In Cleveland, Joey Morona notes since LeBron James left the Cavaliers to sign with the Lakers, Cleveland sports fans "have been tossing around ideas on who or what should replace him on the giant banner outside the Sherwin-Williams building" in downtown. The "leader in the clubhouse" appears to be Indians SS Francisco Lindor. His case was "given a boost this week by New Balance," which Lindor has an endorsement deal with. New Balance tweeted a "mockup of what a banner of Lindor would look like." The picture "didn't even include a look at his shoes, just a New Balance logo on the upper right" (Cleveland PLAIN DEALER, 7/6).
COVER DOWN UNDER: In Philadelphia, Nick Tricome notes 76ers G Ben Simmons "will grace the cover of NBA 2K19 in Australia and New Zealand." The cover "features Simmons in a white Sixers uniform with terms that have special meaning to him written in the background." This is the "first time Simmons will be featured on a video-game cover, and the first time a Sixer has represented the game since Allen Iverson." This is also the "first game in the NBA 2K series that will have a region-specific cover" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 7/6).
CHANGING HANDS? Wells Fargo Securities Managing Dir Bonnie Herzog said that BodyArmor -- which is more than 15% owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group -- "could find a new home" in Coca-Cola. THESTREET.com's Brian Sozzi noted Coca-Cola, which owns Powerade, for years has "struggled to make strong headway into a sports drink category dominated by PepsiCo's Gatorade brand" (THESTREET.com, 7/5).
