Lebron James Heads for Miami Leaving Dan Gilbert Looking Classless

On Thursday, Lebron James announced that he would be leaving Cleveland for Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and the Miami Heat. The announcement itself was not hugely surprising, as sources had leaked that Lebron would be headed to Miami earlier that day, but it did end weeks of scrutiny as to where the superstar talent would end up. The big story followed Lebron's decision when Cleveland owner, Dan Gilbert, sent a letter to Cleveland fans regarding Lebron.

If you have not read it, it is not too hard to find online. Gilbert's response was classless, petty, and just plain stupid. Now I will be the first to say that I did not really like the way Lebron handled free agency. Since Lebron skipped college for the NBA draft, this was the first chance he has had to really be recruited and he clearly enjoyed himself. The whole one hour show in which he made his announcement did make him look pretty narcissistic, but this does not excuse Gilbert from his scathing remarks and in fact, in my mind, somewhat justifies Lebron's departure.

Gilbert berates Lebron saying that his leaving was a "cowardly betrayal" and mocks him with all the nicknames that people have given him over the year. Gilbert also came out and said Lebron got away with far too much while he was in Cleveland including giving up in the playoffs and now it will all come to light. My favorite part is the guarantee Gilbert makes saying "I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before the self-titled former 'king' wins one." Wow.

To say Lebron's leaving Cleveland is an act of betrayal is completely unfair. Now I of course am a huge Washington Capitals fan and I can tell you that if Alexander Ovechkin decided to leave I would be devastated. We thought that his addition to the team would mean a championship so if he leaves before accomplishing that, I would be upset. That is completely understandable. Would I cheer against him? Probably. But you have to keep in mind that Ovechkin is the type of talent that requires the organization to do whatever it takes to keep him. Lebron is the same way. Lebron's departure is more a mark against the Cleveland Cavaliers than it is against him. He made your team relevant and a major contender. He even tried to recruit Chris Bosh to come to Cleveland and Bosh said no. Lebron was clearly not satisfied with the team's chances of winning a championship and that is the fault of the management. As I have said numerous times heading up to this decision, the NBA is a superstar driven league. Superstar teams, if they can work well together, win championships. Bryant/Gasol, Garnett/Pierce/Allen/Rondo, Duncan/Ginoboli, Wade/Shaq, etc. This is the way it works. You of course have to give Gilbert credit for trying. He put together a good roster with Antawn Jamison, JJ Hickson, Delonte West, and Mo Williams, but this was the same formula he used for years and it did not work. Gilbert has been trying to surround Lebron with good talent, but he needed another superstar. Think about it. People have debated for years about whether Michael Jordan could have been as good as he was without Scottie Pippen. Lebron even tried to stay in Cleveland. He wanted to stay in Cleveland, but neither he nor Gilbert could bring in another superstar and that is why he left. The responsibility for that rests on Gilbert and the Cleveland Cavaliers, not on Lebron.

I do not for a second believe the notion that Lebron quite on the Cavs during the playoffs. If he has been consistent about anything it is that he wants to win a championship. He feels so strongly about winning that he left a team in which he could have made more money and will accept less than the maximum deal to help Miami build the rest of the team. Now you are telling us that he quite on you in the playoffs? Even if it were true, that is not an ace in the hole that you keep quiet until he leaves. That is something that you deal with immediately. If the team thought he was quitting on them, then they needed to take him aside and tell him "Cleveland will not lose in the playoffs if you are going 100%. We will win a championship if you play 100% every minute of every game." Instead, Gilbert did not say anything and then as soon as Lebron announces he's headed to Miami all of a sudden he wasn't going all out? That is completely ridiculous.

Ok, so what was Gilbert supposed to do? All the best free agents are signed and Cleveland lost the player that made them relevant for all these years. He needed a way to fire up the fan base and convince them that they still have a basketball team. All very true, but in the end this hurts Cleveland's chances. If you are a star basketball player, why would you know want to play for Cleveland? If you ever left all of a sudden it might be you he's attacking. If you cannot win with the mediocrity he's surrounding you with, then you have betrayed Cleveland. I have no problem with Gilbert trying to fire up his fans. I don't even have a problem with the guarantee that Cleveland will win a championship before Lebron because it excites the fans. It doesn't have to be true and Gilbert knows its a long shot, but he has to sell his team to the fans. The problem I have is that if a player ever thinks about what is in his best interest, all of a sudden it is treason! What he fails to realize is that the NBA is a business. Believe me, no one knows that sports mean so much more than that to people better than I do, but NBA players are employees. Teams have to convince players that it is in their best interest to play for their team and Gilbert failed. The answer is not to bad mouth Lebron, but bring in players who can beat him. Gilbert may have already burned too many bridges to make that a reality.