guys’ contracts look pretty solid going into next season. Granted, it’d be nice to shave a couple dollars off both, but this is pretty close to face value. Obviously, we’re not in a vacuum, and both of these players are free agency candidates thanks to the fact that their current teams are loaded. So, yes, Paul and ‘Bron are two of the biggest trade chips on the market (Paul more so — Hollywood must choose between CP3 and Jimmy Butler’s contract plus cap space). But having one of the two on your team means possessing an elite player, and there’s nobody outside of this Top 8 that can hang with these gents. “I’m only answering the phone because you sent me a Christmas card last year.” 6. James Harden, Colorado (37) 5. Kevin Durant, Duval United (52) 4. Stephen Curry, Shorewood (40) This is the outer layer of the untouchables. None of these players should be traded, barring some sort of long-term injury (here’s hoping Durant’s foot finally gets Lil B’s curse off it). Colorado got the unexpected deal of free agency last summer when Harden went out and begin destroying defenses at a rate that surprised pretty much everybody. Durant is expected to be an MVP contender for the next few years, and Curry is fresh off the best season of his career (plus the COMO Finals MVP). All three of these guys have had COMO playoff success, and there’s no reason to think they won’t have their teams in prime position to make a postseason dent in 2015-2016. “/click.”
3. DeMarcus Cousins, Chaska (19) 2. Russell Westbrook, Newport Beach (13) 1. Anthony Davis, Hollywood (40) These three are absolutely untouchable. Anyone who trades one of these contracts is perhaps the dumbest human on the face of the Earth. Barring significant off-season injury, no amount of talent or picks could compensate for the loss of these contracts. While Cousins and Westbrook are elite championship pieces, there’s really no way to overstate Davis’ value. You’ve got a 22-year-old 7-footer who 1) already has a COMO MVP under his belt and 2) is, by all accounts, only going to improve. Financial projections have Davis at just $50 million by the start of the 2019-2020 season, when he’ll be 26 years old. Let that information wash over you. Now, time for a cold shower and some trade rumors.
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CHASKA, Minn. — Give the Chaska Moose credit; They battled back from a large deficit in Game 7 to nearly draw even with the favored Shorewood Show at Hazeltine Court.
But all the Show had to do was get Steph Curry the ball. The COMO Finals MVP came through, and outgunned Chaska's Klay Thompson to deliver a second straight championship to Shorewood. Meanwhile, fans in Chaska witnessed their second straight Finals Game 7 loss at home. "There's little doubt Chaska has been the most dominant team of the past two seasons," Shorewood GM Alex Smith said of the back-to-back regular season champs. "But we've come through when it matters most. And tonight, we made history." The No. 2-seeded Show were not as efficient as in their semi-finals demolition two weeks prior, but still got important contributions from Curry (26.89 bone average), trade-deadline acquisition LeBron James (29.20), Pau Gasol (24.50) and LaMarcus Aldridge (22.43) in the Finals. Young guns such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nerlens Noel and Elfrid Payton also made surprisingly strong contributions to the playoff run. "You look at our roster, and it's obvious we're here to stay," Smith said. "We'll be the outright favorites to make it three in a row next season, and there's no doubt in my mind that our boys are already thinking about a three-peat." Moose GM Joey Fafinski will oversee a squad that will likely be Shorewood's biggest challenger in 2015-2016. "We gave it our all this year," he said. "We're bummed we didn't take [the championship]. Special props to DeMarcus [Cousins] and near-MVP Tim Duncan. You can bet we'll be back. United We Graze, as always." Cousins, who missed much of the playoffs with injury, was Chaska's lone All-Playoffs selection. Minnesnowta's Kyrie Irving got the shooting guard nod, while the rest of the spots belonged to a dominant Shorewood lineup. 2015 COMO All-Playoffs Team PG Stephen Curry, Shorewood (27.65 // 20 starts) SG Kyrie Irving, Minnesnowta (23.20 // 10 starts) SF LeBron James, Shorewood (29.07 // 15 starts) PF Pau Gasol, Shorewood (25.22 // 18 starts) C DeMarcus Cousins, Chaska (37.00 // 8 starts) 6TH LaMarcus Aldridge, Shorewood (25.24 // 17 starts) CHASKA, Minn. — On Monday night, Moose GM Joseph Fafinski threw in the towel and texted "congrats" to Shorewood GM Alex Smith.
Fafinski had made the ugly mistake of leaving shooting guard Klay Thompson on the bench, and missed out on a 45-bone performance that could've swung the Finals momentum. But despite the fact that he's already given up, there is still one more thing working in his favor: unpredictability. The final day of the NBA season brings plenty of crazy start-or-sit conundrums to the table, with several stars playing limited minutes. This silly guessing game will not necessarily help Fafinski, but it gives Chaska a shot to climb back from a significant deficit. Here's the breakdown on the final night of COMO basketball. THE FAVORITE: Shorewood Show. After absolutely destroying the field in the semifinals, Shorewood got off to a relatively slow start in the Finals. That's history, though, as the Show put its foot on the gas this past weekend behind superstar Stephen Curry. Currently, Shorewood has made one more start than Chaska, but has a 77-bone cushion. Essentially, Chaska has five starts against Shorewood's four to make up that deficit. Here's the projected Show lineup for Wednesday night: PG Stephen Curry [27.38 // 8 starts] SF LeBron James [29.20 // 5 starts] PF LaMarcus Aldridge [24.17 // 6 starts] C Pau Gasol [25.00 // 7 starts] It's likely that two or more of these guys will not actually play tonight, so some lineup switching will probably be in order. Here are the replacement options: PG Elfrid Payton [21.00 // 2 starts] SF Giannis Antetokounmpo [16.50 // 2 starts] SG Khris Middleton [zero starts] PF Kelly Olynyk [zero starts] With the exception of Payton, it's possible that none of those guys will play tonight, either. The Show could potentially be in some serious trouble if things don't break its way, lineup-wise. Which brings up to... THE UNDERDOG: Chaska Moose. It's odd to see that tag applied to the Moose, who have pretty much run rampant throughout most of the past year, and locked up the regular season title in February. But here we are for a second straight year -- Shorewood is coming on strong when it matters most. Injuries have somewhat crippled Chaska this postseason, especially the loss of DeMarcus Cousins, who averaged 38.33 bones in three Finals contests. But there's still some decent talent on the floor. Here's the projected lineup: PG Ty Lawson [23.50 // 2 starts] SG Dwyane Wade [12.33 // 3 starts] SF Klay Thompson [18.00 // 3 starts] PF Tim Duncan [25.13 // 8 starts] C Enes Kanter [23.00 // 2 starts] Again, nobody is really a lock to play significant minutes on Wednesday night. If any of those guys drops out, here are the replacement options: PF Al Horford [23.83 // 6 starts] PG Kyle Lowry [zero starts] SG Nik Stauskas [zero starts] As the day goes on, there will be plenty of updates on players' availability. For now, Chaska is simply hoping that chaos reigns. If so, the coup will not be bloodless -- we're looking at the biggest upset in COMO history if the tables turn. |
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