Gilbert apologizes, but LeBron doesn't

Gilbert apologizes, but LeBron doesn't

Cavs owner still hopes to deliver championship, says offseason won't revolve around making James happy

By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sports writer

POSTED: 08:36 p.m. EDT, May 14, 2010

INDEPENDENCE: ''Sorry'' seemed to be the hardest word for LeBron James after another Cleveland dream died hard Thursday night.
Fans in Northeast Ohio, looking for an apology from James or even some sincere feelings of agony after the Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, went to bed hurt and perhaps a little angry.
Asked to address the area's faithful who have followed him since his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and for seven years in the NBA, James started talking about how his ''team'' will figure out the best opportunity for him in free agency. His ''I love the city of Cleveland, of course,'' seemed almost an afterthought and his caveat, ''We had a great time together'' sounded ominous.
But Dan Gilbert feels your pain.
The Cavs' owner said everything James didn't Friday afternoon, reaffirming his commitment to building ''the best franchise we possibly can'' and getting ''a little hokey'' as he thought about what he's been charged to deliver.
''This is about . . . this maybe sounds a little hokey, but I thought about the kids waking up in Cleveland, Ohio, this morning and having them be disappointed,'' Gilbert said. ''I'm sorry. I apologize to the fans for what happened because this isn't about money or franchise value. This is about delivering for the fans and to the kids and to the corporate sponsors.
''Plan A is just one plan and that's to continue to get better and rise above this and learn from this and deliver a championship to Cleveland, Ohio.''
Whatever it takes
A decision by James to depart when free agency begins July 1 could have dire financial ramifications for Gilbert, the chairman and founder of Quicken Loans Inc. But although Gilbert learned the hard lesson that compiling the best record in the NBA in the regular season for the past two seasons means nothing in the playoffs, it hasn't shaken him in his quest to deliver the first major professional title for Cleveland since the 1964 Browns.
''We will continue to do whatever it takes and I mean whatever it takes,'' Gilbert said. ''One thing that Cleveland should understand — when you start to get little messages that this is the beginning of the end and the franchise is going to move — that's absurd. That's not a thought that's ever even occurred, not in this ownership. We're more motivated than ever. Cleveland deserves more than any town I've ever been in, and the people here, to have a winner.
''And I'll tell you what, worse than any of this, anything that's happened, is looking at the people here and seeing them go, 'Here we go again.' It's a nightmare and we've got to get through it and we will.''
Playoff troubles
Since Gilbert took over in March 2005, the Cavs have advanced past the first round of the playoffs in each of his five full seasons. But their only trip to the NBA Finals came in 2007, when they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. This year, expectations were over the moon.
''Most e-mails have been pretty positive and supportive, but there's nothing anybody can say to any of us here that is going to mask the fact that we didn't do what we were supposed to do,'' Gilbert said. ''There's no use denying that. There's no sugar-coating it. That's a big blow to a lot of people here.''
As for convincing James to stay in Cleveland, Gilbert had a hard time turning his thoughts to July, when the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets will be among those trying to woo the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.
Asked if the Cavs were still in the James sweepstakes, Gilbert said, ''I don't know about a sweepstakes thing, is there a drawing somewhere? Of course, we fully believe this is the best franchise for him to play at and hopefully most players would look at it like that. We will do everything in our power to attract great talent and keep great talent.''
While the future of coach Mike Brown is being evaluated, Gilbert insisted that he does not look at the offseason in the context of doing what he can to make James happy.
''As great as LeBron James is, and at this point he's one of the greatest players to play this game, we don't sit around and say, 'How can we make him happy? How can we make anybody happy?' We strategize and say, 'How can this team come together . . . to give us the best chance of winning.' You can see, there's no one man or even two players who can win a playoff series, especially the second round or later. It's really got to be a team effort and everybody's accountable.''
Ferry's future
General Manager Danny Ferry's future might also be in jeopardy. But after playing for the Cavs for 10 years and serving in his present post for five more, Ferry was also flooded with e-mails, texts and voice mails from hurting fans.
''I know how important winning is to Northeast Ohio and you can trust that Dan Gilbert and the Cavs organization will always have the thirst to make sure they try to bring it,'' Ferry said. ''That's a given, trust me. Dan is very driven in that regard.''
With a summer of insecurity ahead, that's the best assurance Cleveland fans might get for a while.

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Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/. Follow the Browns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ABJ_Browns.


Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert talks to the media during a news conference on Friday in Independence. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) INDEPENDENCE: ''Sorry'' seemed to be the hardest word for LeBron James after another Cleveland dream died hard Thursday night.

Fans in Northeast Ohio, looking for an apology from James or even some sincere feelings of agony after the Cavaliers were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, went to bed hurt and perhaps a little angry.

Asked to address the area's faithful who have followed him since his days at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and for seven years in the NBA, James started talking about how his ''team'' will figure out the best opportunity for him in free agency. His ''I love the city of Cleveland, of course,'' seemed almost an afterthought and his caveat, ''We had a great time together'' sounded ominous.

But Dan Gilbert feels your pain.

The Cavs' owner said everything James didn't Friday afternoon, reaffirming his commitment to building ''the best franchise we possibly can'' and getting ''a little hokey'' as he thought about what he's been charged to deliver.

''This is about . . . this maybe sounds a little hokey, but I thought about the kids waking up in Cleveland, Ohio, this morning and having them be disappointed,'' Gilbert said. ''I'm sorry. I apologize to the fans for what happened because this isn't about money or franchise value. This is about delivering for the fans and to the kids and to the corporate sponsors.

''Plan A is just one plan and that's to continue to get better and rise above this and learn from this and deliver a championship to Cleveland, Ohio.''

Whatever it takes

A decision by James to depart when free agency begins July 1 could have dire financial ramifications for Gilbert, the chairman and founder of Quicken Loans Inc. But although Gilbert learned the hard lesson that compiling the best record in the NBA in the regular season for the past two seasons means nothing in the playoffs, it hasn't shaken him in his quest to deliver the first major professional title for Cleveland since the 1964 Browns.

''We will continue to do whatever it takes and I mean whatever it takes,'' Gilbert said. ''One thing that Cleveland should understand — when you start to get little messages that this is the beginning of the end and the franchise is going to move — that's absurd. That's not a thought that's ever even occurred, not in this ownership. We're more motivated than ever. Cleveland deserves more than any town I've ever been in, and the people here, to have a winner.

''And I'll tell you what, worse than any of this, anything that's happened, is looking at the people here and seeing them go, 'Here we go again.' It's a nightmare and we've got to get through it and we will.''

Playoff troubles

Since Gilbert took over in March 2005, the Cavs have advanced past the first round of the playoffs in each of his five full seasons. But their only trip to the NBA Finals came in 2007, when they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs. This year, expectations were over the moon.

''Most e-mails have been pretty positive and supportive, but there's nothing anybody can say to any of us here that is going to mask the fact that we didn't do what we were supposed to do,'' Gilbert said. ''There's no use denying that. There's no sugar-coating it. That's a big blow to a lot of people here.''

As for convincing James to stay in Cleveland, Gilbert had a hard time turning his thoughts to July, when the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets will be among those trying to woo the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.

Asked if the Cavs were still in the James sweepstakes, Gilbert said, ''I don't know about a sweepstakes thing, is there a drawing somewhere? Of course, we fully believe this is the best franchise for him to play at and hopefully most players would look at it like that. We will do everything in our power to attract great talent and keep great talent.''

While the future of coach Mike Brown is being evaluated, Gilbert insisted that he does not look at the offseason in the context of doing what he can to make James happy.

''As great as LeBron James is, and at this point he's one of the greatest players to play this game, we don't sit around and say, 'How can we make him happy? How can we make anybody happy?' We strategize and say, 'How can this team come together . . . to give us the best chance of winning.' You can see, there's no one man or even two players who can win a playoff series, especially the second round or later. It's really got to be a team effort and everybody's accountable.''

Ferry's future

General Manager Danny Ferry's future might also be in jeopardy. But after playing for the Cavs for 10 years and serving in his present post for five more, Ferry was also flooded with e-mails, texts and voice mails from hurting fans.

''I know how important winning is to Northeast Ohio and you can trust that Dan Gilbert and the Cavs organization will always have the thirst to make sure they try to bring it,'' Ferry said. ''That's a given, trust me. Dan is very driven in that regard.''

With a summer of insecurity ahead, that's the best assurance Cleveland fans might get for a while.