Dan Gilbert letter to fans...

**brett108** · 07-09-2010, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by jdoggivjc

If this is real, then I really don't blame LeBron for getting out, because that front office has issues...

That front office that you said has issues has done everything that Lebron wanted. They have gotten the players he wanted, the facilitites he wanted, and hired his friends and given him perks that no other player has ever had. Then he leads them on and gives them a phone call before he announces on national tv that he never intended to stay. Lebron is the one at fault. They did everything for him, and he should expect his house to burn to the ground for this one.

**tzjung** · 07-09-2010, 01:05 PM

Dan Gilbert is my hero. I agree w/ him 100%. Lebron's antics yesterday were despicable and classless. I seriously hope Miami never wins anything so we can definitively state that Lebron is a loser.

**CycloneNorth** · 07-09-2010, 01:16 PM

After this letter I'm now a Cav's fan. Though I still find it hard to believe that a 48 year old billionare would write something like this.

**cyclonenum1** · 07-09-2010, 01:17 PM

Originally Posted by AllIowaTeams

I think the letter is being taken out of context. If you take it in the context that he's just had his heart ripped out and knows his franchise is F'd in the A then it makes more sense. I think people can forgive a guy for venting like this immediately upon finding out something like this. We've all done it before. You overreact initially upon hearing something you don't like, but after sitting down and thinking about it you cool off and let it go. He may be a majority owner of a professional sports franchise, but he is still human, and it's nice to see someone act human, even if it was a bit childish.

This letter will have zero effect on his ability to sign players. It shows him as very passionate about his franchise, and like I said up above players will understand the initial over-the-top reaction. What I think will continue to hinder him is that he will go after the wrong free agents. An over the hill Shaq, a no defense guy like Antawn Jamison, Mo Williams, etc. are not going to get you a championship. He needs to focus on the draft and signing quality free agents. David Lee would be a great fit in Cleveland with his blue collar work ethic and lack of big name status.

You are just plain wrong. This will have an impact. They were even discussing it on CNBC over the lunch hour...everyone agreed that this is not something the leader of an organization should have done and that it will have repercussions with the small fraternity that is that of NBA superstars.

**cyclonenum1** · 07-09-2010, 01:24 PM

Originally Posted by AllIowaTeams

I will also say that as a Michael Jordan fan I LOVE that LeBron is going to the Heat. This ends any argument of greatest player ever. Any championships he wins with the Heat will be tainted since he needed two superstars before he could win anything. Jordan had one great player, Pippen, but Pippen was NOT a superstar. He was a good player who played his role on the Bulls to absolute perfection which lofted him to HOF status. He was never a Wade or Bosh type superstar name.

Sorry, wrong again.

First of all, LeBron has a lot of years left in the league. Secondly, Pippen was a superstar in his own right...not to mention the fact that the Bulls had some other pretty damned good players with Jordan...Grant, Harper, Rodman, Kukoc. Jordan couldn't do it on his own. Lastly, I personally think the league is way better overall now than it was in the 90s (Jordan's heyday)...primarily due to the vast number of fantastic international players today compared to back then.

I saw a stat on ESPN during the LeBronathon...only 4 players have averaged 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds for their careers...MJ, LeBron, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson (truth be told...probably the most complete player ever but no huge media around to hype him up).

**cyclonenum1** · 07-09-2010, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by brett108

That front office that you said has issues has done everything that Lebron wanted. They have gotten the players he wanted, the facilitites he wanted, and hired his friends and given him perks that no other player has ever had. Then he leads them on and gives them a phone call before he announces on national tv that he never intended to stay. Lebron is the one at fault. They did everything for him, and he should expect his house to burn to the ground for this one.

Chris Broussard reported that LeBron threw Chicago out of the hunt because they flatly refused to give his posse jobs and allow them to full access including travel with the team. As far as no other player ever getting these perks...I don't know about that and you likely don't either.

The biggest issue I have with LeBron is that he did NOT call the Cavs before his announcement to let them know the decision. That is really poor form on his part.

Yeah, nice close to your post...really classy. The man made a personal decision (take less $ in hopes of winning championships he did not believe could be accomplished where he was) and you think he should "expect" to have his house "burn to the ground". WOW.

**AllIowaTeams** · 07-09-2010, 01:40 PM

Originally Posted by cyclonenum1

Sorry, wrong again.

First of all, LeBron has a lot of years left in the league. Secondly, Pippen was a superstar in his own right...not to mention the fact that the Bulls had some other pretty damned good players with Jordan...Grant, Harper, Rodman, Kukoc. Jordan couldn't do it on his own. Lastly, I personally think the league is way better overall now than it was in the 90s (Jordan's heyday)...primarily due to the vast number of fantastic international players today compared to back then.

I saw a stat on ESPN during the LeBronathon...only 4 players have averaged 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds for their careers...MJ, LeBron, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson (truth be told...probably the most complete player ever but no huge media around to hype him up).

Wrong. There is no way the league is better now. The league gets more media attention and there are far more social outlets to promote it, but the talent level has declined. The top notch talent level that the league does have is primarily made up of show boats, and "me first" type players.

I completely disagree with you that LeBron is, or will ever be, better than Jordan. First of all, Harper and Kukoc were good role players. They were not "pretty damned good players". They weren't all star types. They were guys who worked well in a supporting cast around Jordan. LeBron puts up nice numbers. He is also a physical freak. Jordan was a true #2. Passing and rebounding are not things you typically see much from a true #2. So the fact that he still averaged over 5 and 5 for his career in rebounds and assists is even more impressive. Also, Jordan had the killer drive to win, which LeBron will never have. Sure, LeBron WANTS to win. But he doesn't will himself and his teammates to win. He simply does not, and will never, have the charisma/leadership that Jordan did. Perhaps that's one reason he likes Miami. He can defer to Wade if need be.

You can think I'm wrong on LeBron. No worries. I think you are wrong. We will just agree to disagree.

**cyatheart** · 07-09-2010, 01:41 PM

Originally Posted by isu200023

This letter resembles another unprofessional, childish letter from a certain AD in the Big 12 to a dissatisfied fan.

...and somehow Jamie Pollard gets ripped in a conversation about Lebron and Dan Gilbert.

**cyatheart** · 07-09-2010, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by AllIowaTeams

Wrong. There is no way the league is better now. The league gets more media attention and there are far more social outlets to promote it, but the talent level has declined. The top notch talent level that the league does have is primarily made up of show boats, and "me first" type players.

I completely disagree with you that LeBron is, or will ever be, better than Jordan. First of all, Harper and Kukoc were good role players. They were not "pretty damned good players". They weren't all star types. They were guys who worked well in a supporting cast around Jordan. LeBron puts up nice numbers. He is also a physical freak. Jordan was a true #2. Passing and rebounding are not things you typically see much from a true #2. So the fact that he still averaged over 5 and 5 for his career in rebounds and assists is even more impressive. Also, Jordan had the killer drive to win, which LeBron will never have. Sure, LeBron WANTS to win. But he doesn't will himself and his teammates to win. He simply does not, and will never, have the charisma/leadership that Jordan did. Perhaps that's one reason he likes Miami. He can defer to Wade if need be.

You can think I'm wrong on LeBron. No worries. I think you are wrong. We will just agree to disagree.

Agree, Lebron is overrated. If you can keep him out of the lane and make him shoot jumpshots, he won't beat you consistently. Sure he wil make a few but he will miss enough as well. He is still young, and he might still be able to improve that jumpshot like Jordan did as he got older. Wouldn't kill him to post up smaller players either which he rarely does. But again, still very young and he hasn't had the benefit of playing for a great coach for an extended period of time.

**AllIowaTeams** · 07-09-2010, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by cyclonenum1

You are just plain wrong. This will have an impact. They were even discussing it on CNBC over the lunch hour...everyone agreed that this is not something the leader of an organization should have done and that it will have repercussions with the small fraternity that is that of NBA superstars.

That's nice. CNBC can say whatever they want. I think you are just plain wrong. Opinion vs. opinion. This isn't high school. While Gilbert's note may make it seem like he is still in high school players are not going to care once he is throwing a fat paycheck their way. Players seem to like playing for Mark Cuban despite his constant temper tantrums, his very public temper tantrums, that in my opinion are more childish than writing a steamed letter an hour after finding out LeBron's decision. All this shows is that Gilbert clearly cares about his team, and while he certainly could have showcased his anger better, it will not have an effect long term on his ability to sign players. End of story.

"Player 1": Oh man, Cleveland just offered me $80M for 4 years! This is sweet!

"Player 2": Nah man, their owner wrote a passionate, albeit misplaced, letter after LeBron bailed on them. How can you play for that *** clown? Dude didn't even use proper grammar mother f*****!

"Player 1": Yea, maybe you're right. I should probably sign with Minnesota for $55M over 4 years. They win 30 less games a year, but at least their owner knows how to spell and use proper punctuation.

"Player 2": Mother f*****! Are you high?? Take that extra money now! As long as he spells your name right on your paychecks that's all that matters! Don't you know what sarcasm is! Quit being a little b**** and sign up!

Yea, I'm sure this letter will have GRAVE consequences on Cleveland's ability to sign marquee free agents in the future. Dork.

**jbhtexas** · 07-09-2010, 01:46 PM

Originally Posted by cyclonenum1

You are just plain wrong. This will have an impact. They were even discussing it on CNBC over the lunch hour...everyone agreed that this is not something the leader of an organization should have done and that it will have repercussions with the small fraternity that is that of NBA superstars.

If they said that, then they are higher on cocaine than the majority of NBA players were back in the 1970's...

**jbhtexas** · 07-09-2010, 01:51 PM

Originally Posted by cyclonenum1

I saw a stat on ESPN during the LeBronathon...only 4 players have averaged 25 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds for their careers...MJ, LeBron, Jerry West, and Oscar Robertson (truth be told...probably the most complete player ever but no huge media around to hype him up).

It's not surprising you'd see an inappropriate statistical comparison hyping James on the ESPN peep show. Let's see what James' numbers are like when his career is over. His stats will likely drop off in his later years, just like most other players.

**azn4cy** · 07-09-2010, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by AllIowaTeams

That's nice. CNBC can say whatever they want. I think you are just plain wrong. Opinion vs. opinion. This isn't high school. While Gilbert's note may make it seem like he is still in high school players are not going to care once he is throwing a fat paycheck their way. Players seem to like playing for Mark Cuban despite his constant temper tantrums, his very public temper tantrums, that in my opinion are more childish than writing a steamed letter an hour after finding out LeBron's decision. All this shows is that Gilbert clearly cares about his team, and while he certainly could have showcased his anger better, it will not have an effect long term on his ability to sign players. End of story.

"Player 1": Oh man, Cleveland just offered me $80M for 4 years! This is sweet!

"Player 2": Nah man, their owner wrote a passionate, albeit misplaced, letter after LeBron bailed on them. How can you play for that *** clown? Dude didn't even use proper grammar mother f*****!

"Player 1": Yea, maybe you're right. I should probably sign with Minnesota for $55M over 4 years. They win 30 less games a year, but at least their owner knows how to spell and use proper punctuation.

"Player 2": Mother f*****! Are you high?? Take that extra money now! As long as he spells your name right on your paychecks that's all that matters! Don't you know what sarcasm is! Quit being a little b**** and sign up!

Yea, I'm sure this letter will have GRAVE consequences on Cleveland's ability to sign marquee free agents in the future. Dork.

Way to use extreme cases to prove your point. Take an average team instead of Minnesota and even out the offers.

Let's say both Cleveland and ohhh i dunno... Houston offer 4 years and 80 million. Would the free agent be more likely to sign with the owner that will bash him if he leaves at the end of his 4 years, or the one that realizes it's just business and moves on?

**cyclonenum1** · 07-09-2010, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by AllIowaTeams

Wrong. There is no way the league is better now. The league gets more media attention and there are far more social outlets to promote it, but the talent level has declined. The top notch talent level that the league does have is primarily made up of show boats, and "me first" type players.

I completely disagree with you that LeBron is, or will ever be, better than Jordan. First of all, Harper and Kukoc were good role players. They were not "pretty damned good players". They weren't all star types. They were guys who worked well in a supporting cast around Jordan. LeBron puts up nice numbers. He is also a physical freak. Jordan was a true #2. Passing and rebounding are not things you typically see much from a true #2. So the fact that he still averaged over 5 and 5 for his career in rebounds and assists is even more impressive. Also, Jordan had the killer drive to win, which LeBron will never have. Sure, LeBron WANTS to win. But he doesn't will himself and his teammates to win. He simply does not, and will never, have the charisma/leadership that Jordan did. Perhaps that's one reason he likes Miami. He can defer to Wade if need be.

You can think I'm wrong on LeBron. No worries. I think you are wrong. We will just agree to disagree.

I never said LeBron was or will be "better" than Jordan. I just happen to think that you cannot say (as you did) that this settles it in terms of Jordan being the best player of all time.

The only thing I agree with is that you are wrong.

**cyclonenum1** · 07-09-2010, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by cyatheart

Agree, Lebron is overrated. If you can keep him out of the lane and make him shoot jumpshots, he won't beat you consistently. Sure he wil make a few but he will miss enough as well. He is still young, and he might still be able to improve that jumpshot like Jordan did as he got older. Wouldn't kill him to post up smaller players either which he rarely does. But again, still very young and he hasn't had the benefit of playing for a great coach for an extended period of time.

Not many are able to keep LeBron out of the lane.