Dan Gilbert's Open Letter

[tbozeglav]

http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html

This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.

the only words that come to mind: wow.... just wow....

[Dr Z]

I agree. Unbelievable. This night has been one of the most compelling sports nights ever.

[Blue & Gold]

I agree. Unbelievable. This night has been one of the most compelling sports nights ever.

I agree. And how amazing is it that the man who's done this is from Akron? Unbelievable.

Dan Gilbert, a professional? What a dildo.

LeBron just played America's NATIONAL media for a week! Crazy!

Go Zips! Go Akron! Go 'Bron-'Bron!

[Zippysgotagun]

I agree. Unbelievable. This night has been one of the most compelling sports nights ever.

I agree. And how amazing is it that the man who's done this is from Akron? Unbelievable.

Dan Gilbert, a professional? What a dildo.

LeBron just played America's NATIONAL media for a week! Crazy!

Go Zips! Go Akron! Go 'Bron-'Bron!

EVERYONE involved in this situation acted like a junior high schooler. LeBron "Everyone look at me!" James, Dan "How could he do this to me" Gilbert, Maverick "I'm gonna ride this guy's coattails" Carter.

Oh, and ESPN is the guy that gives the attention whore the attention she craves so he can get in her pants.

[Spin]

I agree with every word he said.

I don't care where he's from. If you're a tool bag, you're a tool bag. I'm done with him. I'm ashamed to say he's from Akron. Don't come back.

He quit in the playoffs, changed his whole attitude, he'll never take a team to the championship. He needs to jump on DWade's coat tails to win.

Just another player who couldn't get it done in the playoffs. No better than CC or Jose or anyone else who chokes on the big one.

[GP1]

I agree. Unbelievable. This night has been one of the most compelling sports nights ever.

I agree. And how amazing is it that the man who's done this is from Akron? Unbelievable.

Dan Gilbert, a professional? What a dildo.

LeBron just played America's NATIONAL media for a week! Crazy!

Go Zips! Go Akron! Go 'Bron-'Bron!

EVERYONE involved in this situation acted like a junior high schooler. LeBron "Everyone look at me!" James, Dan "How could he do this to me" Gilbert, Maverick "I'm gonna ride this guy's coattails" Carter.

Oh, and ESPN is the guy that gives the attention whore the attention she craves so he can get in her pants.

I agree. The only compelling thing about last night is I am compelled to vomit.

[lance99]

I agree with every word he said.

I don't care where he's from. If you're a tool bag, you're a tool bag. I'm done with him. I'm ashamed to say he's from Akron. Don't come back.

He quit in the playoffs, changed his whole attitude, he'll never take a team to the championship. He needs to jump on DWade's coat tails to win.

Just another player who couldn't get it done in the playoffs. No better than CC or Jose or anyone else who chokes on the big one.

+10000

I made the comment to a friend of mind here in Phoenix that his bags were packed after game 3 of the Boston series. Everyone involed from James to the NBA to ESPN were just BIG TIME TOOLS!

[skip-zip]

Back to the point. How does everyone feel about the letter?

First, I wouldn't think you'd see something like this coming from a team owner, no matter how they feel, or the fan base they are trying to inspire.

Secondly, I see a bit of irrationality in the thought that Cleveland will win a title before LeBron. Sure, we never know what will happen. But, I think you'd have to be crazy at this point to think that Miami is not in a far superior position to make that happen than Cleveland.

[tbozeglav]

Back to the point. How does everyone feel about the letter?

First, I wouldn't think you'd see something like this coming from a team owner, no matter how they feel, or the fan base they are trying to inspire.

Secondly, I see a bit of irrationality in the thought that Cleveland will win a title before LeBron. Sure, we never know what will happen. But, I think you'd have to be crazy at this point to think that Miami is not in a far superior position to make that happen than Cleveland.

Honestly, I feel better knowing the team's owner feels the same way the fan base does. I don't care if it was written in comic sans (has anyone noticed its essentially the font of the Cavs?), it showed a realism and passion from the owner of a Cleveland team, something we have very rarely seen. It should be mentioned, however, this is something I have never heard of an owner saying. I expected more of a statement from Dan Gilbert that mirrored what the GM put out there. This could either be the beginnings of the biggest "egg in face" of all-time, or the beginning of something even better than what we had with LeBolt

In response to your second point, I too feel this way, but that mentality stems partly from the fact that we've suffered from yearly failures and have come to expect it. Will the Cavs be competing for the east crown or even a title? I'm willing to bet they won't. However, will the Heat be competing for the eastern title and the NBA crown? Its a lot less likely than you'd think. Ive been reading up on some analysis of the new Heat circus show and there is a lot of doubt circling the Heat's chances of bringing home a title with this trio. I would have to agree considering how thin their bench is (meaning more minutes for the starters) and their very, very small room under the cap to bring in more supporting players. Im willing to bet the Heat make the playoffs, but lose to a veteran Boston or up-and-coming Chicago team in the second round.

I don't recall where I read it, but a reporter wrote in an article that LeBron has the most to lose in this situation; Wade and Bosh have both won championships already and have solidified themselves as elite players of the NBA. LeBron hasn't and left Cleveland purely because he hasn't won anything to transcend his name from a great player to a legendary player.

[Dave in Green]

Dan Gilbert and LeBron James are both wealthy, powerful men who are used to getting their ways. So I take anything either says with a grain of salt.

I don't know that Gilbert has a history of reacting like this in similar situations. It may be he does, or it may be that he feels especially aggrieved by the way this whole affair was handled. So it will be interesting when more details come out, like the point that LeBron has not responded to a single contact by the Cavs since the season ended.

In any case, Gilbert's statement accurately reflects the feelings of many Cavs fans, so he clearly establishes a strong bond with them by saying what he did the way he did.

The Cavs have now returned to their previous position as underdogs, and maybe that's not such a bad thing. I think back to the Brad Daugherty, Larry Nance, Mark Price, Hot Rod Williams and Ron Harper team with a lot of fondness. They didn't win an NBA championship, but they could have, and they were fun to watch as a team while they were trying. I'd be happy to see a balanced Cavs team like that again, and I hope that's what Gilbert tries to accomplish.

[tbozeglav]

Pretty good article from the LBJ-Lovers at ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...avescavs-100709

[RowdyZip]

LeBron can go to hell. Never come back, you're not welcome here. Please, go 82-0 next year, then blow out a knee getting off the bus. Gilbert has passion, something our other owners need.

[Buckzip]

LeBron can go to hell. Never come back, you're not welcome here. Please, go 82-0 next year, then blow out a knee getting off the bus. Gilbert has passion, something our other owners need.

LeBron and his little followers are garbage.

What a POS this guy is.

If you want to leave, then leave. To do it this way is BS

[UAZipster0305]

I don't have a problem with Lebron leaving Cleveland. Akron is his hometown anyhow. Nonetheless, I didn't like the way in which he chose to leave by throwing it in the faces of NEO sports fans on national television while not giving the Cavs an opportunity to go after any other marquee players this year.

Lebron is one of the best of his era, but will never be Jordan. To obtain that throne all he had to do was bring a few championships to a city starving for success. In a single decision intended to do the opposite, he just limited his legacy. The Sports Illustrated article said it best:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writ...tml?xid=shareFB

In general, I believe that what hurts Cleveland benefits Akron and I don't think this will be any different. Cleveland is officially the sports equivalent of a 3rd world country now!

The next low point for Cleveland?...Losing CLE's hub status because of the United-Continental merger. Two years tops...ala Michael Reghi, "Book it!"

[Spin]

The morning after and I still agree with everything he said.

Maybe it'll hurt us in getting free agents to come here. Who knows. It's not like Cleveland ever was a free agent destination anyway, especially for winter sports.

I'm glad we have an owner who shows his emotions. I'm glad he stood up for us. I'll be there when the ticket office opens.

[Let'sGoZips94]

The morning after and I still agree with everything he said.

Maybe it'll hurt us in getting free agents to come here. Who knows. It's not like Cleveland ever was a free agent destination anyway, especially for winter sports.

I'm glad we have an owner who shows his emotions. I'm glad he stood up for us. I'll be there when the ticket office opens.

What free agents?! Because of LBJ's ego, all of the top free agents are with other teams! LeBron screwed us like no other.

I LOVE Dan Gilbert. He's my hero right now. He called out LeBron for HOW he left, not that he left. He also called him out for quitting in the playoffs. What a man.

[Dr Z]

I LOVE Dan Gilbert. He's my hero right now.

"So now people are cheering Dan Gilbert’s manifesto tearing apart James, but no one contributed more to what the world witnessed on Thursday night than the owner’s enabling of James and his inner circle for seven years. Gilbert is the biggest con going, a man who makes his fortune peddling mortgages, and he’ll make his next on casinos in downtown Cleveland. He sells illusions for a living, and now he’s selling the biggest of all: that he’s a victim here, that James betrayed everyone. That’s a lie, and no one ought to dare buy it.

Everyone searching for a scapegoat here – Mike Brown, Danny Ferry, Delonte West(notes) – well, just understand that it was the man screaming loudest with LeBron out the door, the man most determined to deflect blame onto him now.

Now, Gilbert is the tough guy with James leaving the Cavs behind? Listen, Ferry and Brown always warned Gilbert that giving James everything he wanted – giving it when and where and how – wouldn’t be the way they would keep him. LeBron didn’t respect them because they never demanded it.

Gilbert always believed he should do everything James wanted – hire his buddies into jobs, throw them on summer-league rosters, allow him to do those stupid pregame choreographed dances – that James would love him, that he would never leave. Only, James is a taker, and he took and took until he had bled Gilbert and that franchise to the bone."

Source

[Spin]

That doesn't make anything he said about LeBron wrong.

Hopefully we have all learned from this.

[zipseuph]

DR.Z

I had just gotten done reading that very article. probably the best piece written during this fiasco

[Blue & Gold]

Wow, this has gotten messy.

It shouldn't be so. Akron's not jilted; Cleveland is. Real simple.

LeBron's our boy, not theirs. And he can play professionally wherever he wants. Let Clevelanders weep and gnash their teeth and dress in sack cloth and ashes. It makes no difference to me.

However, I'm afraid Akronites have been so insecure for so long that their identity is almost entirely wrapped up in the city 40 miles to the north (just how the Cleveland media would have it, by the way.)

Any Akronites that feel jilted by LeBron are essentially of the same mindset as Akronites who say "we" when referring to Columbus State.

Akron is not Columbus. Akron is not Cleveland. Go win titles, LeBron. And keep bringing MVP's home to Akron.

[ZachTheZip]

Wow, this has gotten messy.

It shouldn't be so. Akron's not jilted; Cleveland is. Real simple.

LeBron's our boy, not theirs. And he can play professionally wherever he wants. Let Clevelanders weep and gnash their teeth and dress in sack cloth and ashes. It makes no difference to me.

However, I'm afraid Akronites have been so insecure for so long that their identity is almost entirely wrapped up in the city 40 miles to the north (just how the Cleveland media would have it, by the way.)

Any Akronites that feel jilted by LeBron are essentially of the same mindset as Akronites who say "we" when referring to Columbus State.

Akron is not Columbus. Akron is not Cleveland. Go win titles, LeBron. And keep bringing MVP's home to Akron.

You should call into Reghi's radio show today and express this. I would LOVE to hear their reaction.

[tbozeglav]

DR.Z

I had just gotten done reading that very article. probably the best piece written during this fiasco

How much do you want to bet that Dan Gilbert never really knew what LeBron wanted? Personally, I won't be quick to put the blame on the owner for this entire fiasco happening because of the fact that LeBolt refused to answer texts or phone calls from Dan after the end of the season. I sit here and think that LeBron had this all figured out last year when he declined to sign a contract extension and publicly stated he planned on entering free agency at the end of the 2009-2010 season. Those who say that Dan did too much are forgetting that we were dealing with a player who was being touted as the successor to Jordan. If I was in Dan's position, I sure as hell would have been pulling out all the stops to make LeBron feel like this was somewhere he WANTED to be. Millions of dollars were spent, future prospects were sacrificed, and team policies were changed to make this LeBron's home. For LeBron to backstab not only the city, but the organization that invested so much into him, takes a special kind of individual who has no concept of TEAM and putting others before one's self. Say what you want, but after all the dust has settled, I will continue to feel LeBron is the most selfish and conceited sports figure I have seen in a LONG time, if not EVER. I will also continue to put my faith in our owner who has been the only person with the balls to call LeBron out on his shenanigans.

Tip of the hat to Dan Gilbert,

Wag of the finger to LeBron.

[Blue & Gold]

Wow, this has gotten messy.

It shouldn't be so. Akron's not jilted; Cleveland is. Real simple.

LeBron's our boy, not theirs. And he can play professionally wherever he wants. Let Clevelanders weep and gnash their teeth and dress in sack cloth and ashes. It makes no difference to me.

However, I'm afraid Akronites have been so insecure for so long that their identity is almost entirely wrapped up in the city 40 miles to the north (just how the Cleveland media would have it, by the way.)

Any Akronites that feel jilted by LeBron are essentially of the same mindset as Akronites who say "we" when referring to Columbus State.

Akron is not Columbus. Akron is not Cleveland. Go win titles, LeBron. And keep bringing MVP's home to Akron.

You should call into Reghi's radio show today and express this. I would LOVE to hear their reaction.

Funny you should say that. I just got out of my car and I had turned off the 1350 talk show. I was thinking about calling those guys (though I don't get into things like that) because, even though they advertise it as being "Akron's sports talk show," the 3 guys on there are just really your typical Cleveland-centric & Columbus-centric schtick guys. Incredibly unoriginal "I-may-as-well-be-listening-to-a-Cleveland-station" guys. Plus, it takes all of about 30-seconds before you can plainly tell they don't really care about Akron athletics. They're much more excited about OSU & Cleveland. Anyway, I was thinking about calling their show, but they're all upset and "jilted" and what-not - just like others from Akron that have neither self-identity nor self-respect. Whatever. I'm getting sick of it.

[Blue & Gold]

DR.Z

I had just gotten done reading that very article. probably the best piece written during this fiasco

How much do you want to bet that Dan Gilbert never really knew what LeBron wanted? Personally, I won't be quick to put the blame on the owner for this entire fiasco happening because of the fact that LeBolt refused to answer texts or phone calls from Dan after the end of the season. I sit here and think that LeBron had this all figured out last year when he declined to sign a contract extension and publicly stated he planned on entering free agency at the end of the 2009-2010 season. Those who say that Dan did too much are forgetting that we were dealing with a player who was being touted as the successor to Jordan. If I was in Dan's position, I sure as hell would have been pulling out all the stops to make LeBron feel like this was somewhere he WANTED to be. Millions of dollars were spent, future prospects were sacrificed, and team policies were changed to make this LeBron's home. For LeBron to backstab not only the city, but the organization that invested so much into him, takes a special kind of individual who has no concept of TEAM and putting others before one's self. Say what you want, but after all the dust has settled, I will continue to feel LeBron is the most selfish and conceited sports figure I have seen in a LONG time, if not EVER. I will also continue to put my faith in our owner who has been the only person with the balls to call LeBron out on his shenanigans.

Tip of the hat to Dan Gilbert,

Wag of the finger to LeBron.

Ahhhh, there you have it.

Remember, gentlemen, Akron is not Cleveland and Cleveland is not Akron.

Also, remember to never say "we" when referring to Columbus State. This is also another common mistake.

[Z.I.P.]

The morning after and I still agree with everything he said.

Maybe it'll hurt us in getting free agents to come here. Who knows. It's not like Cleveland ever was a free agent destination anyway, especially for winter sports.

I'm glad we have an owner who shows his emotions. I'm glad he stood up for us. I'll be there when the ticket office opens.

Dan Gilbert called LeBron James "narcissistic". Isn't that like PT Barnum calling his tightrope walker "light-footed". Dan, I'm sorry when you took over, they didn't tell you you're paying a teenager a hundred million dollars to entertain your clients. This ain't the opera here Dan, it's much closer to WWE. Thought you would have gotten used to it by now. When Cleveland hosts Miami next year, I expect as many heat jerseys in the house as Cavs'.