A letter from Dan Gilbert to Cleveland

**GrandCircus289** · July-08-10, 11:26 PM

Nice.

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gi...er_100708.html

**smogboy** · July-09-10, 01:21 AM

I feel Cleveland's pain. I admire Dan Gilbert's resolve to bring that city a championship. In reality though, can he really promise a championship before LeBron gets one? Bold words indeed and as much as I am a Detroit slappy I wish him the best of luck with it as well.

Ravine · July-09-10, 06:52 AM

Everything has a price. Dan Gilbert knows that. Loyalty is not a prominent feature of the pro sports world. Dan Gilbert should know that.
Rich folks bawling when they see money disappearing from their grasp are a source of amusement to guys like me who eke out a living.
Waa, waa, waa.

**kenp** · July-09-10, 02:43 PM

Dan Gilbert's statement is extremely classless and shallow. What would he be saying if LeBron had stayed? The guy just lost over 150,000,000 and he is pissed, its just business, right Dan. Just like all the poor people that got mortgages who shouldnt have a few years ago.

**smogboy** · July-09-10, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by kenp

Dan Gilbert's statement is extremely classless and shallow. What would he be saying if LeBron had stayed? The guy just lost over 150,000,000 and he is pissed, its just business, right Dan. Just like all the poor people that got mortgages who shouldnt have a few years ago.

What of the hypocrisy if he had tugged Tom Izzo out of his head coaching gig at MSU? Would that have been somehow justified?

Gilbert can feel cheated. Gilbert can even justifiably feel slighted and jilted. He can feel an entire array of emotions but Gilbert just shouldn't have said any of these things in public. I have no problem with his resolve to win- every owner of a sports franchise should feel this way. His choice of words to the Cleveland populace wasn't the best.

Is LeBron the new Brett Favre now?

**Detroit Stylin** · July-09-10, 05:49 PM

Its not so much what lebron did...its how he went about it. U dont tell the org that gave u your shot you going somewhere else the way he did on national tv, on his own show? Granted it may be business the way he went about it was FAR from business like. Lebron is DEFINATELY going to feel the ripples from this once he dont lead the Heat to a championship. Such a big head @ such a young age. I would say i pity him but i simply cant feel pity for multimillionaiires with HUGE egos NOR prima donnas. What little respect i had left for him is gone.

**BagAJellyDonuts** · July-09-10, 06:17 PM

I don't pay much attention to professional basketball. I've sort of heard about some player going from one team to another.

Does this mean that the Washington Generals are finally going to beat the Harlem Globetrotters?

**ejames01** · July-10-10, 12:33 PM

Really? But you were compelled to comment on this thread...

Originally Posted by BagAJellyDonuts

I don't pay much attention to professional basketball. I've sort of heard about some player going from one team to another.

Does this mean that the Washington Generals are finally going to beat the Harlem Globetrotters?

**EastsideAl** · July-12-10, 05:04 PM

What a nasty piece-of-work Dan Gilbert is. From writing predatory mortgages to this little wah-wah 'poor wronged me' crap about LeBron James.

I'm not one to stick up for entitled and whiny over-paid jocks, but this is just plain not one of those cases. LeBron James brought tremendous life to a franchise that had historically been one of the league's worst run over the years, filled the stands in Cleveland, and brought millions of eyes to TV sets all over the world. He never asked for or demanded a trade like so many other athletes have done, and consistently honored his contract. But his contract was up, and at that point he really doesn't owe the Cavaliers or Gilbert anything.

The NBA is, in the end, a business, and like any other business person LeBron James sought out the deal that had the best potential to meet his goals. No one can reasonably tell me that businessman Dan Gilbert would not have done the same. Hell, he'd foreclose on your grandmother in a flash if he thought it would put an extra buck in his pocket, and has done so to many people's grandmothers over the years. It's Dan Gilbert who sounds like the whiny entitled one in this little note.

The fact is that Gilbert's team had LeBron for 7 years and never put any of the pieces into place around him that would have put them at the level to win a championship. Just the same, LeBron carried what was otherwise a mediocre team to the finals once and to back-to-back 60+ win NBA best-record seasons. He never complained publicly about Cav's management, their consistently poor personnel decisions, or the quality of the players they put around him. Even when he announced that he was leaving the team he was gracious about his years in Cleveland and the team's management. He sure as hell comes off a whole lot classier than Gilbert in all this.

**jiminnm** · July-13-10, 02:06 PM

Folks also seem to miss that LeBron is going to take home $1-2 million/year more in Florida than in Ohio, because Florida has no state income tax. I also expect that may be why NY or NJ was never in the cards.

**RickBeall** · July-14-10, 06:00 PM

In the end, LeBron is nothing if he does not get the ring, so it makes sense to go where he will get more support in that endeavor.

**Gistok** · July-14-10, 06:06 PM

EastsideAl.... I agree with most of what you said... even about Gilbert... but Quicken was NOT one of the companies that wrote pretatory mortgages....

**firstandten** · July-14-10, 07:57 PM

Great populist move, Gilbert is now one with the people. Gilbert can now say to the fans

hey, Lebron not only screwed you but he screwed me too !
stick with me and we will get thru this together. Don't desert me keep buying tickets I will bring you a winner !

Good move considering losing King James costs the Cavs millions of dollars

**Danny** · July-15-10, 01:07 PM

Sorry Gilbert! King James has spoken. He's feeling the heat of the Miami Sound Machine.

**smogboy** · July-17-10, 06:31 PM

Both sides are slimy in all of this and yet both sides can be praised for their determination in achieving a championship.

LeBron James strung out the city of Cleveland. He never even spoke to Gilbert about his departure or thoughts of exploring an extension. His hour long ESPN debacle was a farce just to bring more attention to himself. Yes, he's immensely talented but he really doesn't deserve this sort of praise. He hasn't won anything nor has he proven much to me just yet. His introductions with Wade & Bosh have already seemed over hyped and they've self appointed themselves champions without as so much a shot taken. LeBron is not a King of anything except maybe Nike shoe sales. He's also gone to a place where he's going to be second fiddle to Wade; it's not going to be his team. Where was his leadership? Where is his fortitude? If he achieves anything there, at best- he's going to be the Tonto to Wade's Lone Ranger.

Dan Gilbert, in his thirst for winning comes across like a spurned lover in all of this. He seriously could've said what he wanted to say in a much more diplomatic way that still would've endeared himself to the Cleveland faithful. Making reference to LeBron in the statement was uncalled for and just validates why he should've left. No Cavalier fan would've taken umbrage with Gilbert if he said in so many words that the team will still move forward in getting a title for the deserving people there.

It's not a good thing no matter how you look at it unless you're a Miami Heat slappy.

**jiminnm** · August-01-10, 02:26 PM

Add 30 more folks to the list of those unhappy that Lebron went to Miami.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/3...kets-sold.html

**vetalalumni** · August-07-10, 12:16 PM

The premature "king" monikor withstanding, he is now property of another. Are the real kings of the NBA those who hold ownership of the teams?

**firstandten** · August-07-10, 07:29 PM

Originally Posted by vetalalumni

The premature "king" monikor withstanding, he is now property of another. Are the real kings of the NBA those who hold ownership of the teams?

Yes, they are the real kings and they are going to show you that as they shut things down after this season with a work stoppage as they try to get these guaranteed contracts under control.