Dan Gilbert reportedly said something dumb, wants LeBron James to leave Cleveland
By Micah Wimmer
Dan Gilbert reportedly claimed he hopes LeBron James leaves Cleveland so he can get his team back. It was not a smart thing to say.
At a time when every team in the Association is preemptively envying whoever is able to procure the services of LeBron James for the upcoming season, the owner of his current team is wishing he’d just leave already.
LeBron James, of course, has left Cleveland before, and Gilbert showed his truest self that night. You remember, that short-sighted open letter to James, in which he called LeBron’s decision a “cowardly betrayal” while awkwardly deploying unnecessary quotation marks.
Gilbert also guaranteed the Cavaliers would win an NBA title before James did. Needless to say, that did not happen. For most people, it would be one of the more shameful moments of their life. For Dan Gilbert, it was just another Thursday.
Now, in a stunning move that only Gilbert and maybe James Dolan could pull off, Dan Gilbert has reportedly told people that he hopes LeBron leaves Cleveland because he’ll get his team back.
Similar rumors have surfaced before with Brian WIndhorst previously commenting that Gilbert believes he is able to “build a championship team without LeBron.” Sure, building a championship team from scratch would be cool – I know I like trying to do it on NBA 2K18 myself.
Still, it is the height of foolishness for Gilbert to fail to realize that every basketball success he has had is due to either luck or LeBron, and most often the combination of the two.
It was not brilliant management that brought LeBron back to Cleveland in 2014; it was merely Gilbert’s good fortune to have bought a franchise located 45 miles away from LeBron’s hometown. It was not great foresight and tactical maneuvering that earned the Cavaliers’ three No. 1 picks in four years – it was the team being terrible.
It is only the championship James brought to the region in 2016 that keeps Gilbert from being acknowledged as one of the worst owners in the NBA.
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The thing is Gilbert’s failures as an owner really aren’t that dramatic or overtly contemptible. He is just another a rich dude who fails to realize that he is not the center of the cosmos, nothing more than a man who thinks that wealth is a signpost of his own greatness.
Since purchasing the Cavaliers 13 years ago, Gilbert has shown nothing to distinguish himself as an executive apart from a lack of self-awareness, a disregard for foresight, and a complete ingratitude towards those who responsible for the success he has had.
LeBron James – a great player who deserves better.