LOS ANGELES -- When the results from the 2015 COMO Draft Lottery were broadcast worldwide on Sunday afternoon, Newport Beach owner and general manager Peter Mayer gave a virtual "thumbs up" to the rest of the league. Several thumbs, in fact. His Grizzlies (17-65 last season) had just won the lottery despite possessing the fourth-best odds entering the ceremony, beating out the lowly Minneapolis Player Haterzz (10-72) and the two yet-to-be-named expansion teams. The winning lottery card was the final step in a tanking plan that began almost immediately last fall. Mayer kept star players Russell Westbrook and John Wall glued to the bench while a ragtag team of hacks slowly descended the standings. "My hard work tanking paid off," Mayer said. "Russell was upset with me when I benched him so much, but John Wall was chill with taking a year off. I think Russ will be happier when we use our cap space on a proven superstar and our first-round pick on [Duke center] Jahlil [Okafor], [Kentucky center] Karl [Anthony-Towns], or [Ohio State guard] D'Angelo [Russell]." While Mayer's plan to land a top free agent will likely work out this summer, drafting a star will be much harder than it seems. That's because Minneapolis holds the right to swap first-round spots with Newport Beach either this year or next, and the time seems ripe for Player Haterzz general manager Dan Renfro to pull the trigger. "He might," Mayer said. "Who knows? I'm moving forward and preparing as if the pick is mine to use how I want to use it. If he wants to trigger the clause, we'll deal with it." Dropping from No. 1 to No. 4 (where Minneapolis currently sits) is a bummer this off-season, as Okafor, Towns and Russell have become consensus Top 3 picks. Unsurprisingly, Renfro seems ready to move up. "This is a pretty perfect situation given the deal," he said, referring to last August's draft day trade between the teams that netted the clause. "(Mayer) didn't even think twice about it, if I remember correctly. He was so desperate to get in to the first round plus I don't think he planned to be awful so it double worked out against him." Renfro is expected to make a decision well before the June 25 deadline. Mayer is ready for it, saying 19-year-old Emmanuel Mudiay would be the primary option at No. 4. "We would also look into moving the pick if the right deal came across the table," Mayer said. "Other players could move up our board as well. All we know is we want to bring a championship to Newport Beach." How soon? "This year." Official 2015 Post-Lottery Draft Order 1. Newport Beach* 2. Expansion A 3. Expansion B 4. Minneapolis* 5. Colorado 6. Duval United 7. Shorewood 8. Minnesnowta 9. Chaska 10. Kansas City 11. Rio ----- 12. Newport Beach 13. Expansion B 14. Expansion A 15. Newport Beach (from Minneapolis) 16. Colorado 17. Duval United 18. Minneapolis (from Shorewood) 19. Minnesnowta 20. Chaska 21. Shorewood (from Kansas City) ----- 22. Expansion B 23. Expansion A
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SHOREWOOD, Minn. — The championship race is officially white-hot.
The Shorewood Show and Newport Beach Grizzlies agreed to terms Monday night on the following trade: Shorewood receives: • PG/SG Stephen Curry ($32 million) • C Pau Gasol ($3 million) • 2014 first-round draft pick (top-3 protected, top-1 protected in 2015) Newport Beach receives: • PG Russell Westbrook ($11 million) • PF Tristan Thompson ($1 million) The move gives the Show an enviable starting five as the playoffs draw near: Curry, James Harden, Joakim Noah, LaMarcus Aldridge and Gasol. Still, parting with potential superstar Westbrook was not an easy decision for Shorewood general manager Alex Smith. "We wish Russell all the best," Smith said. "We planned on building around him for several years, but simply could not resist the opportunity to distance ourselves from the pack in this Finals race." Meanwhile, the Grizzlies look to the future with Westbrook's cheap contract and Thompson's enticing potential. "Russ is a born leader," Newport Beach general manager Peter Mayer said. "Pairing him with John Wall just made sense. Those two will lead Newport for years to come, and bring home World Championships for days." After Curry's near triple double on Monday night, Newport officials informed him that he would be taking the next plane to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. "Newport thanks Steph for his valuable contribution," Mayer said. "Should the Show not re-sign him, we expect to take a run at him this off-season. "We felt that Russell is a safer option than the 4th or 5th pick, but are still hoping to retain it should we land a top-3 draft choice. We would also like to sell the team to David Stern so he can give us the first overall pick." Will Shorewood bring Curry back this summer? "It will certainly be a tough decision," Smith said. "We're looking at around a $36 million extension. Steph will have a chance to earn that type of paycheck with a strong finish to the regular season and an excellent playoff run." 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 -- |
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