1Welcome to COMO's middle-class free agency.
For the first time, there is a dearth of elite names available — but this is a zero sum game, so that means this is also the deepest class in league history. Some guys — Kevin Durant, John Wall, and Boogie Cousins included — will be long-term investments. Some will be win-now propositions (looking at you, Chris Paul). A great many will be excellent additions to new squads, and will likely be the difference between a playoff berth and a legitimate championship run. Twenty-two players averaged 20+ bones last season, and there are some legitimate All-COMO candidates out there. Don't forget: COMO features two new teams (Hamburg BSV and Scranton) who will complete an Expansion Draft this week (featuring any cut players $1-14M). That will dry up the talent pool a tad. And with 14 total teams, we're in uncharted economic territory. That's part of the reason teams were so reticent to allow their big stars to walk this offseason; it's unlikelier than ever that they will see them again. Here's a breakdown of the 2019 COMO Free Agency class. NOTE: Expansion players are in bold, and their salaries have been increased by 7/6 to account for new league size. The salaries only matter for the Expansion Draft.
Cut but unavailable in UFA:
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The calendars flipped forward a year on Jan. 1, but Duval United appeared to get sucked back to the past.
2013-2014 COMO MVP Kevin Durant was back to his old form, with a 42.5 bone average over two contests, and the Bold City Brigade narrowly beat out Shorewood for their first weekly crown of the season. "Duval winning is a p cool start to the New Year for the boys," GM Matthew Fairburn said. A healthy Durant figures to be a huge part of the playoff race down the stretch. "We are excited Kevin decided to grow up and play a few games," Fairburn said. "We look forward to his next injury so he can make another dramatic return. Draymond is the real MVP." That'd be Duval forward Draymond Green, who pitched in with a 35.5 average over two contests this week. No matter who is doing the heavy lifting, it's good to see the black and teal back to their winning ways. CHASKA — After hoisting the COMO championship trophy and thanking his players for a wonderful season, Shorewood Show general manager Alex Smith sat alone in his office with a Short Straw in his hand and a smile on his face. “What do you know?” he asked. “Never thought I’d be sitting here celebrating a COMO title. Not this early in my career.” As if to prove his disbelief, Smith stared into the distance as if trying to conjure up an elusive thought that would never come. So, instead of some romantic musing, he instead focused on a topic that everyone seems to want to discuss: Joakim Noah. The 7-foot center, signed for $17 million in the offseason auction, came through when his team needed him most. Noah was left off the All-COMO regular season team, but was an easy selection for the All-Playoffs team (see story below). He averaged 27.88 bones in nine games to help the Show take down Kevin Love, DeMarcus Cousins and the vaunted Chaska Moose in the inaugural COMO Finals. 2014 All-COMO Playoffs TeamPoint Guard — Stephen Curry (Shorewood) — 31.27 (11 games)
Shooting Guard — James Harden (Shorewood) — 31.50 (10 games) Small Forward — Kevin Durant (Duval United) — 39.29 (7 games) Power Forward — DeMarcus Cousins (Chaska) — 31.71 (14 games) Center — Joakim Noah (Shorewood) — 27.88 (16 games) 6th Man — Kevin Love (Chaska) — 27.93 (15 games) First Team All-COMOSecond Team All-COMOJACKSONVILLE, Fla. — You're probably not surprised.
Duval United small forward Kevin Durant has dominated COMO since the Brigade signed him for $50 million in the offseason auction. Kevin Love and LeBron James had excellent seasons, too, but in the end, they weren't really close to matching Durant's 34.08 average over 63 starts. Nobody else had the crunch-time instinct that would kick in on Sunday nights when the Brigade needed a standings bump. Durant would routinely go over 40 bones on the final day of the week. "None of those things will matter if Kevin doesn't keep up his stellar play in the postseason," Duval United general manager Matthew Fairburn said. But Durant has also been dominant through the first week of the playoffs (although that did not factor into the voting for this award). He's collected 130 bones through three starts for a 43.33 average. If Duval wins a championship, it will be Durant who carries them to the crown. "Kevin has to understand that we don't have any other players," Fairburn said. "This is his show. And your tape is your resume, FYI." Here are the final results of the 2013-2014 COMO MVP voting: 1. Kevin Durant (Oklahoma City), SF, Duval United — 34.08 / 63 starts 2. Kevin Love (Minnesota), PF/C, Chaska — 32.47 / 59 starts 3. LeBron James (Miami), SF/PF, Minneapolis — 30.95 / 62 starts 4. Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers), PF, Minneapolis — 27.63 / 68 starts 5. Anthony Davis (New Orleans), PF/C, Hollywood — 32.70 / 40 starts 6. DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento), PF/C, Chaska — 27.79 / 56 starts 7. Carmelo Anthony (New York), SF/PF, Minnesnowta — 27.33 / 58 starts 8. LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland), PF/C, Shorewood — 26.87 / 60 starts 9. Stephen Curry (Golden State), PG/SG, Newport Beach/Shorewood — 26.03 / 64 starts 10. Andre Drummond (Detroit), PF/C, Rio — 25.64 / 64 starts JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This one was obvious.
Kevin Durant accounted for four straight Player of the Week awards in the month of January, making him the easy selection for Player of the Month. His stretch included 16 games with an average of 38.44 bones. To put that in perspective, only a couple players have been able to maintain such an average over the course of a single week this season. "Your tape is your resume," general manager Matthew Fairburn said. Indeed. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — First to five. First to three in a row.
Kevin Durant is still doing unbelievable things on the basketball court, and is being rewarded off it. The Duval superstar averaged 38.75 bones in four games last week en route to his fifth Player of the Week award. "That boy good," owner Matthew Fairburn said. "We are blessed to have Kevin Durant in Duval just like we are blessed to have Alexander Smith as commish of this league." Tired of making comments after a never-ending deluge of great performances, Fairburn had nothing more to add. Smart money says Durant does. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Perhaps the strongest organization is the one with the most secrecy.
As small forward Kevin Durant picked up his third COMO Player of the Week award, it's clear that Duval United is excellent on the court. And, given the team's talented roster, the front office is apparently doing its job. But what, exactly, is going on in Jacksonville? The only media contact made this season has been with general manager Matthew Fairburn. Co-manager Joe Dreyer has not been heard from, and no one has been able to watch the team's games this season due to a strict blackout rule enforced by owner Shad Khan, who watches games live with only select family and business associates. "Khan's strict system completely contradicts the idea of 'Duval United,'" Chaska owner Joseph Fafinski said. "In reality, he is a soul-sucking big corporation. Small-market teams like Chaska help this league thrive. Nobody wants to play in front of evil Khan." When approached with questions about Durant's performance, Fairburn responded with a cult-ish statement he wrote for both his owner and star player: "Thank you based Durant for the blessings you have bestowed upon the fine people of Duval," Khan's statement read. Durant's "response" was similarly eery, with odd insults thrown in at the Green Bay Packers (Fafinski's other sports property): "Thank you based Khan for founding this franchise in Duval County and not Appleton, Wisc. or some sh-thole like that," Durant's statement read. "My POW honors are the least I can do. We're gunning for that cheese d-ck Fafinski." JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — You can call Kevin Durant the king of Sunday nights.
One week after posting 60 COMO points to vault Duval into the top half of the standings, his 41 bones yesterday were enough to pull off a second straight Player of the Week award. It looked as if Shorewood's LaMarcus Aldridge (35.5 average over four games) had the hardware locked up, but Durant (36.25 over four games) came through when he needed to most. "It has been said that the Lord rests on Sunday," general manager Matthew Fairburn said. "But that's when Duval's God does his finest work." Durant is the second player in COMO history to post back-to-back POW campaigns (Chaska's Kevin Love was the first this November). No one has been able to grab three straight yet, but if Durant is red-hot. "Will he win three straight?" Fairburn asked. "Does Joey Fafinski sleep with a night light? No question." |
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