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(SportsNetwork. Nike Air Max 90 Dames Roze .com) - There were plenty of headline-grabbing transactions during the summer with all the major free agent news, highlighted by LeBron James return to Cleveland. We also had the big trade between the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks that resulted in Tyson Chandler going back to where he played a huge role in the Mavs winning their only NBA championship. But there was one deal that drew very little attention and Im guessing not much of a reaction from NBA fans, but it surely has been a huge boost for a defending division champ and a trade that can only be called a major steal at this point. Thats what you call the deal the Toronto Raptors made with the Atlanta Hawks, as they traded a way-past-his-prime John Salmons and a second-round draft pick for Lou Williams along with 21-year-old center Lucas Nogueira. The addition of the nine-year veteran Williams has upgraded the Raptors bench significantly and gives them one of the deepest and most talented backcourts in the league. The 27-year-old suffered a torn ACL in January 2013 and is now only back to the player he was before the injury, and hes played a big role in helping put Toronto atop the East with a 19-6 record. Hes been more than weve expected, coach Dwane Casey said. I knew he was an excellent player, but you go in with reservations coming off the injury. Hes back 100 percent now from injuries. Hes fully healed. Hes stronger from it, so hes been a pleasant plus for us this year. In regards to Williams offensive game, Casey says hes a born scorer, but the big surprise has come at the other end of the floor. One area that was really highly unexpected was his defense, Casey said. Its huge. I was shocked. There were all these stories about, Hes a scorer off the bench, but hes been one of our solid defenders on our second unit - being in right position in the schemes, understanding schemes, being in the right place, pushing the ball as a quasi-point guard/ballhandler - but he has been a great teammate. Williams is averaging 14.6 points in 22.5 minutes per game, and even earned an Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor in November in helping the Raptors go 3-0. During that stretch, he averaged 23.7 points in just 22 minutes per game, which included a huge game in Cleveland as the Raptors routed the Cavaliers. He scored 36 points in 29 minutes, shooting 9-of-19 from the floor, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers, and an eye-opening 15-for-15 from the foul line. The former second-round pick (45th overall) of the Sixers in 2005 has had five games of at least 20 points, and all of them have come in wins for the Raptors. Its amazing how he can go out there and run off the points he can in the short amount of time hes out there, said teammate DeMar DeRozan, who has been sidelined the last nine games as he recovers from a torn tendon in his left groin. The energy with the second unit is definitely amazing. Thats something that was lacking last year and we got a lot better this year and I think thats why were able to close out a lot of games this year that we couldnt last year. Williams presence has certainly eased the impact of DeRozans absence. The Raptors are 6-3 without their All-Star guard, with Williams doing his share to pick up the slack. In those six wins, hes averaged 17.6 points, including a pair of 26-point outings. The road back from his torn ACL was a long, grueling process for Williams, and one in which he wasnt sure hed ever be the same player. But those thoughts can now be put to rest. When youre sitting there and you have a cast on and wheelchair and crutches and cant lift your leg up, you cant ride a bike, you cant run, you cant jog, obviously theres going to be some doubt there, Williams said. Two years later, its great to see some fruits of the labor, to feel myself back to 100 percent, being back healthy and having some success. PARKER INJURY CHANGES ROOKIE RACE Speaking of a player tearing his ACL, what terrible news came out of Milwaukee late Tuesday night regarding Bucks rookie Jabari Parker. He will be out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee, which he suffered on Monday in Phoenix in a win over the Suns. Parker was the clear-cut leader for the NBAs rookie of the year, but now the award is up for grabs, in what is probably the weakest field Ive ever seen. I think the Chicago Bulls Nikola Mirotic has been the second-best rookie, and despite the fact that he doesnt start and play as many minutes (17.8 per game) as some of his competitors such as Andrew Wiggins (30.8 per game) and Nerlens Noel (30.4 per game), I think he deserves serious consideration for contributing to a winning situation rather than guys who may have bigger numbers but play for really bad teams. Adidas Superstar 2 - Basisschool Schoenen . Bartel, who is from Australia, punted 229 times for 9,904 yards with a 43.2 average in two seasons with the Ticats. Williams, the first overall pick by Saskatchewan in 2010, signed with Hamilton as a free agent a year ago and had one defensive tackle and one special teams tackle in just six games with the Ticats last season. Adidas Stan Smith Blauw . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Flames team that has new management and will be looking to build on the strong finish and hope not to fall back to where they started the 2013-2014 season.REGINA -- The path to winning the 101st Grey Cup was years in the making for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Brendan Taman, the teams general manager. "Back in 2011, when they announced that the game was coming here, we knew that it was going to be pretty important that we had a good year and hopefully could get into it, let alone win it, so I felt some pressure obviously within for sure," Taman said Monday, less than 24 hours after the Riders won the championship. "But as a group, we built it from (head coach) Corey (Chamblin) and the staff to the players and everybody we brought in, so yeah there was some pressure." The pressure eased Sunday night when the Roughriders dominated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 45-23. The Riders, who will be feted in a parade through Regina on Tuesday, became the third straight host team to win the CFL title. Taman, who walked into the news conference Monday holding the Grey Cup, enjoyed the moment. It was "very surreal," he said. "Its a sense of relief and redemption and sort of verifying that you can win it, eventually. Its not the easiest thing to win obviously, but its pretty gratifying," said Taman. In January, the Riders acquired veteran slotback Geroy Simon from B.C., then in free agency signed defensive ends John Chick and Canadian Ricky Foley as well as defensive back Dwight Anderson. In October, Taman gambled by acquiring rush end Alex Hall from Winnipeg. But there was one guy Taman really wanted to see raise the cup: quarterback Darian Durant. Nike Air Max 90 Sale Nederland. "You know, I talked to him this morning and he said Well, I already had one. I said No, you didnt. Yeah, you were part of one," said Taman. "But he got this one, and I was so happy for him because I think were as popular at times as each other, sometimes were not, so I was really happy for him." Durant won a Grey Cup with the Riders in 2007, but he was one of the backup quarterbacks at that time. Durant was the starting pivot when the Riders got to the Grey Cup in 2009 and 2010, but they lost both games. Chamblin agreed that he was excited to see Durant win. "There were a couple of guys, but the biggest one of course would be Darian, just because hes the quarterback. He does take a lot of the criticism and hes put a lot on his shoulders over the last couple of years, so it was very good to see him get that cup," Chamblin said Monday. Chamblin said the fans also played a major role. "The biggest thing right now, I can just tell you that stands out in my mind, was the crowd (Sunday) night and being on the stage and seeing all the green," said Chamblin. "When people say the stage was set, it was actually the stage was set and I think that was the biggest part of the celebration. There were some who watched it on TV, but it was surreal to be in that stadium last night." The Grey Cup championship parade will start at Mosaic Stadium and head south down Albert St. before ending in a rally at the provincial legislature. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '