Hard Work... Together... feat. LeBron James via Nike

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Hard Work... Together...

By now you are familiar with that Nike commercial involving LeBron James. If you are not, let me refresh your memory a little bit.



The title of the video is "Together," highlighting and celebrating the pride and emotion that came with James' return to Cleveland this past offseason.

Directed by the Malloy Brothers, Nike Basketball collaborated with advertising firm Wieden + Kennedy to conceptualize the short.

It depicts a huddle by James with the Cavaliers, with Cleveland citizens inside and outside of the Quicken Loans Arena joining in as a show of unity. One team. One city. One goal.

Among those participating are Cavs teammates Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Anderson Varejao, Shawn Marion, Tristan Thompson, Matthew Dellavedova and Joe Harris, LeBron's mother Gloria, his high school coach at St. Vincent St. Mary's Dru Joyce, as well as the children from the LeBron James Family Foundation.

To complement the short, a 10-story 25,000 banner was unveiled on Ontario street. Nike recorded the reveal through time-lapse on its YouTube page:



On the day LeBron officially makes his season debut, Nike will also debut the LEBRON 12 HRT OF A LION on its stores. For those who relish creativity, it is also ready for custom design at www.nikeid.com wherever NIKEiD is available.

Why I buy in to the Luol Deng trade for Cleveland

It was an interesting move that the Cavs pulled off just moments after "Famous" Jameis Winston threw the game-winning pass to 6'5" receiver Kelvin Benjamin at the Rose Bowl over Iron Bowl hero Chris Davis, Jr.

Real GM's Shams Charania broke the news, although it got the major traction when Brian Windhorst revealed the details. Brian did acknowledge Shams' break.

Hat tip to @ShamsCharania, looks like he got the Deng news out just before I did.

Chris Grant sends the Sacramento pick, and the two second round Portland picks to Chicago, along with the contract of Andrew Bynum, for Luol Deng. They also give the Bulls chance to swap picks, provided that Cleveland makes the playoffs next season.

This clearly is a step back for Chicago Bulls and the man who made the deal, GM Gar Forman. They are expected to waive Bynum before the guaranteed money kicks in, which allows them to escape the luxury tax. And before we dig in on the first rounder of Sacramento, here are the regulations with regards to that pick the Cavs acquired along with Omri Casspi in exchange for JJ Hickson back in 2011:

Top 12-protection in 2014, top 10-protection in 2015-17, else 2017 second round pick (protected 56-60) (c/o Pro Sports Transcations)

Basically, the Kings have to show signs of improvement within the next three years. And based from the behavior of Vivek Ranadive and his ownership of the franchise, that will be the case, especially with the new arena they are talking up.

However, I want to delve into what this means for Cleveland.

1. Deng and leadership. Grant said so himself, "Luol reflects all that we are striving for in building our team. He’s a tremendous defensive player that can impact the game on both ends of the court with a team-first mentality and is a high character leader". Consider who he was traded for. Andrew Bynum basically got paid to stay away from the team. Quite a 180, if you ask me.

2. Deng gets his just due. Y!'s Woj tweeted, then wrote that Luol declined a 3-year $30 million extension offer from Chicago. Seems that the bridge has been burned ever since the whole spinal tap issue took place. He thinks he can get J-Smoove money, and the Cavs, if they don't nab a certain Akron native, will be more than happy to give that $$$$ to someone.

3. Deng improves rotation. The Cavs need a small forward whom can plug in for 35 minutes. The ones they are trotting out aren't exactly cutting it. CJ Miles? Alonzo Gee? Earl Clark? Anthony Bennett? Deng fills that hole instantly. He also might be able to play small ball PF on some situations. It also pretty much says, let's abort the Bennett experiment at the SF.

4. Deng gives them a chance in the postseason. Seeds 3-8 in the East is in flux. Anybody can snag it. The gap between third-place Atlanta and 14th place Orlando is 7.5 games as of the moment, and the Magic are just four games behind Detroit for the 8th spot. Cleveland is in 13th with a 11-23 record, with what might be an easy stretch (host the Sixers, then go on a road trip against the Jazz, Kings, Lakers, Blazers (whom they lost on a Lillard walkoff at the Q), and Nuggets, before hosting the Mavericks. As long as they do not finish in 7th or 8th, they may find themselves some luck and make it to the 2nd round. Oh, after their game against Dallas, they host Chicago at the Q.

Gary David can understand and relate to Anthony Bennett

The stat hounds are currently out for Anthony Bennett.

The top overall draft pick in the current NBA Draft has not yet made a field goal so far in four games (spanning 15 tries) this season. The increased attention might be getting to him, after making initial thoughts about going "off-grid" while he deals with his struggles.

This is not a knock on Bennett, it is a little unfair that there is increasing criticism on him given the small sample size and all, in addition to the fact that he is doing the other aspects (rebounding, defending) that Mike Brown is asking him to do.

However  there is the off-chance that the Canadian might be pressing offensively in trying to get that 0-fer out of his system?

Then I remember Gary David. Make that, we all remember Gary David last August.

El Granada was totally struggling for SMART-Gilas Pilipinas in the early stages of the FIBA-Asia tournament. He went 2/18 in the first round, 0/7 against Jordan and Chinese-Taipei combined.

Then, I remember how we all came out to egg him on. To provide him with confidence. I remember how Jimmy Alapag and LA Tenorio as point guards trying to help him by running plays for him.

Then this happened.



The Filipino hoops fan arguably is one of the smartest ones out there. They knew that they'll need him at one point in the tournament, and they were right, if only for this game alone.



Cleveland knows that they need him to contribute, eventually. They know that right now, Andrew Bynum and Anderson Varejao have been around to shoulder the burden along with Tristan Thompson, but knowing the injury history of both players, it might be a stretch to expect them to be available for the whole season.

I am very sure that Mike Brown and his coaching staff, as well as Kyrie Irving and Jarrett Jack are doing what they can to get him off the offensive schneid.

The Central Division NBA Preview

Chicago Bulls - 50-16 record last season. Division Champions. 1st seed in the playoffs. Lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1st Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Derrick Rose, Richard Hamilton, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah / Kirk Hinrich, Marco Bellinelli, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Nazr Mohammed

Storyline/s: Derrick Rose's ACL. Is Luol Deng a capable go-to-guy?

X-Factor/s: Can Kirk Hinrich be the best stand-in that he could be of Derrick Rose?

Prognosis: Missing the playoffs.

Cleveland Cavaliers - 21-45 record last season. Missed the playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Kyrie Irving, C.J. Miles, Omri Casspi, Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao / Daniel Gibson, Dion Waiters, Alonzo Gee, Tyler Zeller

Storyline/s: The development of Kyrie Irving into a bonafide leader continues under Byron Scott's stewardship. Will the Cavs dangle out Varejao again for future assets?

X-Factor/s: Is Tristan Thompson ready to take the next step? Can Dion Waiters immediately contribute?

Prognosis: Missing the playoffs

Detroit Pistons - 25-41 record last season. Missed the playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Brandon Knight, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Jonas Jerebko, Greg Monroe / Will Bynum, Corey Maggette, Kyle Singler, Austin Daye, Jason Maxiell, Andre Drummond

Storyline/s: Can the growth process for these Pistons lead to contending for the bottom end of the playoff picture?

X-Factor/s: Jonas Jerebko was a key cog for the Pistons before he got hurt. Now he's back.

Prognosis: Missing the playoffs.

Indiana Pacers - 42-24 record last season. 3rd seed in the playoffs. Lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Ideal Rotation: George Hill, Paul George, Danny Granger, David West, Roy Hibbert / D.J. Augustin, Gerald Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Ian Mahinmi

Storyline/s: With Derrick Rose out, the division can be had. Can the team that finished second take advantage? However, Granger got himself injured, and the Pacers may now just be in the same boat as Chicago.

X-Factor/s: With Granger sidelined, can Paul George unlock the huge potential within him?

Prognosis: Division Champions. Exiting in the Conference Semifinals.

Milwaukee Bucks - 31-35 record last season. Missed the playoffs.

Ideal Rotation: Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis, Mike Dunleavy, jr., Ersan Ilyasova, Samuel Dalembert / Beno Udrih, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Tobias Harris, Ekpe Udoh, Drew Gooden, Joel Pryzbilla

Storyline/s: The Bucks relatively stood pat in the off-season, their only key move was keeping Ersan around. They did manage to swing a deal for Samuel Dalembert, and drafted John Henson. Is it enough to move up amidst the Eastern flux? The pressure is on for Scott Skiles.

X-Factor/s: Can Tobias Harris make the necessary improvement?

Prognosis: Exiting in the 1st round of the playoffs.