Reprinted with permission from the St. Paul Pioneer Press. ST. PAUL, Minn. — Giannis Antetokounmpo has been here before. The Minnesnowta Chill have not. After the final buzzer sounded in a bizarre, subs-laden Game 5 of the COMO Finals between the Chill and the visiting Cream City Bricks, one could sense the difference between Antetokounmpo (business-as-usual as he accepted his second career Finals MVP trophy) and owner/GM Matthew Taylor, who yelled out in triumph as he skipped around the court and took selfies with fans. "It feels absolutely incredible, man," Taylor told the Pioneer Press. "We knew this day would come when we formed this franchise 10 years ago, but with all the heartbreak that this team has faced over the past decade, even we started wondering if we were cursed ... COMO CHAMPS, BABYYYYYYYYYY!" This was the perfect ending to a wild, unpredictable playoff season. The Chill, No. 3 in the regular season, entered the Finals as major underdogs to the No. 8-seeded Bricks, who had miraculously overcome several serious obstacles to reach the ultimate series. Cream City's historic run was an all-timer For starters, Cream City only had $79 million on the payroll, by far the lowest of any playoff team ('Snowta had $124 million, by comparison). Bricks GM Jack Hughes, in his first season without a co-GM, had been a seller at the deadline. But in return, he collected key pieces that led the most improbable playoff run in league history. Both Kristaps Porzingis and Mikal Bridges made the All-Playoffs team after getting shipped to Milwaukee, while Immanuel Quickley came up with a season-saving, career-best performance (50 bones) to steal Game 3 of a first-round series against No. 1 seed Scranton. All of that after the Bricks needed some help to even make the playoff field on the final day of the regular season. They insisted on drama at every step of the way, following the Scranton series with a 5-game, back-and-forth triumph over Sunnyvale, and then a 5-game Finals that went down to the wire. "Some people thought moving on from [Julius] Randle and [John] Collins was me giving up on the season," Hughes said. "But I felt getting Porzingis, Bridges, and Quickley back was not only going to set me up for the future, but also for the rest of the season. Once everyone got healthy, we showed what we could do." Overnight superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is set for a new contract this summer (likely $30 million), which will likely prevent the Bricks from making another "Moneyball" run in 2024. For his part, Hughes was non-committal when it came to the topic of locking up his first-team All-COMO guard. "The goal is to keep as much of the squad together as possible," he said, adding that the team will take a "cheap" approach in free agency. Greek Freak's journey a fateful one But the best player on the floor wasn't SGA. It was Giannis. The future COMO Hall of Famer added a fifth ring to his trophy case (his previous four were with Shorewood), and a second Finals MVP to match former teammate Stephen Curry for the most in league history. "This win cemented Giannis's status as the undisputed COMO GOAT," Taylor said. "Having the Freak on your team automatically makes you a COMO Finals threat. We'd be fools to not do all we can do to bring him back." Antetokounmpo only ended up in St. Paul after Taylor overslept during the COMO auction. The commissioner's office placed an auto-bid to bring the Greek Freak to 'Snowta after nine seasons with the Shorewood Show. With his one-year, $43 million deal now up, he figures to be one of the most sought-after free agents once again. 2023 All-COMO Playoffs team
List of COMO Finals MVPs
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(Re-posted with permission from the St. Paul Pioneer Press.)
ST. PAUL — The Minnesnowta Chill sent a representative to the COMO Draft Lottery as a formality. The Chill had technically traded away their 2020 first-round pick as part of a deal for DeAndre Jordan in December. But GM Matthew Taylor made sure to slap a protection on the pick on the off chance that (1) his team made the lottery and (2) his team won said lottery with an 8-to-1 ticket. So, with that 12.5 percent chance hanging in the air, 'Snowta was present. If only they would've brought champagne. A dramatic lottery reveal came down to Chaska and St. Louis for the second straight year. In 2019, Chaska earned the right to take Zion Williamson in a controversial ending. This time, Chaska was selected for the No. 2 slot, which would normally be cause for celebration in St. Louis; however, the lottery victory was actually a win for Minnesnowta, and instead of holding a prime pick this season, the Hornets must take another spin of the wheel with Snowta's (unprotected) pick next summer. "YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME," wrote GM Aaron Connolly. "IT HAPPENED AGAIN." (St. Louis did, however, come away with the No. 5 overall pick thanks to their own lottery slip. And the Hornets still own a total of five picks in 2020.) This is not a particularly exciting draft class, but Minnesnowta will have some good options at the No. 1 slot—and maybe even an opportunity to trade the pick if another franchise is enamored with LaMelo Ball, James Wiseman, Anthony Edwards, or another player. Here is the official order of the 2020 COMO Draft, which will be held the morning of Sat., Dec. 5 on Twitter @COMOLeague.
*Lottery pick COLUMBIA, Mo. — Kevin Love and Michael Carter-Williams were named February/March Player of the Month and Rookie of the Month, respectively.
Love averaged 35.29 bones in 17 starts for Chaska, the COMO regular season champions. Carter-Williams won his fourth straight ROM, and is essentially a shoe-in for Rookie of the Year. He averaged 14.73 bones in 15 starts for Minnesnowta. League award schedule: Monday, March 24 — League MVP / Rookie of the Year Tuesday, March 25 — All-COMO teams (1st, 2nd) ST. PAUL, Minn. — After hanging on for dear life in the playoff race, Minnesnowta owner Matthew Taylor has had enough. Effective today, the Chill will begin planning for next season.
"Bring on the trade offers," Taylor encouraged his fellow league members. "I'm looking for young talent to build around. Anyone can be had at the right price." The Chill are currently 9.5 standings points out of the fourth and final playoff spot, a margin that has grown larger and larger since Minnesnowta's free fall began roughly a month and a half ago. Once the top team in the league, the Chill have had to lean more and more on young players like Michael Carter-Williams, who just picked up his third straight COMO Rookie of the Month award. "The kid is an absolute freak," Taylor said. "In a season filled with disappointment for the Chill, MCW has definitely been a bright spot. Rumor has it that MCW just bought a cabin in Duluth, so one can assume he'll be in Minnesnowta for a long time." The Chill's pending trade(s) effectively take them out of the playoff race, which means there are now five dogs left for four spots. Fourth place Minneapolis (70.5 points) and Newport Beach (66) are separated by 4.5 standings points with four weeks to go in the regular season. ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesnowta's Michael Carter-Williams didn't have much competition for the inaugural COMO Rookie of the Month award, but he still impressed during his first five weeks of play.
The first-year guard from Syracuse averaged 17.78 COMO points in nine starts for the Chill during October and November. The next-closest rookie was Chaska's Victor Oladipo, who only started twice in the same span. Snowta general manager Matthew Taylor felt vindicated after learning of the honor. "The media crucified me for taking a chance on MCW," Taylor said. "But I always believed in his talent." Carter-Williams developed an infection in his right knee a couple weeks ago and has not played since. Before the setback, however, he was a regular contributor to the first-place Chill (38 standings points). Taylor vowed his star rookie will be back soon. "This won't be the last COMO Rookie of the Month award that MCW will win this year," he said. "The bandwagon is full now, but you guys can run beside it if you'd like." 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." |
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