This past Sunday, the Redeem Team completed its mission in the Far East - taking home the Gold after running the table at the 2008 Olympics. LeBron James emerged as the Redeem Team's leader and, along with Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, returned the Men's Team to its former top status on the podium.

The free agent market has been sorted through and some big trades have been made. For the rest of (what's left of) the summer, players will rest themselves up for the seven-month, 82-game journey into the unknown.

With the offseason's dog days upon us - and Training Camp slowly approaching - I thought this would be a perfect time to break out the crystal ball. And, as we did following my last blog, I'd like to see your preseason picks as well.

I've broken my picks down into six awards. I'm looking at some of the awards through Wine and Gold glasses, so please forgive my hometown bias. (You can go ahead and call me a ‘Cavaliers shill'. I've been called worse.)

The most difficult category to predict is probably Coach of the Year - mostly because we don't yet know what type of adversity or circumstances he'll have to work through to win the award.

With that in mind, here goes. Please feel free to respond below with your picks ...

1. MVP - LeBron James, Cavaliers - It seems as if the Chosen One has been in the MVP argument every year since he arrived from SVSM, but this could be the year that LeBron cements his status as the world's best baller. This year, No. 23 won his first scoring title and grabbed the Gold in Beijing. He only has two major accomplishments remaining - being named Most Valuable Player and winning the NBA Championship. If he gets the former, there's a good chance that the Wine and Gold are on their way towards the latter. LeBron has improved exponentially every year and the team is improving around him. This is the year that he wins the MVP award. Honorable mention: Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Baron Davis

2. Defensive Player of the Year - Ron Artest, Rockets - After a year-and-a-half toiling in relative obscurity in Sacramento, the former St. John's star returns to relevance with the Rockets. With the presence of Yao Ming, Shane Battier and bruiser, Chuck Hayes, surrounding him, Artest won't need to be dominant defensively. But if he's motivated, jives with the coach and his team is winning - it would be tough to bet against him. Honorable Mention: Kevin Garnett, Marcus Camby, Josh Smith, Shane Battier, LeBron James, Bruce Bowen, Tayshaun Prince

3. Most Improved - Sasha Pavlovic, Cavaliers - Maybe this is a hopeful pick, but Sasha - just 11 months older than LeBron James - should be about ready to break out. After showing his stuff on both ends of the floor down the stretch and in the playoffs back in 2006-07, Sasha took a step backwards last season - thanks, in part, to missing Camp with a contract holdout. Cavaliers fans and coaches have seen glimpses of greatness with the former first-rounder, now they'd just like to see some consistency. (And for Sasha to finish at the rim!)  Honorable Mention: Yi Jianlian, Nick Young, Jose Calderon, Daniel Gibson, Chris Duhon, Paul Milsap, Marcus Williams, Matt Barnes

4. Sixth Man -  David Lee, Knicks - As much as I'd like to stay on the Wine and Gold track and give this to Daniel Gibson, and as tough as it is to pick against last year's winner, Manu Ginobili, I thought I'd go out on a limb and dub the Knicks' David Lee for the top Sixth Man this season. Already a high-energy player, he'll get even more juice running in Mike D'Antoni's new system in New York. The former Gator has always given the Cavaliers problems. Now in his fourth season, Lee shows that he's not just a hustle guy and wins the award for top reserve. Honorable Mention: Manu Ginobili, Daniel Gibson, Kyle Korver, Linas Kleiza, Rony Turiaf, Jordan Farmar, Shane Battier, Eddie House

5. Rookie of the Year - Greg Oden, Blazers - Although the Draft class of 2008 could be a good one, I have to go with the gem of '07 - Portland's Greg Oden. The former OSU stud missed all of what would have been his rookie season while recovering from microfracture surgery, but has been working out in Portland to stellar reviews. It also doesn't hurt that he'll have a solid team around him - including a pair strong point guards and a rising star in Brandon Roy. If Oden performs like he has been predicted to, the Blazers could be the surprise team of the league. Honorable Mention: Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J. Mayo, J.J. Hickson, Eric Gordon, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love

6. Coach of the Year - Scott Skiles, Bucks - Cavaliers coach Mike Brown is, and always will be, in a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't position. If he wins, critics say it's because of LeBron James. If he loses, critics ask how can you lose with a guy like LeBron James? As the Rodney Dangerfield of head coaches, I can't see Coach Brown winning the award - whether he deserves it or not. With that in mind, I'll stay in the Central and give the nod to new Bucks coach, Scott Skiles. His act seemed to wear thin in Chicago, but if he can bring any semblance of defense to the previously-defenseless Bucks (and of course gets them into the playoffs) Skiles could be tabbed top coach. Honorable Mention: Mike D'Antoni, Mike Brown, Sam Mitchell, Gregg Popovich, Stan Van Gundy, Michael Curry, Mike Dunleavy