RIO DE JANEIRO — Derrick Rose will not be wearing a Rainmakers uniform in 2014, according to a source close to the team.
Rose, signed in the inaugural COMO auction for $28 million, is due for a $1 million raise next year because he played 10 games. Even without the extra money, management was not likely to keep his contract on the payroll after Rose tore his meniscus this week. "Prince loves Rose but is disappointed by his performance," the source said. If Rio lets Rose go to free agency next summer, his asking price will start at $15 million. If no team bids on him, he will be relegated to waivers in the last week of the preseason. That's quite the fall for a young man who won the NBA MVP in 2011-2012. It looks like he'll have a new home when he returns from his injury next season. Is there any chance Prince and the Rio management might reconsider? "Zero," the source said. "Derrick has played his last game for Rio."
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NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — The Grizzlies have been near the bottom of the league standings for most of the season, but Week 4 was a breakthrough.
Peter Mayer's squad finished third in the weekly standings, which bumped them out of last place on the season. Credit point guard John Wall, who averaged 30.5 COMO points in four games to narrowly edge out a tight field (Minnesnowta's Dwight Howard and Dirk Nowitzki, Minneapolis' Blake Griffin, Hollywood's Chris Paul and Kansas City's Monta Ellis). Wall posted performances of 39 and 32 COMO points over this past weekend to boost the Grizzlies into the week's elite. "Despite some early-season inconsistency, John has finally started playing within the system," Mayer said. "He's put together a good string of games and Newport is getting excited about him becoming our leader." — Previous winners -- CHASKA, Minn. – This week was a poor one by Moose standards. Chaska finished fifth in the COMO standings and was knocked out of the top spot in the season standings by in-state rival Minnesnowta.
But there was one ray of California sunshine as the cold northern winter began to set in. Kevin Love notched his second straight COMO Player of the Week award for his four-game performance. The power forward — an early favorite for COMO MVP — averaged 33.0 COMO points to narrowly edge out Rio's Andre Drummond (32.75) for the honor. Minneapolis' LeBron James had a higher scoring average (33.67), but played one less game. Under POW rules, James would've had to average at least 2.0 more COMO points than Love to secure the award with one less start. It's worth noting that while Love has now won two weeks in a row, he still hasn't led the league in average during either week. Duval's Kevin Durant and Hollywood's Anthony Davis were in line to win last week before league officials discovered those teams had started too many players — Durant's and Davis' best scores were lopped off the team and individual totals. Technicalities aside, Love is the first player in league history to snag POW honors two weeks in a row. Now, his team needs to get back on track. "Kevin puts his heart and soul into every game," owner Joseph Fafinski said, "and DeMarcus Cousins can't get more than seven points? That's ridiculous." CHASKA, Minn. — This final standings were shaken up several times today due to roster infractions, but there was one constant: the Chaska Moose.
The Moose finished with a league-high 617 points, and star forward Kevin Love led the way with an average of 33.5 COMO points in four games. Hollywood's Anthony Davis and Duval's Kevin Durant were in line for the award at various times on Monday, but both players had their top scores wiped from the books after their owners started too many players during the course of the week. Chaska owner Joseph Fafinski laughed at the lack of attention to detail. "It's funny how some people can't do simple addition," he said. Love was a worthy winner, though. His consistency over four games — including 27 points in the first quarter alone on Sunday night — was impressive. Fafinski was blase about his team's success. "I'm not surprised," he said. "It's to be expected because of how much better this team is than the rest of the league. I look forward to being at the top spot for the rest of the season. "The flash and the bling might be in Hollywood, but winners go to Chaska." COLUMBIA, Mo. — Word reached the league office that a deal between the Minnesnowta Chill and Duval United fell through in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
Duval was apparently interested in budding shooting guard Eric Bledsoe, a fourth-year man from Kentucky who has averaged 23.8 COMO points in five games this season. Their offer allegedly included big man Enes Kanter and some combination of Luol Deng, Andrew Bogut or a 2014 draft pick. After a couple re-workings, though, the sides stopped discussions. Is Bledsoe legitimately on the trading block? "Not to pull a Rick Spielman or anything," Chill owner Matthew Taylor said, "but any player is trade-able for the right price." RIO DE JANEIRO — The message was written in looped cursive writing on pink letterhead. Prince — the majority owner of the Rio Rainmakers — was pleased as hell with his team.
Last week the Rainmakers finished third-to-last in the COMO standings, but Paul George is leading a comeback in Week 2. The team's star small forward scored 43 COMO points on Tuesday night. "Mr. George was especially good," Prince wrote. "I found myself turning off a 'Golden Girls' marathon and focusing solely on my team last night." The Minnesotan hit-maker — who also lets COMO's Shorewood Show rent out Paisley Park for one game a season — said he practiced with the team on Monday and made a promise to Rainmakers fans across Brazil: "If the team finishes with first prize this week, I will play a two-hour halftime concert at a later date," he said. Pancake Night at Prince Rogers Nelson Arena has also been rumored as a possibility in the next month. Prince refuses to schedule promotions until less than 24 hours before a game. JACKSONVILLE — Duval United point guard Kyrie Irving is not living up to his $30 million contract, according to an anonymous source with inside knowledge of the team.
Apparently, a poor showing during the first week of play has majority owner Shad Khan up in arms about Irving. The team finished in eighth place as the young point guard averaged 13.0 COMO points, well below expectations. “A second-to-last place finish is not good enough for Shad," the source said. "He saw some poor effort from Kyrie, and fears that he could be a locker room cancer as well as a salary cap burden.” The source added that the front office combination of Matthew Fairburn and Joe Dreyer are receptive to any and all trade offers for the disgruntled star. “Kyrie thinks he’s bigger than Duval," the source said. "Nobody is bigger than Duval.” HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — As far as Hornets owner Curt Clauss is concerned, the road to the COMO title runs through southern California.
Team captain Chris Paul set the bar high for the rest of the league this week. He averaged 39.67 COMO points in three games (27.67 points / 12.0 assists / 3.67 steals) and barely outdueled teammate Anthony Davis (38.67) for player of the week honors. Paul's 56 COMO points on Halloween night led all scorers this week. After Davis nearly matched that with 54 on Saturday, Clauss was ready to guarantee a championship in 2014. "I take cash or credit," he said. |
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