WOW...Cavs owner Dan Gilbert rips LeBron

[Seano]

That was so harsh and so non-politically correct I almost can't believe it's real.

And on an off-topic note, I just read on NBA.com that Melvin Turpin committed suicide today. :( Very sad news, and he was only 49 years old. Some of the younger posters here may not even remember him, but he was a hell of a player at Kentucky and the 6th player taken in the draft that included Jordan, Hakeem and Charles Barkley. Very sad. RIP Melvin Turpin.

[NJHAWK]

I like it. It sounds like the ramblings of an angry drunk, but I like it.

[ATLBob]

I like it. It sounds like the ramblings of an angry drunk, but I like it.

Love that he didn't stop there either.

Lebron Quit During Playoffs

[ATLJA316]

Awesome! ESPN says it is legit . . .

Can you say "Oxymoron"?

[Guest]

I guess LeBron pulled a Vince Carter and quit on the Cavs...mmmmm...I wonder if he will get the same backlash.

[YP2K]

Love that he didn't stop there either.

Lebron Quit During Playoffs

Wow! Amazing . . .

Of course the announcers didn't call him out on it . . .

[CongoP]

Lebron is a sap, great player worse person and he might get it from his momma who knows??

Jeff Teauge 2010

[tonegully]

I would be pissed off too. If i was from Cleveland he could NEVER EVER come back. Everytime he comes back i would throw my drink at his *ss. I would be pissed off. I wish our owners was motivated like this.

[Seano]

I would be pissed off too. If i was from Cleveland he could NEVER EVER come back. Everytime he comes back i would throw my drink at his *ss. I would be pissed off. I wish our owners was motivated like this.

The Cleveland fans are gonna get him when he comes back. I've been reading some of the suggestions on their board as to what they should do when he comes back, and one of the favorite ones is to have everyone in the arena wearing Delonte West masks, haha. :worshippy:

[thecampster]

That was a very mean-spirited response.

Maybe there is a reason why he didn't choose Cleveland. The owner got some anger issues and may have shown it in the past and Lebron didn't forget.

Gilbert became owner a few years after Lebron got drafted, so that connection isn't as strong as many people believe.

After all the assanine things Lebron has done the last 3 years, I can not believe you are hating on the owner. The pregame photo sessions, the jackass throwing of talcum in visiting arenas, the taunting of other benches when ahead, the soap opera of keeping Cleveland hanging. The guy is a jerk plain and simple and I applaud the owner.

[oldorder]

I sincerely hope that CLE gets an 8 seed and Miami gets a 1 seed in the playoffs next year, and CLE sweeps the series. Honestly the only team I hope wins the championship besides then the hawks is cleveland.

[lethalweapon3]

The front page has been updated to link to the letter so it appears it is authentic to me.

WOW. I trust this is a bit of blame-deflection on the owner's part, anticipating some slings and arrows would be directed his way.

Unless he's got a deal for Kobe and Pau in the works, his "personal guarantee" comes across as very WWE-ish. I think the rightfully booty-hurt Cleveland folks will love him for weeks over this, and then turn on him when his vow of doing "everything in his power" to beat LeBron to the punch runs smack into the reality of Mo, Delonte, Tawn, Hickson and Andy V as their best hope for either contention or trade-able commodities.

Promising a commitment to sustained championship contention is one thing, but vowing to win an NBA title, on a franchise that has never won one, AND to do so BEFORE your best player as of five hours ago gets one? What, does he have Jeff Gillooly on speed dial or somethin'?

I know he's the majority owner but if I'm in charge of PR, I'm doing "everything in my power" to keep vitriol like that off the company website. Cavs fans (the revenue-generating ones) probably dropped by 50 percent with LeBron's announcement, and now this maniacal reaction may have gained him some short-term reactionary fans, but long-term probably cost him a bunch more.

~lw3

Edited July 9, 2010 by lethalweapon3

[lethalweapon3]

Stern will likely punish Gilbert, and no doubt Gilbert will pay whatever the fines are, he may even get some fans to pitch in.

Odds that Miami vs. Cleveland is the Christmas Day evening game?

~lw3

[Joker]

He sounds like he's two. This is a business, if I had to feed my family and I was the 12th man. You wouldn't give a s*** about me. Gilbert is a loser in my book.

[ATLJA316]

I'm gonna say it'll be Cavs @ heat opening day, and Heat @ Cavs on Xmas.

There's nothing like a Xmas riot!

[BudBall]

He sounds like he's two. This is a business, if I had to feed my family and I was the 12th man. You wouldn't give a s*** about me. Gilbert is a loser in my book.

He is, but this is very entertaining.

[dlpin]

I would have liked this letter a lot more if it didn't come from a person that would have done anything at all to resign him a few hours earlier.

[BudBall]

SMH

Edited July 9, 2010 by AliznotaCenter

[gutz]

Lebron is a punk man! Give me a break. This guy is a joke and has no pride. He needs to go play with 2 other superstars to win a title? You didn't see Magic, Bird, Kobe leaving their teams to do this crap. Even worse he left a city he was born and raised in that LOVED him and desperately needed to win and left them high and dry on NATIONAL TV! When the friggin story was leaked for an entire 24 hrs. that he was going to Miami! What a joke Lebron is! Have some heart man. I hope Wade and Bosh both tear their ACL's in the first game. That would be hilarious. Bring the Heat on! Go Hawks!

Edited July 9, 2010 by gutz

[Plainview1981]

Lebron is a punk man! Give me a break. This guy is a joke and has no pride. He needs to go play with 2 other superstars to win a title? You didn't see Magic, Bird, Kobe leaving their teams to do this crap. Even worse he left a city he was born and raised in that LOVED him and desperately needed to win and left them high and dry on NATIONAL TV! When the friggin story was leaked for an entire 24 hrs. that he was going to Miami! What a joke Lebron is! Have some heart man. I hope Wade and Bosh both tear their ACL's in the first game. That would be hilarious. Bring the Heat on! Go Hawks!

In fairness, they didn't need to leave their team because they already had the help.