Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Lebron watch or NBA free agency
- Thread starter MacNut
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Yup...
Sad to see him leave Cleveland but if he wins the elusive NBA title it will all be worth it.
Cavs owner Dan Gilbert rips the "King" on Cleveland's website:http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html
Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert
Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;
As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.
This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.
Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.
The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.
There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.
You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
You have given so much and deserve so much more.
In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:
"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER KING WINS ONE"
You can take it to the bank.
If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.
Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.
Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.
This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.
But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.
The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south. And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.
Just watch.
Sleep well, Cleveland.
Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....
I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:
DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....
Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers
Open Letter to Fans from Cavaliers Majority Owner Dan Gilbert
Dear Cleveland, All Of Northeast Ohio and Cleveland Cavaliers Supporters Wherever You May Be Tonight;
As you now know, our former hero, who grew up in the very region that he deserted this evening, is no longer a Cleveland Cavalier.
This was announced with a several day, narcissistic, self-promotional build-up culminating with a national TV special of his "decision" unlike anything ever "witnessed" in the history of sports and probably the history of entertainment.
Clearly, this is bitterly disappointing to all of us.
The good news is that the ownership team and the rest of the hard-working, loyal, and driven staff over here at your hometown Cavaliers have not betrayed you nor NEVER will betray you.
There is so much more to tell you about the events of the recent past and our more than exciting future. Over the next several days and weeks, we will be communicating much of that to you.
You simply don't deserve this kind of cowardly betrayal.
You have given so much and deserve so much more.
In the meantime, I want to make one statement to you tonight:
"I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER KING WINS ONE"
You can take it to the bank.
If you thought we were motivated before tonight to bring the hardware to Cleveland, I can tell you that this shameful display of selfishness and betrayal by one of our very own has shifted our "motivation" to previously unknown and previously never experienced levels.
Some people think they should go to heaven but NOT have to die to get there.
Sorry, but that's simply not how it works.
This shocking act of disloyalty from our home grown "chosen one" sends the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn. And "who" we would want them to grow-up to become.
But the good news is that this heartless and callous action can only serve as the antidote to the so-called "curse" on Cleveland, Ohio.
The self-declared former "King" will be taking the "curse" with him down south. And until he does "right" by Cleveland and Ohio, James (and the town where he plays) will unfortunately own this dreaded spell and bad karma.
Just watch.
Sleep well, Cleveland.
Tomorrow is a new and much brighter day....
I PROMISE you that our energy, focus, capital, knowledge and experience will be directed at one thing and one thing only:
DELIVERING YOU the championship you have long deserved and is long overdue....
Dan Gilbert
Majority Owner
Cleveland Cavaliers
People who criticize Cleveland fans for being angry are missing some perspective, especially those who claim that LeBron was "never going to win anything" in Cleveland. If you start off with that assumption, of COURSE we'll never win anything. You have to start somewhere....championship teams are built over time, and since Cleveland's not one of the top markets, we have the odds stacked against us. But that doesn't mean we'll never win anything.
No player is bigger than a team, or a town. But it's a stab in the back for Cleveland and Cavs fans, regardless of the way you try to spin it. LeBron could have made an enormous amount of money and become a legendary NBA player in Cleveland, and he probably would eventually win the championship too. But he's traded that for a faster track to a ring.
The open letter is a bit melodramatic...I do hope we win a championship in the near future though - not to stick it to but because we've been waiting 46 years. Eventually we'll break that streak.
No player is bigger than a team, or a town. But it's a stab in the back for Cleveland and Cavs fans, regardless of the way you try to spin it. LeBron could have made an enormous amount of money and become a legendary NBA player in Cleveland, and he probably would eventually win the championship too. But he's traded that for a faster track to a ring.
The open letter is a bit melodramatic...I do hope we win a championship in the near future though - not to stick it to but because we've been waiting 46 years. Eventually we'll break that streak.
I do wish Cleveland fans all the best and it stinks to lose your best player, but c'mon that letter is just silly. The days of athlete "loyalty" to a team or a franchise are over. The way the leagues have shifted in policy and the concept of free agency has changed all professional sports. I mean seriously, are you a disloyal employee if a new company offers you a better deal with a more attractive work environment and better benefits. Now, I'm not saying Miami is any better than Cleveland, but the point is Lebron thinks Miami is a better fit for him so he made the change just like any of us would if a better fitting job offer came along. The owner's personal attacks are out of line. Hey, I'm all for being honest and expressing your disappointment in his decision, but to use personal insults is overboard.
All of that being said, it would be one of the greatest ever "twists of fate" in sports history if Cleveland won the title next year.
really ridiculous and unprofessional
i don't particularly like LeBron's move, because i thinks it stacks one team too much and it's not, in my opinion, the best career move for him and his legacy, but staying in cleveland would have been a much worse move.
romantic maybe, but quite stupid from a professional perspective.
The letter was excessive. Obviously a very emotional response.
On the other hand, staying in Cleveland might not have been a fast track to a title, but he might have won something here. Being an NBA fan isn't about favoring only the traditionally powerful teams and calling a move to any of the others "stupid".
i am not looking at this from a fan perspective. A fan is a fan, and it is never 'stupid' (or 'smart') to follow the team you follow, it just is.
but form a professional point of view, it would have been 'not smart' -in my opinion of course- to stay in cleveland, where he already stayed for many years without the successes he hoped for and maybe deserved, given his obvious talent.
it's possible that he would have eventually won something if he stayed, but that likely would have been significantly lower than if he had left.
from a purely basketball perspective, miami is the choice that makes more sense because in that team it is actually unlikely that he won't win one (or several) title(s). the catch there is that it won't be 'his' team, at least not initially: the easy way out.
Chicago would have been also a great choice in term of chances of winning, but it would be his own team (although the bulls will also be MJ's team).
NY would have been a slightly longer shot, but the reward in terms of 'legacy' would be unmatchable. i think that we can agree that in term of exposure, money and recognition, bringing a championship to NYC would have been on a different level than anything else (which is why i thought he would go there).
Cleveland would have been a romantic choice, but not a 'smart' one by any metric i can think of. there is no need to get offended by that.
and especially there is absolutely no ground to regard the choice to move on after seven years as some sort of ultimate betrayal. It's not like it was an unexpected, sudden move. everyone had known for years that, more likely than not, he would have left, so that letter and its completely over-the-top tone was absolutely unwarranted.
it's fine for the fans to feel 'betrayed', but for the owner of the team (barred some very specific promise he would stay) is unprofessional and most likely fake.
Gilbert's open letter was hugely childish and inappropriate. Moreover, if he thought so low of LeBron (as when he said in an interview that people has been covering for LeBron for too long and tonight we saw what kind of person he is), why did he go to such great lengths to try to pay the guy $120m? I didn't even believe the open letter was real at first, I thought the site had been hacked until I saw on ESPN that Gilbert was making the similar comments in interviews.
After a display like that, I have a hard time believing any free agent will ever want to sign with Gilbert's team again.
In contrast this is what the Suns' owner posted on their team site about Amare Stoudemire leaving: "On behalf of the entire Suns organization I want to thank you, Amar’e, for eight special years as a Phoenix Sun. We couldn’t have achieved all our success without you. We wish you nothing but the best in the next chapter of your basketball life with the New York Knicks. We look forward to being able to honor you in some way in the future….. maybe in the Suns Ring of Honor."
After a display like that, I have a hard time believing any free agent will ever want to sign with Gilbert's team again.
In contrast this is what the Suns' owner posted on their team site about Amare Stoudemire leaving: "On behalf of the entire Suns organization I want to thank you, Amar’e, for eight special years as a Phoenix Sun. We couldn’t have achieved all our success without you. We wish you nothing but the best in the next chapter of your basketball life with the New York Knicks. We look forward to being able to honor you in some way in the future….. maybe in the Suns Ring of Honor."
I disagree. I think Cleveland worked VERY hard to try and improve their roster. I think they did almost everything they could. They probably made a mistake or two (Boozer was already a Cav, but hindsight is 20/20), but did a good job filling their roster with talent. They were the best team in the NBA, and they still managed to get Antawn Jamison mid-year, a 20 ppg player. I thought that was enough to guarantee a finals appearance, but I guess I was wrong. Antawn is probably a 15 ppg role player when he's on a team where he doesn't need to be the main guy, Shaq was only on the team to play against a big centre like Howard (which Boston didn't even have....), and Lebron played like crap in Round 2. The Cleveland owner was right. Lebron was the go-to guy on the team, and he didn't bother to "go". It looks like he threw that game, but there'd be absolutely no benefit for him.
I believe Lebron's reason for leaving though. Lebron in NYC with Stoudamire, Lebron with the Bulls, etc......would have lost to Wade and Bosh in any playoff series. If Lebron joined the Knicks and lost to Miami in the playoffs, he would have been criticised for not playing better AND leaving Cleveland because he wasn't winning. If you can't beat them, join them. That, plus he'd be joining friends in Miami. It's not a bad deal for him, either.
man, the cavs owner should have just kept his mouth shut. it's his and his organization's own damn fault. lebron stayed there for 7 years and they did jack **** to help him win a championship. you bring in guys like mo williams and delonte west? the only thing that delonte was good for was railing lebron's mom.
if they had a GM that wasn't completely retarded, they would have made better moves to surround lebron with actual talent, and then they probably would have won one out of the past 7 years, and he would have ended up staying.
don't blame lebron for wanting to win. that's the whole point of sports. he's taking less money to go down to miami to play with guys who he can actually win with, since that obviously wasn't happening in cleveland.
don't get me wrong. the spectacle of the whole thing was ridiculous. lebron thinks he's bigger than the game with his 1 hour primetime tv special. you don't see guys like kevin durant (who just signed an extension) or paul pierce running an hour special just to announce where they're signing a contract. that just makes you look like a douchebag. however, you can't fault him for his actual decision.
as for the cavaliers, I look forward to them challenging the nets 12 wins of last season. should be interesting.
man, the cavs owner should have just kept his mouth shut. it's his and his organization's own damn fault. lebron stayed there for 7 years and they did jack **** to help him win a championship. you bring in guys like mo williams and delonte west? the only thing that delonte was good for was railing lebron's mom.
if they had a GM that wasn't completely retarded, they would have made better moves to surround lebron with actual talent, and then they probably would have won one out of the past 7 years, and he would have ended up staying.
don't blame lebron for wanting to win. that's the whole point of sports. he's taking less money to go down to miami to play with guys who he can actually win with, since that obviously wasn't happening in cleveland.
don't get me wrong. the spectacle of the whole thing was ridiculous. lebron thinks he's bigger than the game with his 1 hour primetime tv special. you don't see guys like kevin durant (who just signed an extension) or paul pierce running an hour special just to announce where they're signing a contract. that just makes you look like a douchebag. however, you can't fault him for his actual decision.
as for the cavaliers, I look forward to them challenging the nets 12 wins of last season. should be interesting.
Game, set and match.
The game of basketball is a TEAM sport. He made the right move. The Heat are going to be a GREAT TEAM. Unselfish play and smart decision making. What are people going to say if he wins 5-8 NBA championships with the HEAT if they continue to stay together? Are you going to hate him or applaud him for making the right decision to ultimately win instead of being an egomaniac and selfish for wanting money because he knows he isnt going to win in Cleveland.
On the other hand, the "The Decision" special on ESPN was unnecessary. That was all ESPN's fault and it definitely caused what happened in Cleveland and the reactions nationwide. Everyone is hating and blaming LeBron when instead they should be blaming ESPN.
A lot of people are delusional.
I'd have to agree. What happened to just breaking in for the news like the old days? There was absolutely no need for a 3 hour special, complete with plenty of commercials and teasers leading up to it.
ESPN really embarrassed themselves... I didn't watch, was it as cheesy as it looked?
ESPN is in the business of making money, and they knew there was a ton of money to be made by doing this. It's no different than any other media outlet - they're all whores. Blame the 7.3% of Americans that watched the show.
I'm sorry.. anybody who posts an open letter to millions of people online in the Font of Satan, Comic Sans immediately loses all respect from me.
We'll see how well LeBron does in Miami with Bosh and Wade. If they stay healthy they may have a god chance in challenging the juggernauts that are the Lakers... or maybe not.
It was LeBron's idea to have a TV special. His people went to ESPN with the idea, and, of course, they loved it and agreed. ESPN did nothing wrong here. They are a TV network. No way are they passing on this. They're not going to go to LeBron and say, "Are you sure you want to announce your decision like this?"
The proceeds from the spectacle last night went to the Boys and Girls Club of America, as part of the agreement thought up by LeBron.
His intention was to take advantage of all the hoopla and make money for one of his charities. Personally, I think his advisors should be shot for letting him screw Cleveland and all its fans on television.
The Cavs did do everything they could to help Lebron, but you and Dan Gilbert are both correct: Lebron has choked in the playoffs a number of times. For those who can see past the "king" hype, Miami has made a very good acquisition but not a championship acquisition. I'm not sure they realize that yet, but they're about to find out.
I don't know if he really screwed Cleveland, the team has been bad for years and Lebron was just a blip on the radar.
Of course the owner is angry. There are probably millions of casual viewers like me who only watch teams with the Lebrons and the Kobes. He's losing money. I do feel sorry for Cleveland though. If you want to support the local team, you've got the Cavs and the Browns. Uggh.
Bill Simmons has a pretty good take on this, IMO:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100709
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100709