Cavs owner Dan Gilbert says his relationship with LeBron James is “great”
Oct 29, 2014, 4:28 PM EDT
Dan Gilbert It’s all good now.
Among the reasons people were not convinced LeBron James would head back to Cleveland was “the letter” — Dan Gilbert’s comic sans emotional diatribe after LeBron left for Miami, calling it a “cowardly betrayal.”
LeBron and Gilbert sat down and hashed it all out. Now they are all good, something Gilbert emphasized at his press conference Wednesday prior to the Cavaliers tipping off the season Wednesday night, as reported by the Associated Press.
“I just saw LeBron,” Gilbert said Wednesday in his first news conference since February. “He looked at me and said, `Looks like you grew an inch.’ I said I could use it….
“Obviously there are a lot of fireworks at that time and a lot of emotions flying all over the place,” he said. “So you sort of get back to business. You don’t really think too much about what’s going on. It’s been four years. As far as it goes right now, it’s great.”
LeBron concurred.
“I think it’s really good,” James said. “We had one bad moment, and it just overshadowed all the great times we had together, and now we’re back together. We both have something in common: to bring a championship back to this city, and that’s what it comes down to.”
Not new ground, but worth noting that right now all is good in Cleveland. Of course, the real stress tests for the relationship are ahead and start with the opening of the regular season tonight.
But Gilbert said one more thing that shows he learned not only from his mistakes but those of others as well — specifically Heat owner Micky Arison. Among the things that started to sour LeBron’s relationship with the Heat was when the team amnestied Mike Miller to save money when he was a valuable piece for them on the court (well, when he had been healthy he was).
Gilbert said he would spend into the luxury tax, as reported by The Big Lead.
“I almost think it’s kinda silly when you invest in so much into a franchise and have such high costs already,” Gilbert said (of not going into the tax). “[I'm] always a little surprised when owners of franchises stop right there…to me it’s like you’re getting to the 2 yard line and you’re done…it’s not smart business/smart financially.”
That’s exactly what LeBron wants to hear, because to keep him and Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving together with any kind of talent around them is going to cost.
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- greatmiamisportsmind - Oct 29, 2014 at 4:43 PM
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This is Windy Center hahaha hahaha
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- spursareold - Oct 29, 2014 at 5:07 PM
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Even though the Heat will not be nearly as devastated by LeBron’s exit as Cleveland was, I’m thinking Mickey might want a mulligan on that self-imposed Luxury Tax ceiling mandate in a couple of years. You don’t run off the best player in the game over what for a billionaire is a relatively minor expense. A few million is likely a 1/10th of a percent of his wealth, spent for a couple of years, maybe. Penny wise, pound foolish. The Heat likely lose that much every year from here on out in reduced playoff revenues.
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- kinggw - Oct 29, 2014 at 6:06 PM
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Im thinking you might want to familiarize yourself with the parameters of the CBA before opining on what Arison should’ve done. It had nothing to do money. It was about retaining the ability to tweak the team. The Heat wanted to get below the tax so they still had the option to improve their team in smaller ways.
If a team is over the tax every year they cant:
Use the Bi-Annual exception
Teams above the apron have a smaller Mid-Level exception;
Teams cannot receive a player in a sign-and-trade transaction if their team salary is above the apron at the conclusion of the trade;
Teams above the apron do not have the same protections under the Gilbert Arenas provision; Under the Arenas provision other teams can offer restricted free agents salaries starting at the Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level exception.The reality is that no matter how much an owner is willing to spend you are extremely limited in what you can do if you are a taxpaying team every year. So Gilbert can say he’s willing to spend into the tax but there are consequences to that behavior. He can take digs at Arison all he wants, but Arison is a good and respected owner. Gilbert is a mediocre at best owner, who was lucky that LBJ happened to born in proximity to his franchise.
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- tashkalucy - Oct 29, 2014 at 7:13 PM
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The discussion on owners is silly.
Yes, Dan bought a team in which the greatest ballplayer of this generation was from down the road, and loyal to his city (Akron, not Cleveland).
But what exactly is so wonderful about Arison and their “model franchise”? Wade is a very nice player. But in all the Arison years, he only won when Shaq came over. And how about the big 3? Riley got every single player off that roster except for Wade and one other guy to be able to sign James and Bosh. This is a great organization?
The Spurs are a great organization. Very probably not just the best in the NBA, but the best in all of North American professional team sports.
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- greatmiamisportsmind - Oct 29, 2014 at 8:27 PM
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Call me crazy:
The Heat have 3 NBA titles and are back to back to back to back eastern conference champions.
The Cavs are back to back lottery winners, with zero titles.
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- tashkalucy - Oct 29, 2014 at 9:02 PM
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Sure….
They got Shaq. They got Lebron and Bosh.
In between, without star players, they stunk.
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- jasper36 - Oct 29, 2014 at 5:27 PM
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You’re crazy if you think Mickey Arrison not paying the luxury tax to keep Mike Miller is why LeBron left. Yeah it sounds like a good excuse, but it’s nonsensical to believe it, in my opinion. Especially because the person (Dan Gilbert) LeBron ran back to, publicly ridiculed him by calling him a coward (publicly), and selling some of his items at the same price of Benedict Arnold’s birthday. LeBron left for a multitude of reasons, pick the one that sounds the best to you, but things are not always what they seem. And I’m sure Mickey Arrison with all those Billions, is not losing any sleep over LeBron leaving, yeah he would rather him be in a Heat uniform, but he can’t change something he never had any control over in the first place.
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- Kurt Helin - Oct 29, 2014 at 5:37 PM
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It’s not the only reason, certainly, but it helped sour the relationship.
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- jasper36 - Oct 29, 2014 at 5:54 PM
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It’s easy to make excuses now that all of the main events have taken place, but the truth of the matter is LeBron obviously felt the easier path to a championship was in Cleveland, and no one can blame him. But I’m not, and will never be sold on the notion that Mike Miller being amnestied was a significant factor in LeBron going back to Cleveland, was it a factor, sure it was. But it’s not hard to see that the roster in Cleveland was his best way out. LeBron went to 4 straight finals in Miami. So the right decisions were made no matter what we want to believe. And Dan Gilbert, LeBron James, and Mike Miller can say what ever they want. But one thing is true they haven’t done anything yet, and until they do everything they say is just talk.
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- phinagain - Oct 29, 2014 at 6:05 PM
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Does nobody else see all the double talk coming out of this organization? Gilbert is surprised that people don’t spend beyond the luxury tax that HE PERSONALLY ADVOCATED AS A MEANS TO PREVENT DYNASTIES? Where are all the people to call BS on this stuff? The PR letter from LeBron, the attempts to force the bar lower as if there’s not a “big 3″ in Cleveland, this baloney about the salary cap from the guy who drove LeBron away in the first place because he wouldn’t spend the money to put a championship team around him?
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- tashkalucy - Oct 29, 2014 at 7:16 PM
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“….this baloney about the salary cap from the guy who drove LeBron away in the first place because he wouldn’t spend the money to put a championship team around him?”
As long as you’re citing baloney, how about yours?
The Cavs were over the luxury tax trying to win a championship the last 5 or 6 years Lebron played for them.
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- campcouch - Oct 29, 2014 at 6:27 PM
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In the end it doesn’t even matter. Gilbert ate what possibly could be the largest plate of NE Ohio crow (or one of those dirty downtown Cleveland pigeons), James returned, matured and ready to move on. Being humbled coupled with forgiveness can change a person, rich or poor. Let it go.
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- 22yearsagotoday - Oct 29, 2014 at 7:05 PM
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Best comment EVER!
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- csbanter - Oct 29, 2014 at 6:38 PM
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This Gilbert is a phony and it has rubbed off on Lebron. Let’s face it Lebron and his team started putting the pieces of what could be after the Cavs won the lottery. Coupled with the fact of the new TV deal pending. Don’t expect Cleveland to become America darlings if they win the title.
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- 22yearsagotoday - Oct 29, 2014 at 7:05 PM
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2nd best comment EVER!
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- jasper36 - Oct 29, 2014 at 6:48 PM
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That’s the thing csbanter, All of this me and, LeBron are great friends is all nonsense, it’s a show. All of the making up in the world wont change what Gilbert said. But one thing we all know about LeBron is this, he is about his business. And that’s what this is, it’s business.
LeBron came home, wrote his own story, and both, he and Gilbert will profit immensely. And laugh all the way to the bank. They might even win a championship in the process. But one thing we all should see is, this business, and that overrides all in the end.
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- 22yearsagotoday - Oct 29, 2014 at 7:06 PM
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3rd best comment, EVER!
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- BrownsTown - Oct 30, 2014 at 7:04 AM
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Angry commenters….
