Sympathizing with Dan Gilbert
Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, doesn't come across as too easy a guy to have too much empathy for. But maybe people ought to be cutting him just a little slack. Last week was a busy and emotional one for Gilbert. First he was dealt the blow of learning his star moneymaker, LeBron James, wouldn’t be resigning with his club. Then he was slammed a $100,000 fine by NBA Commissioner David Stern for responding to James with an open letter that called the superstar a coward and a hack.
The first is the real blow, and not for the reasons you might think. This has nothing to do with Gilbert losing a mega-talented player, and everything to do with it. For one, it is true that James is an excellent athlete, but at this point it’s more about his star power, ie. Currency. The revenue he can generate is unprecedented. Predictions are out that leaving the Cavaliers takes a weighty $40 million out of their revenue.
Gilbert built James his team
So for one, by losing James, Gilbert is losing a lot of money. And it’s not his—others are losing it too. Here’s a guy who spent years assembling a team solely for James—getting Mo Williams and Shaquille O’Neal into the mix. And the thing is, it worked—the Cavs became a massively successful team, finishing off 2009 with the NBA’s best record, 61-21.Obviously building a team around a single player is a feat, but Gilbert did it. And it took money too- Gilbert's money.
It would be different, say, if Cleveland was a losing team. But they’re not a losing team, which makes it very hard to justify James’s move to Miami. He said he was ‘taking his talents to South Beach’ to win a championship. But Gilbert did everything in his power to build a championship team, and during the regular season, they sure had it. Leaving playoffs aside, which is the wild card in this argument, James’s decision just comes off as one a desperate guy would make for silly reasons.
Not just that, but James’s decision affects the entire Cleveland urban landscape. By leading the team out of the abyss, he must have created that he created hundreds, probably even thousands of jobs just by virtue of playing great basketball- $40 million can go a long way. The fans flocked in, industry was plentiful and good. But now that he’s gone, the same holds: a huge chunk of Cleveland’s economy falls by the wayside. One can only speculate on how many jobs James withered away, and how much he affected the city’s economy, just by making a national sports announcement.
When seen in this light, it’s hard not to sympathize with Dan Gilbert, and the people of Cleveland. James could be a good guy, but he sure as h**l has a massive impact on things, and that’s something celebrity personalities have to account for. That’s why, despite what LeBron James tells you, the decision wasn’t about winning championships. It had other far reaching implications even he probably isn’t aware of. You could perhaps make the argument that all of this stuff isn’t for him to examine, just being a basketball player, but maybe it is, as those with the most power de facto should have the most responsibility too.
In this context it’s also easy to comprehend the otherwise incomprehensible tone of Gilbert’s letter. It comes off as childish and unprofessional because it is all of those things. We’re not dealing with basketball anymore—we’re dealing with human realities, and those tend to garner imperfect, live human responses. Don’t worry Dan, someone feels for you buddy.
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