Chris Broussard to Dan Gilbert

• jpake1

  

  Maybe this has been posted, maybe it hasn't. Pretty good read, and I completely agree with. Most of you probably won't, maybe some will.
  
  "I'm beginning to wonder if Dan Gilbert's real name is Benjamin Button. You know, the character from the hit movie, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," who looks old when he's young and young when he's old.
  
  How else to explain a 48-year-old man -- an intelligent, accomplished, incredibly wealthy 48-year-old man -- sounding off like an acne-riddled 13-year-old who'd just been jilted by his first love?
  LeBron James has been roundly criticized for the stunning way he handled his departure from the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday, and rightly so. James should have informed the team of his decision to leave in person and as soon as he could, thus giving it the chance to formulate a practical Plan B rather than having to react to such devastating news on the fly.
  
  He dumped them -- and northeast Ohio -- on national TV, making the ending unnecessarily dramatic and harsh.
  
  But James is 25 years old. And though in some ways he's unusually mature for his age, he's still 25 years old. No excuses, but at that age, we can all be self-absorbed and unaware of -- if not flat-out defiant of -- proper protocol.
  
  But Gilbert's nearly twice James' age. And when you're two winters away from 50, you should know better than to act off pure emotion. If you want to react spontaneously in your living room, ranting and raving like a heartbroken teenager, immaturely pointing out flaws in the one you'd gladly spend the rest of your life with, issuing ridiculous threats that are about as likely as purple rain, and -- get this -- casting spells (apparently, like many teens, Gilbert's a Harry Potter fan), go right ahead.
  
  But to do that publicly? Uhh, two words:
  
  Grow up.
  
  But the childishness didn't stop there. On Friday, Gilbert, the owner of Fathead, dropped the price of James fatheads from $99.99 to $17.41. Benedict Arnold was born in 1741.
  
  With the way this is going, I'm expecting Gilbert to tape "Kick Me" signs to the seats on the visitors bench when Miami visits The Q next season. That'll be a good one!
  
  Let's be honest: Gilbert, and most every other owner or league executive, makes a habit of being just as cold-blooded and callous as James was in making his decision. They do it with NBA players all the time, telling them to their faces they have no intention of trading them and then picking up their cell phone and offering them to a competitor as soon as the player leaves the room.
  
  Heck, the Cavs are doing that at this very moment. Everyone on that roster not named LeBron has been available in a trade since that May semifinals series loss to Boston. Think Gilbert's told them that?
  
  What Gilbert did was especially reckless and immature when you consider how volatile the situation in Cleveland was Thursday night. With fans burning James jerseys and throwing things at murals and paintings of James, he thought it best to exacerbate their anger rather than to call for calm.
  
  So now, I'm told, James' close friends -- and perhaps even the player himself -- have been threatened with violence, told that their homes in Cleveland and Akron may be burned down. They've got friends and relatives living in the area, and Gilbert thought it right to stir up the fury of the masses even more?
  
  In his incendiary e-mail, Gilbert wrote that James' decision to leave Cleveland was "the exact opposite lesson of what we would want our children to learn."
  
  Yet in his letter, he seemed to threaten to expose potentially embarrassing information about James, writing that he plans to communicate "events of the recent past" to the public over "the next several days and weeks." Is that how Gilbert wants children to act when they don't get their way?
  
  Gilbert's diatribes -- he further attacked James' character in a subsequent interview with The Associated Press -- were hypocritical in so many ways.
  
  He called James a quitter, saying he quit in five playoff games over the past two years, yet he was willing to pay him $125 million to stay on his team. He called James a "self-declared King," yet failed to mention that it was he himself who promoted the "King James" brand throughout his arena. He said James has "gotten a free pass" and that "people have covered up for him for way too long," yet it was Gilbert who overruled the objections of former GM Danny Ferry and gave James and his friends carte blanche throughout the organization. If James was enabled, Gilbert was the enabler.
  
  Then Gilbert said James' actions Thursday night revealed "who he really is." Well, perhaps James is saying the same thing about Gilbert. Perhaps he's known all along that Gilbert didn't respect him; that Gilbert thought he was a "coward;" that Gilbert thought his "King," "Chosen One" and "Witness" nicknames were a joke; that he'd mock and trash them, and him, as soon as James was no longer making him money.
  
  Maybe that's why James didn't return Gilbert's phone calls and e-mails over the past two months -- because he knew the owner looked at him as a moneymaker and nothing more. Maybe James no longer wanted to play for someone like that: someone who, in the heat of the moment, refuses to act his age."
• thedynasty1998

  

  How dare you post that?
• sjmvsfscs08

  Was Gilbert in the wrong? Yeah, I guess. But in my opinion LeBron's display was the most narcissistic thing I've ever seen. It was just disgusting. I didn't particularly care for the NBA prior to this, but now I can't wait for the Miami Heat to get their shit pushed in by the Lakers, Bulls, Celtics, anyone for that matter. Fuck them.
• ytownfootball

  

  Gilbert knows more than this guy, or any of us. If you agree then you're basing your opinion on one side of the story...to be continued.
• jordo212000

  

  jpake, I saw the same article, read it, and thought about posting it. However I decided not to because I figured I'd be called a troll. I'm sure you are well aware that anything you say on here must be pro-Cavs, otherwise you are an idiot and a troll.
  
  I long for the days when we used to be able to have a legitimate discussion on the NBA without somebody getting bent out of shape.
• I Wear Pants

  ESPN has been all about Lebron being traded from the get go. Of course they hate what Gilbert did.
• thedynasty1998

  

  I Wear Pants;421380 wrote:ESPN has been all about Lebron being traded from the get go. Of course they hate what Gilbert did.

  
  Broussard is from Cleveland...
• jordo212000

  

  I Wear Pants;421380 wrote:ESPN has been all about Lebron being traded from the get go. Of course they hate what Gilbert did.

  
  I love conspiracy theories
• I Wear Pants

  Not a conspiracy theory. They have salivated over the "Lebron going to New York/Chicago/Dallas/LA/Miami" story for two years. Not saying they tried to influence it or anything. Just saying that they always wanted it to be a giant circus and for him to leave because it would equal better ratings for them.
• se-alum

  

  thedynasty1998;421381 wrote:Broussard is from Cleveland...

  He's not employed by Cleveland...just sayin'.
• jpake1

  

  I completely agree. It has nothing to do with what I do or don't know. I SAW his letter. That's all I have to know. It was done in very poor taste. He showed his true character and stooped BELOW LeBron's previous actions. Sadly, the only people really agreeing with what he wrote are those that are either Cavs fans and their emotions seem to justify his words, or they're people that are now jealous because the Heat have ruined competition because they're going to get a lot of rings. The one thing I don't get is this-- people are so pissed that the Heat got all three of these guys, but yet, continue to say they won't even get out of the east. If that's how you really feel, then why are you so pissed in the first place with the Heat? I don't buy into it, I think the people that are pissed over it really believe the the Heat have just created a dynasty and will win ring after ring, but they're so pissed over it, they need to disrespect that team by saying they won't accomplish shit and will fall flat on their face. Those are just my two cents. If you don't see a team winning a ring, how could you let yourself get so pissed with who they brought in? Aren't you supposted to try and get better? Call them ring chasers.. as if it's a bad thing. Isn't that the WHOLE point-- to win championships? How can you call players ring chasers when you don't even think they are going to win? Aren't they just joining a competitive team then-- sorta like what Moon did with the Cavs-- join a competitive team to help them win a ring? Felton taking the vet min to join the Lakers would be a ring chasing type of move. I'm just so confused as how people can be so pissed they joined together, say the won't even get out of the east or win a title, but still call them ring chasers as if it's a horrible thing to do? Sounds like heartbreak and jealousy to me.
• jpake1

  

  Jordo- I don't care what anybody thinks, nor should anybody for that matter. I'm aware that people can easily be labeled a hater from Cavs fans. It wouldn't be my first time. It's been done several times the past two years. I've had some of the least popular opinions about the Cavs the past two years, and have got a lot of debate from those guys because of it. I'm not afraid to have the unpopular opinion, because in the past, it's been the right one. I took a lot of heat about the Cavs/Magic, the reciple for LBJ leaving, Miami being the place for LBJ, LA being better than the Cavs, and the Cavs not being the best team in the league over the past two years-- one thing remains a constant-- I was right on all of those when 90% of this site thought I was stupid for saying such.
• derek bomar

  

  se-alum;421388 wrote:He's not employed by Cleveland...just sayin'.

  
  this
• GOONx19

  

  I've posted the ESPN poll on here several times. I don't know how it's still an argument. The majority of the country thinks that Lebron came out of this looking worse than Gilbert.
• thedynasty1998

  

  He said during the whole process he hoped that he would return to Cleveland.
• se-alum

  

  jpake1;421391 wrote:I completely agree. It has nothing to do with what I do or don't know. I SAW his letter. That's all I have to know. It was done in very poor taste. He showed his true character and stooped BELOW LeBron's previous actions. Sadly, the only people really agreeing with what he wrote are those that are either Cavs fans and their emotions seem to justify his words, or they're people that are now jealous because the Heat have ruined competition because they're going to get a lot of rings. The one thing I don't get is this-- people are so pissed that the Heat got all three of these guys, but yet, continue to say they won't even get out of the east. If that's how you really feel, then why are you so pissed in the first place with the Heat? I don't buy into it, I think the people that are pissed over it really believe the the Heat have just created a dynasty and will win ring after ring, but they're so pissed over it, they need to disrespect that team by saying they won't accomplish shit and will fall flat on their face. Those are just my two cents. If you don't see a team winning a ring, how could you let yourself get so pissed with who they brought in? Aren't you supposted to try and get better? Call them ring chasers.. as if it's a bad thing. Isn't that the WHOLE point-- to win championships? How can you call players ring chasers when you don't even think they are going to win? Aren't they just joining a competitive team then-- sorta like what Moon did with the Cavs-- join a competitive team to help them win a ring? Felton taking the vet min to join the Lakers would be a ring chasing type of move. I'm just so confused as how people can be so pissed they joined together, say the won't even get out of the east or win a title, but still call them ring chasers as if it's a horrible thing to do? Sounds like heartbreak and jealousy to me.

  I have no doubt they'll be a dynasty and win multiple rings, but those rings will do little to enhance their legacies as NBA greats.
  
  Tell me this jpake1, would you feel better about winning a ring w/ Wade and a bunch of role players or winning a ring now with the "Three Kings"??
• Mooney44Cards

  

  I feel like the good majority of the articles I've read over the past few days that call out Cleveland and Gilbert primarily have been by people who are employed by ESPN. While most of the other articles I've read from SI, Sporting News, CBSSports, FoxSports, etc seem to do the opposite, they primarily call out LeBron for being in the wrong while mentioning something to the effect of "Did Gilbert and Cleveland overreact like a bunch of babies? Yes. Would most people react in the same way given the same situation? probably."
  
  ESPN has been toe-ing the line for years between reporting news and creating it, thursday night they officially danced their way right across that line.
• jordo212000

  

  se-alum;421422 wrote:would you feel better about winning a ring w/ Wade and a bunch of role players or winning a ring now with the "Three Kings"??

  
  who cares? A championship is a championship to a fan. Let the players worry about their legacy
• wes_mantooth

  

  I won't read anything from Broussard...he has looked as foolish as Lebron and Gilbert during this fiasco.
• thedynasty1998

  

  I've thought about this legacy talk for a while now. 10 years from now, there will be a whole new generation of people who haven't seen Jordan play, but will see the highlights and still consider him the GOAT. I don't really remember Magic Johnson, but if someone asked me who the greatest PG of all time is, one of the names is Magic Johnson.
  
  In 20 years or so, if Lebron, Wade and Bosh and win 4 championships or more, people will look back and say, "Those guys were awesome to watch. What a dynasty that was!" Does that diminish their personal legacies? Maybe. But I think they are trying to do something truly special.
  
  The days of the Boston Celtics winning multiple championships in a row are over, but just maybe Lebron and Wade can attempt to give us the closest thing of a different generation?
• BRF

  

  Didn't Broussard play 3rd base for the Indians?
• wes_mantooth

  

  BRF;421431 wrote:Didn't Broussard play 3rd base for the Indians?

  
  If buttwedge knew what he was doing....he would have. Rick Manning would have made that call.
• lhslep134

  

  For the 120948320948 time on here:
  
  Dan Gilbert's response was immature but it was INCREDIBLY NECESSARY to keep the "B/C of Lebron" Cavs fans rallied together (against James). If you don't think that Gilbert's fury and enthusiasm have ignited passion and rekindled some sort of hope for Cleveland (realistic or not, it's irrelevant) then we'll just have to disagree.
  
  
  Also, I'm one person who is really looking forward to watching the Heat play. I'm a Cavs fan first, but a basketball fan second, and DAMN that team down in Miami will be fun to watch. The Thunder and Heat are one of the reasons I'll be purchasing NBA League pass this year.
• thedynasty1998

  

  lhslep134;421434 wrote:NO ONE IS MAD HE JOINED MIAMI. EVERYONE IS MAD AT THE MANNER IN WHICH HE DID IT.

  
  Completely disagree. It's just easier now to be mad about "The Decision". So, if he released a statement that said he will sign with Chicago he wouldn't be hated? He wouldn't be called a quitter? He wouldn't be called disloyal?
  
  I agree that there is a group of people that are only mad about the way he went about it, but a majority are mad that he left Cleveland.
• ytownfootball

  

  thedynasty1998;421437 wrote:Completely disagree. It's just easier now to be mad about "The Decision". So, if he released a statement that said he will sign with Chicago he wouldn't be hated? He wouldn't be called a quitter? He wouldn't be called disloyal?
  
  I agree that there is a group of people that are only mad about the way he went about it, but a majority are mad that he left Cleveland.

  
  There is always a percentage of ignorant who are as you say, but the (dare I say) vast majority are those who simply would have preferred a peck on the cheek before he left.
  
  ALL, are pissed he left, my god that's just human nature. Most would have understood given any kind of an explanation. None was forwarded.