CHANHASSEN, Minn. — The org won its fifth ring. The star won his fourth. But what some might consider "old" felt very fresh as the clock ran out on Game 3 at Paisley Park. Shorewood, winners of four titles in the 2010s, had waited 5 years to climb the mountaintop again. And LeBron James, who had been a secondary piece on three other championship teams, finally got his flowers as COMO Finals MVP. The honor, along with his record sixth All-COMO Playoffs selection, cements his case as a first-ballot COMO Hall of Famer in what's sure to be a crowded first class later this decade. "LeBron is one of the most important characters in this league's story," Shorewood GM Alex Smith said following his team's 3-0 sweep. "He's helped win it for us before. He's beat us in the Finals. We've beat him. And to have a chance to work with The King again this year feels like a full-circle moment." Way back in 2015, the Show traded for James at the trade deadline, and he helped them upset Chaska in the Finals for a second consecutive year. Then, he was gone to free agency, never to return... until this January. A balanced, veteran Shorewood squad used James' presence to finally find some chemistry in what had been an up-and-down season. They surged late, earning the No. 5 seed and peaking against Scranton and Hamburg BSV in the quarterfinals, and semifinals, respectively. While the Show cooled off in the Finals, they had the good fortune of squaring up against a Paisley Park team that was completely out of gas after a magical playoff run from the No. 7 spot. Paisley GM Brendan Halleron thanked his first-year coach, Ted Lasso, for "injecting a new level of belief" in a mostly downtrodden franchise, and cited an inspiring speech about adversity and potatoes. "If you can do it once," Halleron said, "you can do it again." That certainly rings true for Shorewood, which won titles in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019 before a half-decade championship drought that ended Thursday night. As the champagne flowed in the visitors' locker room, James had his arm around legendary coach Bobby Finstock, who finally had "one for the thumb." "There are three rules that I live by," Finstock told reporters as James shook his head and smiled. "Never get less than twelve hours sleep, never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city, and never stand between this man and a trophy. Now you stick to that, and everything else is cream cheese." 2024 All-COMO Playoffs team
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CHANHASSEN, Minn. — It's a new dawn for Paisley Park. Tuesday, the long-suffering Rainmakers shed an ugly contract and collected an outstanding one. All it cost was a trio of draft picks and $17 million.
All-COMO guard Ben Simmons, who helped the Shorewood Show win a record 77 games in 2017-2018 and won a ring in 2018-2019, is now headed 5 minutes down the road to Chanhassen. In return, the Rainmakers are sending the Show their No. 17 overall pick in next Sunday's draft, as well as both their first- and second-round picks in 2020. Oh, and Paisley Park is untethering itself from the albatross that is DeMarcus Cousins' three-year deal ($17 million annually). It's a move that turns Paisley into an instant contender. The Rainmakers now have a pair of stars — Anthony Davis and Simmons — and some breathing room to bring in a third. "I still love Boogie," GM Brendan Halleron said, "but I took a 29-out-of-30 gamble he wouldn't be on the same [NBA] team as Davis. I lost on the 1-in-30 chance. I wish him all the best and hope he gets healthy, but I look forward to winning now with Simmons at the helm." Paisley has been one of COMO's most beleaguered frachises. The Rainmakers have only finished with one winning record in six seasons. Last summer's questionable pairing of Davis' and Cousins' long-term contracts only figured to lock the team into further turmoil. Suddenly, the winds have changed. There's Davis and Simmons. There's also likely No. 3 draftee R.J. Barrett, who should contribute immediately. Holdovers Jayson Tatum and Zach LaVine figure to score in bunches again. Oh, and last year's No. 2 overall pick, DeAndre Ayton, looks like a future All-COMO selection. Meanwhile, Shorewood has found a way to get return on Simmons, who was reportedly not in the team's future plans due to a complicated cap situation. Cousins will likely be cut this fall, but Paisley Park has agreed to pay the penalty for his 2021-2022 salary in that event, so Shorewood will only be on the hook for the next two seasons (perhaps the Show can find a suitor for Cousins in lieu of paying cash for his disappearance). Simmons arrived in Shorewood in summer 2017, following an injury-ruined season with Colorado. That season, he was the unanimous Rookie of the Year as the Show soared through the regular season with an unbelievable 77-5 record. While Shorewood lost to Newport Beach in the ensuing COMO Finals, the Show managed to claw back to the Finals this past April and upset the Minnesnowta Chill for their fourth championship. "Ben was an outstanding part of our organization for two seasons," GM Alex Smith said. "His work here was historic. And we'd love to keep him. But there was no wiggle room to make that happen." Despite losing Simmons, the Show will return two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, All-COMO stud Nikola Jokic and All-COMO Playoffs selection Devin Booker, among others. Shorewood figures to be a heavy favorite to win its fifth trophy next spring. It will likely need to slip past Simmons and Paisley Park to do so. CHASKA, Minn. — Give the Chaska Moose credit; They battled back from a large deficit in Game 7 to nearly draw even with the favored Shorewood Show at Hazeltine Court.
But all the Show had to do was get Steph Curry the ball. The COMO Finals MVP came through, and outgunned Chaska's Klay Thompson to deliver a second straight championship to Shorewood. Meanwhile, fans in Chaska witnessed their second straight Finals Game 7 loss at home. "There's little doubt Chaska has been the most dominant team of the past two seasons," Shorewood GM Alex Smith said of the back-to-back regular season champs. "But we've come through when it matters most. And tonight, we made history." The No. 2-seeded Show were not as efficient as in their semi-finals demolition two weeks prior, but still got important contributions from Curry (26.89 bone average), trade-deadline acquisition LeBron James (29.20), Pau Gasol (24.50) and LaMarcus Aldridge (22.43) in the Finals. Young guns such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nerlens Noel and Elfrid Payton also made surprisingly strong contributions to the playoff run. "You look at our roster, and it's obvious we're here to stay," Smith said. "We'll be the outright favorites to make it three in a row next season, and there's no doubt in my mind that our boys are already thinking about a three-peat." Moose GM Joey Fafinski will oversee a squad that will likely be Shorewood's biggest challenger in 2015-2016. "We gave it our all this year," he said. "We're bummed we didn't take [the championship]. Special props to DeMarcus [Cousins] and near-MVP Tim Duncan. You can bet we'll be back. United We Graze, as always." Cousins, who missed much of the playoffs with injury, was Chaska's lone All-Playoffs selection. Minnesnowta's Kyrie Irving got the shooting guard nod, while the rest of the spots belonged to a dominant Shorewood lineup. 2015 COMO All-Playoffs Team PG Stephen Curry, Shorewood (27.65 // 20 starts) SG Kyrie Irving, Minnesnowta (23.20 // 10 starts) SF LeBron James, Shorewood (29.07 // 15 starts) PF Pau Gasol, Shorewood (25.22 // 18 starts) C DeMarcus Cousins, Chaska (37.00 // 8 starts) 6TH LaMarcus Aldridge, Shorewood (25.24 // 17 starts) CHASKA, Minn. — On Monday night, Moose GM Joseph Fafinski threw in the towel and texted "congrats" to Shorewood GM Alex Smith.
Fafinski had made the ugly mistake of leaving shooting guard Klay Thompson on the bench, and missed out on a 45-bone performance that could've swung the Finals momentum. But despite the fact that he's already given up, there is still one more thing working in his favor: unpredictability. The final day of the NBA season brings plenty of crazy start-or-sit conundrums to the table, with several stars playing limited minutes. This silly guessing game will not necessarily help Fafinski, but it gives Chaska a shot to climb back from a significant deficit. Here's the breakdown on the final night of COMO basketball. THE FAVORITE: Shorewood Show. After absolutely destroying the field in the semifinals, Shorewood got off to a relatively slow start in the Finals. That's history, though, as the Show put its foot on the gas this past weekend behind superstar Stephen Curry. Currently, Shorewood has made one more start than Chaska, but has a 77-bone cushion. Essentially, Chaska has five starts against Shorewood's four to make up that deficit. Here's the projected Show lineup for Wednesday night: PG Stephen Curry [27.38 // 8 starts] SF LeBron James [29.20 // 5 starts] PF LaMarcus Aldridge [24.17 // 6 starts] C Pau Gasol [25.00 // 7 starts] It's likely that two or more of these guys will not actually play tonight, so some lineup switching will probably be in order. Here are the replacement options: PG Elfrid Payton [21.00 // 2 starts] SF Giannis Antetokounmpo [16.50 // 2 starts] SG Khris Middleton [zero starts] PF Kelly Olynyk [zero starts] With the exception of Payton, it's possible that none of those guys will play tonight, either. The Show could potentially be in some serious trouble if things don't break its way, lineup-wise. Which brings up to... THE UNDERDOG: Chaska Moose. It's odd to see that tag applied to the Moose, who have pretty much run rampant throughout most of the past year, and locked up the regular season title in February. But here we are for a second straight year -- Shorewood is coming on strong when it matters most. Injuries have somewhat crippled Chaska this postseason, especially the loss of DeMarcus Cousins, who averaged 38.33 bones in three Finals contests. But there's still some decent talent on the floor. Here's the projected lineup: PG Ty Lawson [23.50 // 2 starts] SG Dwyane Wade [12.33 // 3 starts] SF Klay Thompson [18.00 // 3 starts] PF Tim Duncan [25.13 // 8 starts] C Enes Kanter [23.00 // 2 starts] Again, nobody is really a lock to play significant minutes on Wednesday night. If any of those guys drops out, here are the replacement options: PF Al Horford [23.83 // 6 starts] PG Kyle Lowry [zero starts] SG Nik Stauskas [zero starts] As the day goes on, there will be plenty of updates on players' availability. For now, Chaska is simply hoping that chaos reigns. If so, the coup will not be bloodless -- we're looking at the biggest upset in COMO history if the tables turn. 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) 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." |
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