LeBron James' Decision Was Business Not Personal, Dan Gilbert

Dan Gilbert's undressing of LeBron James in an open letter to Cavaliers fans after LeBron announced he would leave to play for the Miami Heat is an example of one needing the think before they say something.

I understand that Gilbert is angry at LeBron. He has every right to be. Here is an owner that did just about everything he could to keep LeBron happy while he was in a Cleveland Cavaliers uniform.

He certainly has a right to be angry at the fact that LeBron did return his calls or texts since the end of the season. He should be angry that he had to find out that his number one commodity was leaving on national television with the rest of the country.

But, that still does not justify Gilbert posting a letter on the team's website calling out LeBron. Like your parents said, two wrongs don't make a right.

Gilbert needed to be the bigger man even though that is a lot easier said than done. Not commenting on the situation would have been better than ranting on the internet similar to a jilted lover. Gilbert could have shown the country that he was disappointed with the decision without all of the insults and accusations he hurled at LeBron.

While LeBron didn't come off very well with how he announced his decision, Gilbert comes off equally as bad for running his former star player into the ground after LeBron gave the organization seven excellent years.

Gilbert came off looking like a angry fan. He needs to remember that he is the owner of an NBA franchise and he should be above such actions.

LeBron made a business decision, just as Gilbert did when he decided to fire former coach Mike Brown despite the fact that the Cavaliers posted the best regular season record in the entire league this past season. Brown didn't send out a letter slamming his former boss and organization. He accepted it and moved on.

Gilbert needs to take a lesson from his former coach. He's been an owner long enough to understand that professional sports is a business above all other things. 

His words may make the fan base feel a little better, but it isn't going to help attract free agents to sign there or make other players want to get traded there. Who wants to play for an owner that may blow them up in public when they have a disagreement?

Gilbert's words will stick to him for a while. Hopefully, they won't hurt him from fulfilling his promise to bring a championship to Cleveland.