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)
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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-COMOSHOREWOOD, 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." SHOREWOOD, Minn. — With the season more than half over, it's time for some free agency predictions. There are 16 stars who likely will not be with their current squads next year thanks to injuries, dumb contracts, underperformance, etc.
Need a point guard? This will be a fun summer. Want an upgrade at small forward? Not so much. POINT GUARDS Stephen Curry — Newport Beach Projected asking price: $35 million Open market starting price: $18 million Steph is the most likely to be re-signed out of this group of 16, but rumor has it that Newport Beach owner Peter Mayer would like to get the injury-prone guard’s contract off the team’s books. If the Grizzlies make a playoff run, expect Mayer to hold on to his superstar. If not, though, Curry could be on the open market. Kyrie Irving — Duval United Projected asking price: $33 million O.M. starting price: $17 million $30 million seemed like a logical sum to pay Irving in the auction draft. The third-year guard was poised to make a superstar leap, but his new coach’s anemic offense has held Irving back. The Duke product could still be a COMO superstar, but a pay raise is not coming his way this offseason. Derrick Rose — Rio Projected asking price: $29 million O.M. starting price: $15 million The biggest gamble in the auction draft, Rose sputtered out after playing 10 mostly awful games in Rio. He might fetch double figures with a free agent deal (starting price will be $15 million), but he could also end up being passed over at that price and sent to waivers. Ricky Rubio — Minneapolis Projected asking price: $21 million O.M. starting price: $11 million Everyone really wanted Rubio to work out, but his consistently bad shooting has held back Minneapolis. Solid defensive statistics and assist numbers keep him in his position group’s top 10, but that is not enough to warrant a $21 million sinkhole in the Player Haterzz’ cap next season (especially when Mike Conley is putting up similar numbers for much less money). Deron Williams — Chaska Projected asking price: $19 million O.M. starting price: $10 million Talk about a money suck. Whether Williams has been on or off the court this year hasn’t mattered much. Chaska has almost been better off with its premier point guard injured. Tony Parker — Kansas City Projected asking price: $11 million O.M. starting price: $6 million Parker was a good idea this year, but hasn’t performed up to his amazing levels of last season (25+ bones per game), and looks to have regressed. Things aren’t getting better next season. SHOOTING GUARDS James Harden — Shorewood Projected asking price: $40 million Open market starting price: $20 million Similar to Curry, Harden will be a tough decision to let go. The No. 1-ranked shooting guard has been good this year, but his production (24.4 bones per game) does not warrant the third-highest contract in the league. A starting price of $20 million will kick off an intriguing bidding war this offseason. Kobe Bryant — Minnesnowta Projected asking price: $14 million O.M. starting price: $7 million Bryant seemed to be one of the biggest bargains in 2013-2014. Only $14 million for a veteran who could average around 25 bones a game? Alas, Bryant flopped after coming back from injury, and is now shelved for an indefinite period of time. Dwyane Wade — Hollywood Projected asking price: $13 million O.M. starting price: $7 million Wade will simpy not be worth the money next year, especially with his penchant for sitting out games (and throwing off COMO owners’ rotations). SMALL FORWARDS Nicolas Batum — Newport Beach Projected asking price: $21 million O.M. starting price: $11 million Overpaid from the start, Batum has played decently well this season, but owner Mayer will breathe a sigh of relief when he gets his $20-million-plus number off the team’s books. If Newport lets both Curry and Batum go, they will be major players in free agency, and have an outside chance at signing an Irving/Harden combination. Josh Smith — Kansas City Projected asking price: $13 million O.M. starting price: $7 million Smith is not a bad player, but a good example of someone that isn’t worth his salt (and certainly not $13 million). His numbers are easily replaceable this offseason. POWER FORWARDS Dirk Nowitzki — Minnesnowta Projected asking price: $23 million O.M. starting price: $12 million Nowitzki has been a very good veteran player this year, but his cap hit will be too much for the 2014-2015 season. His new contract won’t be too far under $20 million, but it’s hard to ignore Father Time. Larry Sanders — Newport Beach Projected asking price: $10 million O.M. starting price: $5 million One of this season’s biggest flops, Sanders will probably find himself on the waiver wire next year. CENTERS Marc Gasol — Kansas City Projected asking price: $30 million O.M. starting price: $15 million Gasol has been the biggest reason for Kansas City’s demise. Not because of his play on the court, but because of the significant time he’s missed with injury. Owner Jack Nowland could bring the big man back at $30 million, but it’s a tough decision. Joakim Noah — Shorewood Projected asking price: $20 million O.M. starting price: $10 million Noah is simply overpaid. He’s played well (21.5 bones per game), but his production is not high enough to warrant a pay raise next season. Nikola Pekovic — Shorewood Projected asking price: $9 million O.M. starting price: $5 million The big man from Montenegro has been the epitome of a solid post player this season, but cheaper labor can be found. |
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