"Cavs owner rips Lebron, says he quit..."

[Mr_Freezetag]

I like how the owner now, after the fact decides to speak out about Lebron's play (or lack of) in the past.

Why not grow a pair and say something to the King when it happened? They were content with not having the coaches or anyone say anything to him about his play. He sounds like an angry ex-girlfriend who just wants to get the last word in after getting dumped.

Lebron knew the Cavs didn't make a decent effort to get him a supporting cast and no one should blame the guy for wanting to win a championship. GO HEAT

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/38160678/ns/sports-nba/

 

[X-Pacolypse]

What Dan Gilbert did was pretty low class as an owner. It's one thing if a fan said those things, but as an owner of a professional franchise you should hold yourself to a higher standard. It's easy too see why LeBron left Cleveland.

 

[Ferretsquig]

He does come across as a bit of a buffoon. I get that he did do pretty much everything in his power to keep Lebron in town, but he has to accept some responsibility for the Cavs being unable to surround James with enough talent. He was the one who hired the GMs who signed Larry Hughes to a max deal, traded for Ben Wallace, Shaq, Wally, Damon Jones etc... This is why Lebron left Cleveland....if these guys had made one or two right decisions he could easily have a couple titles and no desire to leave.[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

 

[SuavePhin]

Wow, talk about bitter ex syndrome gone wild

 

[redbeard75]

If that were the case it should of been easy to watch lebron go to miami.

 

[nyjunc]

He does come across as a bit of a buffoon. I get that he did do pretty much everything in his power to keep Lebron in town, but he has to accept some responsibility for the Cavs being unable to surround James with enough talent. He was the one who hired the GMs who signed Larry Hughes to a max deal, traded for Ben Wallace, Shaq, Wally, Damon Jones etc... This is why Lebron left Cleveland....if these guys had made one or two right decisions he could easily have a couple titles and no desire to leave.[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

Or if Lebron played up to his potential in postseason they'd have a title.

Obviously Gilbert is pissed and rightfully so, he went a little overboard and should have given himself time to cool off before commenting.

 

[R_t_Kraken]

that's what happens when you lose millions.

 

[PhinsPhan11]

I think what Gilbert did was low class. If he had gotten some real talent around Lebron maybe they would have been better. He expected them to win a title with Lebron and nothing else. So he should be just as guilty as Lebron for the Cavs not winning a title.

 

[cyberpaki]

No question that was classless, but I can't completely blame him.

When you draft a guy, have him on the payroll for 7 years, and spend the last 2 years on and off in an effort to woo your "homegrown" player into signing, knowing that he is the only thing that makes your team, let alone your whole city, relevant to the sporting world, I can understand why his departure would result in such bitter sentiment, though an owner should be far more composed.

You've also got to keep in mind that while the rest of us sports fans (especially in Miami) view Gilbert's reaction as callous and immature, I'd imagine a lot of heartbroken Cleveland Fans, view Gilbert as a hero for speaking out against someone they feel they've been betrayed by, and making it clear that the team's intentions aren't to lay down and return to mediocrity (although it will happen) has to be at least a little reassuring. With a team in shambles like The Cavaliers are at the moment, support from the community is far more important than public perception outside of it.

With all that said, do I personally think Dan Gilbert is a f***tard? Totally.

 

[X-Pacolypse]

No question that was classless, but I can't completely blame him.

When you draft a guy, have him on the payroll for 7 years, and spend the last 2 years on and off in an effort to woo your "homegrown" player into signing, knowing that he is the only thing that makes your team, let alone your whole city, relevant to the sporting world, I can understand why his departure would result in such bitter sentiment, though an owner should be far more composed.

You've also got to keep in mind that while the rest of us sports fans (especially in Miami) view Gilbert's reaction as callous and immature, I'd imagine a lot of heartbroken Cleveland Fans, view Gilbert as a hero for speaking out against someone they feel they've been betrayed by, and making it clear that the team's intentions aren't to lay down and return to mediocrity (although it will happen) has to be at least a little reassuring. With a team in shambles like The Cavaliers are at the moment, support from the community is far more important than public perception outside of it.

With all that said, do I personally think Dan Gilbert is a f***tard? Totally.

I do have (some) sympathy for the fans of Cleveland because God knows that city has been through the ringer. That being said, Gilbert spoke like a fan when should have spoken like the owner of a professional franchise.