LeBron James: Zydrunas Ilgauskas Inadvertently Gives LBJ More Criticism
LeBron James received more criticism from an unexpected source after his friend Zydrunas Ilgauskas wrote a heartfelt letter to Cleveland , in the Plain Dealer, thanking them for their support.
Why Ilgauskas felt he needed to write such a letter in a time like this is baffling! Emotions in Cleveland are running high, and the words of a role player, no matter how well liked, will not appease the masses that just lost LeBron.
They only serve to remind them of the one hour show LeBron used to tease and dump the Cavs and then join his friends in Miami to win championships.
As Ilgauskas has also signed with Miami maybe on some level he thought that he was doing LeBron a favour if he wrote this letter. Ilgauskas has been on the Cavs longer than LeBron and is a fan favourite.
So may be he thought his letter, talking about friends and family, this might remind the jersey burning fans of better times and soften their stance on making James enemy of the state.
He might have chosen his words a little more carefully though. He talks of growing up in Cleveland when he moved there 14 years ago as a young man. LeBron was born there. Then the Lithuanian center went on to say
“As I enter the last few years of my career, I felt I owe it to myself and friends and family to chase my dream of winning an NBA championship.”
Well that’s what LeBron has done, joining Miami to win championships. More of a slap in the face for a team who has not won a championship in 50 years and a testament to the current state of the Cavaliers!
Dan Gilbert the Cavaliers owner said that Cleveland will win a championship before Miami does but at the moment it is very hard to see the Cavaliers finishing with a winning record next season.
Last year Cleveland had the legendary Shaquille O’Neal signing to win championships, this year you have Ilgauskas leaving to win a championship.
Clearly Ilgauskas should have seen how a letter, even though sincere, would only be used to slam LeBron further. The letter can be found here.
http://media.cleveland.com/cavs_impact/photo/ilgauskas-adjpg-5a767a72c8032494.jpg
Meanwhile James received support from the great Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, on NBA.com, who said:
"The Lakers had tried stockpiling talent before that. They brought [Wilt] Chamberlain to L.A. to play with Elgin Baylor and Jerry West and Gail Goodrich. I don't remember the whole basketball world getting down on them for doing that. Actually, I think everybody was excited. You wanted to see a great team and what they could do, how much they could accomplish.
"That's the way I feel about Miami now. You bring Wade, LeBron and Bosh together it could be great. How is that any different from what happened a few years ago when the guys -- [Kevin] Garnett and [Ray] Allen - went to Boston ?”
“They were chasing after a championship at the end of their careers. And they got it and everybody praised them. The only difference here is these guys are younger and they might get more than one."
Obviously the only difference between the Boston guys and the Miami threesome is that the Celtics came together at the winter of their careers while the Heat are just entering the summer of theirs.
