SHOREWOOD, Minn. — For Rio general manager Brendan Halleron, there was never a doubt that Jabari Parker would be wearing a Rainmakers jersey this season. Prince's squad took the Duke star No. 1 overall in Sunday night's COMO Rookie Draft, which didn't lack any drama after the first few selections were made. But Parker was the unquestioned choice at the top spot. "Compared to any other draftee, his situation, skill set, and motivation were far and away the best," Halleron said. "Wiggins could be great down the line. It was a tough decision. But I think Jabari possesses more now and could be as great or better than Wiggins. I feel this is very much a Oden/Durant situation. But I can't look at it as a bad decision. At this point in time, I made the choice I wanted to make and I have to live with it." A gruesome injury to starting small forward Paul George in a USA exhibition game this week means that Parker will be battling with Kawhi Leonard for the minutes this year. Halleron plans to give Leonard the reins until Parker shows he can handle being the man. "I planned on cutting George anyway to try and sign him for less," Halleron said. "His injury is unfortunate but I planned on him not being here. Leonard will start until Jabari is consistently putting up solid numbers." After Hollywood (Andrew Wiggins), Minnesnowta (Dante Exum) and Kansas City (Julius Randle) made safe choices during the next three picks, Colorado owner Collin Atkinson threw the first curveball of the night. Doug McDermott, the first official Hilltopper in team history, was drafted No. 5 overall out of Creighton. Just before the selection, Minneapolis traded Newport Beach the No. 7 overall pick in a deal that included Zach Randolph and his $4 million contract. Newport proceeded to use the selection on injured Kansas star Joel Embiid. "There's no chance he would have fallen if he was even moderately healthy," said Mayer, who offered a simple scouting report on the seven-footer: "GOAT status." The Player Haterzz weren't done making moves. Owner Dan Renfro sent Trevor Ariza ($2 million) to Shorewood for the No. 10 pick (used on T.J. Warren) and a 2015 second rounder. Later, they used back-to-back second rounders on Adreian Payne from Michigan State and Rodney Hood out of Duke. Atkinson continued to make bold moves in the back half of the draft. He selected Jarnell Stokes and Jordan McRae -- two players who weren't expected to be drafted -- at No. 15 and No. 21 overall. Here are the final draft results: 1.1 (1) RIO • Jabari Parker (Duke), Milwaukee
1.2 (2) HOLLYWOOD • Andrew Wiggins (Kansas), Cleveland 1.3 (3) MINNESNOWTA • Dante Exum (Australia), Utah 1.4 (4) KANSAS CITY • Julius Randle (Kentucky), Los Angeles Lakers 1.5 (5) COLORADO • Doug McDermott (Creighton), Chicago 1.6 (6) SHOREWOOD (From Newport Beach) • Elfrid Payton (Louisiana-Lafayette), Orlando 1.7 (7) NEWPORT BEACH (From Minneapolis) • Joel Embiid (Kansas), Philadelphia 1.8 (8) DUVAL UNITED • Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State), Boston 1.9 (9) CHASKA • Nik Stauskas (Michigan), Sacramento 1.10 (10) MINNEAPOLIS (From Shorewood) • T.J. Warren (NC State), Phoenix 2.1 (11) RIO • Noah Vonleh (Indiana), Charlotte 2.2 (12) HOLLYWOOD • Aaron Gordon (Arizona), Orlando 2.3 (13) MINNESNOWTA • K.J. McDaniels (Clemson), Philadelphia 2.4 (14) KANSAS CITY • Shabazz Napier (Connecticut), Miami 2.5 (15) COLORADO • Jarnell Stokes (Mississippi State), Memphis 2.6 (16) MINNEAPOLIS (From Newport Beach) • Adreian Payne (Michigan State), Atlanta 2.7 (17) MINNEAPOLIS • Rodney Hood (Duke), Utah 2.8 (18) DUVAL UNITED • Zach LaVine (UCLA), Minnesota 2.9 (19) CHASKA • Cleanthony Early (Wichita State), New York 2.10 (20) SHOREWOOD • Dario Saric (Croatia), Philadelphia* 2.11 (21) COLORADO • Jordan McRae (Tennessee), Philadelphia *Saric is not currently signed to an NBA roster. Shorewood will own his rights until he signs, and then he will be activated immediately.
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SHOREWOOD, Minn. -- Prince's plan worked to perfection.
Rio's owner decided mid-season that the Rainmakers wouldn't make the grade come playoff time, and he -- along with general manager Brendan Halleron -- immediately began preparing for the long term. They moved Paul Millsap to Chaska for rising star Victor Oladipo, and slowly descended the standings into eighth place. To cap things off perfectly, Prince and Halleron needed a little Lottery luck, and they got it -- Rio snagged the first overall pick in July's Rookie Draft despite having only a 17.0 percent chance to do so. Rio ping-pong balls came up several times during the selection process. They were discarded after the team had already won the No. 1 pick, but the good energy was hard to ignore. "With my luck, I could've had four of the top six picks," Halleron said. "I was LOL-ing." Halleron said he's open to trading the pick, but he does have his sights set on a couple players. "Since I don't have to smokescreen, I felt Jabari Parker got the perfect situation for now," he said. "It's just a question of (what kind of) player he will become. Marcus Smart is also in a very interesting situation, and I think he will do special things." Kansas City and the yet-to-be-named expansion franchise had 68 percent of the ping-pong balls in the bowl, and 82 percent of the eligible balls after Rio got the No. 1 pick, but the Hollywood Hornets (No. 2 overall) and Minnesnowta Chill (No. 3 overall) beat the odds to snag picks. "Now I know how Sacramento feels every year," Monarchs owner Jack Nowland said. Newport Beach, with only one ball out of the 47 in the bowl, was the only team to gain the pick it was slotted at -- the Grizzlies' ball never came up, and they received the sixth slot, which means the pick will go to Shorewood as part of the Stephen Curry trade. OFFICIAL ROOKIE DRAFT ORDER (Tentatively scheduled for July 31, 2014) 1. Rio Rainmakers 2. Hollywood Hornets 3. Minnesnowta Chill 4. Kansas City Monarchs 5. Expansion Franchise 6. Shorewood Show (from Newport Beach) 7. Minneapolis Player Haterzz 8. Duval United 9. Chaska Moose 10. Shorewood Show --- 11. Rio Rainmakers 12. Hollywood Hornets 13. Minnesnowta Chill 14. Kansas City Monarchs 15. Expansion Franchise 16. Newport Beach Grizzlies 17. Minneapolis Player Haterzz 18. Duval United 19. Chaska Moose 20. Shorewood Show 21. Expansion Franchise (expansion pick) SHOREWOOD, Minn. — It's official: After several months of trade rumors, we finally have the first COMO swap.
Chaska (first place, 62 points) receives: • PF Paul Millsap ($4 million) • C Amir Johnson ($1 million) Rio (seventh place, 38 points) receives: • SG Victor Oladipo ($3 million) • SF Tyreke Evans ($2 million) The move was clearly done with Rio's future and Chaska's present in mind. The Rainmakers gave up stud forward Millsap (23.2 bones per game) and any realistic chance of making the playoffs in order to get ahold of Oladipo, a rookie and the Moose's best prospect. Chaska has been shopping Oladipo for the past two weeks, as several key players have gone down with injuries. Millsap adds a very productive scoring option to an already dangerous offense. "Victor is a great player, and we wish him a long and productive career in Rio," Chaska owner Joseph Fafinski said. "However, Paul Millsap's value with Al Horford out indefinitely — coupled with his cheap contract — was too good to pass up." Speaking for Rio owner Prince, general manager Brendan Halleron was very excited about jettisoning one of his best players for Oladipo. "Prince is pleased to add the Voodoo child Victor Oladipo," Halleron said. "He hopes he can bring the black magic to the team." After being in playoff position in December, Rio has slid all the way to seventh, and appears to be more interested in making a run for the first overall draft pick than a spot in the postseason. "It was time to set a standard in the locker room that we don't take s--- from anyone," Halleron explained. "Leave the garbage basketball at home." Who was bringing the garbage? "The entire team," Halleron said. 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." 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. |
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