Dan Gilbert's Missed Opportunity: An Open Letter To The Three Stooges
Shortly after 9 on Thursday night, “The Decision” came down, and with it the spirits and hopes of basketball fans all over Northeast Ohio.
LeBron James, All-Star and MVP of the Cleveland Cavaliers, had decided to leave his hometown for the greener pastures of the Miami Heat.
In the aftermath, Cleveland fans burned No. 23 jerseys and memorabilia, cried like wounded children, and even gave unintelligible, rambling interviews with the media that proclaimed: “Hey, we are not a bunch of trashy, low-self-esteem-having nobodies wasting our lives in a dying city whose identities rest solely in the hands of one 25-year-old sports phenom we don’t even know.”
Needless to say, we were all a little hurt and emotional. It probably didn’t help that we’d been drinking, either.
But the next day, a new light would have shown, and we could have picked ourselves up and started forward saving what little face we had left.
That is, of course, if a certain majority owner had not demonstrated just how fickle, immature, and unprofessional he could be by releasing “the letter read round the world.”
While Dan Gilbert’s emotions are understandable, his severe lack of class reflects poorly on an already bruised and disheartened Cleveland.
But even more irresponsible, Gilbert’s letter has some very dire consequences: It neglects the Cavs’ own responsibility in the outcome of events, it overshadows the classlessness of LeBron’s actions by being even less tactful, and it detracts attention from what should be the true concern behind this whole free agency debacle: the death of a competitive NBA.
Following is what Gilbert’s letter should have read:
Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight,
As you now know, our former hero LeBron James, who grew up in this very region, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.
While we regret his decision to leave, we nonetheless understand that we have consistently failed to attract the top-tier talent James has requested to aid his pursuit of championships.
Instead of Jason Kidd, we brought in Mo Williams. Instead of Amar’e Stoudemire, we brought in Antawn Jamison.
And while LeBron signed off on those moves, we now realize that we couldn't have expected him to do anything else.
After all, these players were improvements over the cast of nobodies from 2007 that James single-handedly carried to the NBA Finals, thereby developing the false sense of bravado and entitlement in our management, coaching staff, team, and fans that resulted in our failure the following three postseasons.
We are obviously deeply disappointed with the way LeBron decided to leave. After all, no matter one’s field of business, isn’t it proper etiquette to inform your company of your resignation so that they might fill the position you leave behind?
Surely, if LeBron was as loyal to our community as he declares, he might have provided us with this small show of respect.
Although we should have been taking steps to procure top free agents from the get-go instead of waiting on LeBron, and while such moves might have actually convinced the “King” to stay rather than banking upon sentimental videos, fart jokes, Betty White innuendos, and our false sense of entitlement, we nonetheless feel we were handcuffed from improving our team and are a bit bitter about the whole thing.
Why LeBron chose to present his decision to the mass media in this day of branding, technology, and celebrity we will never know.
After all, we cannot understand why LeBron would not want to present his news in Cleveland when our fans reacted in such a calm and understanding manner.
I am sure that the resulting fires, arrests, drunken expletives, and threats on LeBron’s life were only the result of his presenting his decision nationally rather than locally.
Had LeBron made the announcement in Cleveland, I’m sure cooler heads would have prevailed.
Instead of the anger we demonstrated, we would have realized that LeBron has given us seven great years, taken us to heights we’ve never reached before, and that his leaving was likely the result of our inability to formulate any kind of concrete plan for winning him the titles he so eagerly desires, rather than any sort of spite for the city of Cleveland.
However, what truly disappoints us, as it should all basketball fans, is not LeBron’s decision to leave, but rather that three NBA superstars conspired to create a regular season All-Star team down in the city of Miami.
What saddens us is that in this current era, instead of having the great sports rivalries of a Bird and Johnson, or a Johnson and Jordan, we have the Birds, Johnsons, and Jordans deciding to join forces in order to all out guarantee themselves multiple championship rings.
Had we all known LeBron, Chris, and Dwyane simply wanted a championship to be handed to them, perhaps we could have petitioned David Stern to have a handful of rings molded for them.
Then it might have only cost each man a few hundred dollars a ring rather than the $30 million each had to give up to create the “triumvirate.”
Furthermore, it would have saved Miami the trouble of doling out three near-max contracts, and it would have saved gullible Miami fans the trouble of spending their hard-earned cash selling out American Airlines Arena for what will essentially be glorified Harlem Globetrotter games.
I hate to break it to you Miamians, but no matter how much the Boston Shamrocks, New Jersey Reds, or Atlantic City Seagulls lead by at halftime, the Globetrotters always win in the end. Sounds suspenseful, doesn’t it?
The ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff here at the Cleveland Cavaliers realize that the mediocre talent we have surrounded LeBron with does not have what it takes to compete without him.
And while I won’t talk rashly from my emotions and ridiculously guarantee something impossible—like bringing a championship back to the city of Cleveland before Miami wins one—I will say that we will begin the mad scramble to trade large contracts, gather future draft picks, and hopefully put together some kind of a roster that just might eke out an eighth seed for the playoffs behind teams like New York and Chicago, who even though they were vying for LeBron like Cleveland was, at least made some moves to acquire more talent in free agency.
If we can achieve the eighth seed, we will no doubt find Miami waiting to sweep us on the way to a championship, and in doing so demonstrate just how ridiculous the ideas of sportsmanship and competition have become in the NBA, as well as the uselessness of an 80-plus game season when the winners were all but chosen with one decision by LeBron James tonight.
Yet we will not take the low road and defame the man who has brought this city so much joy over the last decade.
The wound is fresh and still stings badly for the moment, but eventually our staff, team, and fans will look back in fondness at all LeBron gave to this city.
We would like to wish LeBron the best of luck, not that he will ever need it on his newly stacked team, down in Miami.
Sleep well, Cleveland. The long sleep that is.
Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers
P.S. Is there no better font than Comic Sans for expressing serious emotion? I JUST LOOOOOOVVVEE IT!
