Cavs owner Dan Gilbert graciously gave a call on Friday to address these LeBron-James-to-Europe rumors and talk. The story is in Sunday's Beacon Journal, and online here. (In the same story, we discussed the scam that the NFL calls preseason football.)
But here are some of the highlights from Gilbert:
On the rumors, which state a team from Greece will pay LeBron $50 million per year for two years:
"The reason this thing is where it's at 'is that we've got a bunch of bored, East Coast sports writers who have nothing to do because the offseason is a few months away and the Olympics [hadn't] started yet."
On James being the main focus:
"The undertone to the whole thing that I wonder is, why him? Why not Dwyane Wade? Why not Chris Bosh? Why not whoever else is coming due? 'The only thing you can come up with is there are certain writers, or people who live on the East or West Coast, who think that Cleveland, Ohio, is not a good enough place for a superstar of LeBron's caliber to spend his career. Despite the quality of the franchise, the quality of life in the Midwest, the fans — it's a complete slap in the face from people who do not live in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cleveland, Ohio. That's probably my biggest problem with the whole thing."
Finally:
"I think people need to just leave him alone and let him focus on basketball and helping lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a championship."
The rest is here at ohio.com.
Absent a championship within the next two years, there's not a chance in hell of James going anywhere except the Knicks or the Nets. With that being said, perhaps this silly Greece thing will finally put the kibosh on some peoples' delusions that James isn't going anywhere. It was nice while it lasted. It was better than cheering for Chris Mills, I suppose.
Gilbert is the typical business bigwig blowhard. If he's so blunt, candid and honest, then why doesn't he show reporters the books from his mortgage business? His company isn't public and doesn't need to show anybody anything, but so what? After all, he has already hypnotized reporters to write that his business hasn't been affected like everybody else. So why not support his bold blanket assertion with actual accounting numbers? That guy oughta be awarded an Olympics gold medal just for being able to keep a straight face.
Oh, I neglected to ask … did Gilbert "graciously" (oy vey, Pat, come on, man) to really "call?" Or did he reply by e-mail, that's been his usual modus operandi. And if he did "call," was it one of those silly speakerphone conference calls where 10 reporters are in on it at the same time, and his PR guy is quietly together with him, sitting to his left at his office, typing the answers for him to read like a human Teleprompter?
If I were in my early twenties it might be fun to spend a couple years in Greece at 50 million each.
alan t. – Gilbert's business has nothing to do with this story! Your hard-on about his private company your problem! Neither you nor I know where in HELL LeBron is going!!
I think it would be great if James jumped in his prime. It's not going to happen, but I think it would be great for basketball. Not for the NBA, of course, but for basketball overall. Until now, it's just been guys like Bob McAdoo going overseas when they're 35. It would add legitimate excitement, like when the NBA and the ABA were competing for the stars. That was a lot of fun to watch. It would cause European games to be shown all over the world, and it would turn the next NBA collective bargaining agreement after the 2010-2011 season on its head. The players would have the owners by the short hairs.
You need to understand European basketball is highly competitive while the NBA is just a show. The real pros are in Europe and they have the dough to pay up for quality players. When these players go to Europe and get paid salaries 3 and 4 times more than the measly NBA wages (most make money from sports endorsements) they never look back.
lol – Euro basketball is competetive, but the talent is mostly minor league. Yeah, they're pros, but the European teams overpay for marginal NBA talent. Players make more money, sure, and many prefer the stability and income of playing overseas as opposed to struggling to make it in the NBA. But implying that the quality is anywhere near NBA caliber, and dismissing the NBA as pure "show," is misinformed and misguided. The NBA has a much higher caliber player, and frankly, is a lot more fun to watch.
Alan T, I don't think you've "cheered" for anything Cavalier since Chris Mills was here. You're a lousy fan.
Hey, Milos, for a poor schlub who's a "lousy fan," I sure forked over a ton of money to uber-wealthy guys like Nick Mileti, Joe Zingale, Ted Stepien and Gordon Gund for the right to cheer for a whole bunch of stiffs in person.
And speaking of Pat's column about the Browns ripping off the fans with those ticket prices, I'm still waiting to see how outrageous the next Gilbert ticket price hike is going to be. Season after season after season, the man has never failed to disappoint with eye-rolling increases. And the local media has never failed to be totally silent about it.
The arena is located in downtown Cleveland, but there is not one average guy living in downtown Cleveland, the poorest big city in the entire United States, who can afford Gilbert's ticket inflation. I'd rather Pat would call attention to this fact before putting the hammer down on Lerner, but for some reason, Gilbert has been getting a free ride from everybody since the chaos of the initial few weeks of ownership. Or maybe include both Lerner's and Gilbert's chicanery in the same column, they both deserve the hammer. Two carnival barkers for the price of one.
I wonder what Greece's ticket prices are like.
You guys are all idiots. If Lebron does go to Greece he will just show to the world that he is nothing but selfish. Sure 50 million is great, but so is 20 million and playing for an NBA championship, the best basketball league in the world, despite its many flaws. As for Lebron going to New York or New Jersey, I still think its silly. Why would he go to a team with nobody, I repeat nobody on their roster?!! Cleveland has a decent surronding team and they are improving every year. Plus Gibson will be a great star and we are bound to get someone good for Varejao and Sczerbiak by the trade deadline. So all of you scared that Lebron is going overseas or to New York, just shut the F**K up. Quit buying into the media hype that comes out of New York in the first place and just sit back and wait and see what happens. I truly believe the Cavs will win a championship this year or next and then Lebron will sign a long term deal with the Cavs and a dynasty will be created. Have a little faith in your team all you wannabe cleveland fans. You make me sick. I really wish I could crap in all of your mouths. Of course I would have to get past all that other Sh%%t you guys have been spewing on this page.
"Lord," what's "silly" is pretending rosters this season are rosters two seasons from now. In two years, everybody who thinks they'll have a good shot at James will have overhauled rosters and a ton of cap room. Unlikely he'll be back, he'll have already spent seven, eight years wasting away in Margaritaville. Time to move on to bigger and better things.
The whole Greece thing seems a bit far-fetched, but who knows. If you want to be a global icon and have all the money in the world, and James says he wants both, then he can kill two birds with one stone with a season or two overseas. Never mind the basketball cash, the planetary endorsements would go off the charts. If he played two seasons, he could come back to the NBA at age 27. From a business perspective it would be unbelievable, and it would take real balls on his part. It's not going to happen, but it's interesting to talk about.
And like larry d. said, being very young and very rich has its perks. A lot of those native Greek chicks are kinda hot. That in itself is incentive to get the hell out of Akron and Cleveland in November. As if anybody needed incentive to get the hell out of Akron and Cleveland in November. I was watching two-babe beach volleyball yesterday, with chicks bouncing around for medals, playing in the sand in their little biikinis. Greece's women's team was playing. One of the two Greek broads was a schnauzer, but the other one LeBron would have munched in a New York minute.
You know what's silly? It's that out of 11 responses here alan t has 5 of them. Do you just like to listen to the sound of yourself typing?
kj reappears!
Here's a goofy way of looking at it, but just hear me out:
Assumption: Until the Cavs get a bona fida star to go with Lebron, preferrably a young, emerging stud, ain't going to be a title, let alone a dynasty.
Next two years: If you're Lebron and the Cavs, give it everything you've got win a title with the understanding that LeBron might TEMPORARILY go abroad.
What the two sides have to gain: Quite a bit. If the Cavs know Lebron is likely to leave, it's a bit easier to go for broke now.
The kicker: Before leaving, Lebron can tell the Cavs that after, say, two years of making a billion dollars in another country — he will return to them. In the interim, the Cavs blow up their roster and use high-end draft picks to pluck a few potential stars, giving LeBron a potentially great supporting cast.
Tyr to go boom. Then go bust. Then try to go boom again.
I think McManamon had it right. We'll see what happens int wo years. We'll see how the Cavs do over the next two years. It seems I've been hearing that LeBron would leave since the moment he came. He's still here.
Until he's not.
I'd rather see the owner say something like 'LeBron is a unique talent who seems to like to break new ground and we're working to ensure his groundbreaking work happens as a Cavalier.'
Instead he lumps LeBron in a group with Chris Bosh and blames the media for the speculation and tries an appeal to Clevelanders' weird paranoia about where they live.
Who knows what LeBron will do but he's sure to look at all his opportunities from all angles. Gilbert's not exactly thinking outside the box.
With all due respect to kj and his various acidic aliases posting something for the sole sake of biting my individual ankles like the late great Taco Bell dog, 180 degrees contrary to Gilbert's nonsense, Wade was asked the exact same question, and Wade gave the exact same answer. And comparing Chris Bosh to LeBron James on the popularity Q-rating meter? That's borderline retarded.
If you put "LeBron James," "Dwayne Wade" and "Chris Bosh" in Google, you'll instantly see the Google numbers for each and see why James is on top of the speculation list.
If Gilbert cares so much about the City of Cleveland, then why did he hijack the entire Cavaliers office, hijack all of the Cavaliers employees down to the last janitor, and most importantly, hijack a ton of tax money from the City of Cleveland, and instead hand it all in a nice gift basket to Independence? That royally stunk to high heaven, but you didn't hear a peep from anybody in the mainstream local media about it, except how wonderful and glorious the facility is.
The NATIONAL MEDIA is responsible for all this, right? Gilbert's nonsense is entirely self-serving, and concurrently strokes those in the Cleveland area who have self-esteem issues about where they live. Blame the national media.
By the way, speaking of the media, I noticed in a rereading of Pat's "the Browns are ripping off the fans," section of that column, Lerner's name wasn't mentioned even once. Not even ONCE! Come on, Pat. Yes, a columnist is supposed to rip on the local team if it's warranted, and you were absolutely correct in what you wrote. But unless you're going to reveal the local wizard behind this particular rip-off curtain, then it's all pretty flaccid. The NFL doesn't tell the Browns what to charge.
Yes, I know you used to be employed by the Lerners, but you are not employed by the Lerner Family anymore. Start naming names. Writing "the Browns" is not naming names, and you know it.
And please, Pat, don't EVER again write that Gilbert "graciously" did anything for you or for anybody else in the local media. You are not his employee, you are not his loyal servant. It reminded me of when Michael Reghi used to suck-up to Gilbert, and Reghi would periodically use his microphone to shout "Hi!" to Gilbert while Gilbert was laying back on his cushy suburban Detroit couch playing with the remote to his satellite dish. It was embarrassing.
"Graciously" was meant to be a joke, Alan. Nothing more.
As for ticket prices, I believe it is a league-wide thing. Not just the Browns, but all 32 teams. Thus my wording.
Hello Guru, what entice you to post an article. This article was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for thoughts on this subject last Thursday.