Cavs owner wrong with LeBron-to-NY "insult" rant

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert attempted to stick it to the media on Thursday, blaming them rather than the ineptitude of the franchise for speculation that LeBron James will flee Cleveland after his contract is over for either the New York Knicks or future Brooklyn Nets.

He called the media's reporting of the issue out-of-line, "an insult to the city" and simple conjecture from bored soprts reporters.

PUH-lease.

Really, Dan Gilbert?!

Yeah, I guess LeBron James isn't best buds with Jay-Z, who just happens to be a co-owner of the New Jersey (soon Brooklyn) Nets?

Really?!

I guess the Nets and Knicks haven't been making trades, cutting players and clearing cap space for 2010 when they can make max offers to James and bring him to NY?

Really?!

Because Dan Gilbert isn't one of the worst owners in professional sports who didn't fall ass-first into the best player in the league and has YET to provide him with an acceptable supporting cast in order for him to take that sorry franchise all-the-way to an NBA title?

Really?!

Because LeBron James (noted front-runner aside) didn't wear a New York Yankees cap to a Yanks/Indians playoff game...IN CLEVELAND?

Really?!

When asked about New York, LeBron didn't specifically say he loves the city and thought it would be a great place to live and play?

Really?!

Because LeBron didn't come out with a limited edition line of a New York style of his shoes...only sold in New York City...featuring many Yankees references?

Really?!

Because LeBron is going to indicate his team's owner (who is currently paying him millions of dollars for the next two years) that he plans to leave? There is a max contract in the NBA, so the best the Cavs can do is match exactly what the Knicks and Nets will offer.

Really?!

Because LeBron doesn't have a clause in his Nike contract that promises to DOUBLE his endorsement deal if he moves to a major city like New York, Chicago or Los Angeles?

Really?!

Gilbert's not going to worry about a contract extension for the best player in the NBA who is disheartened with the lack of effort made and money the team has spent to fill up the rest of the roster with appropriate talent to compliment LeBron and help them win a title?

Really?!

Sports reporters are bored because they don't have the entire NFL season to cover, NCAA football every Thursday through Saturday, tight MLB playoff races, Brett Favre, O.J. Simpson, Lance Armstrong, (locally) Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn, Ohio State, etc.?

Really?!

THAT speculation is an insult to the city? Not the fact that the Indians made the playoffs last year and gave up on this season before the All-Star break? That Ohio State made it to two BCS title games and got whooped by superior opponents? That OSU just got bludgeoned to death by USC? That your 2008 gem of an NFL team is at the bottom of the league and about to lose their starting QB, coach, etc.

Really, Dan Gilbert?!

(Just for the record...I've been doing "Really?!" columns since the late 90s...so no posts about ripping off Saturday Night Live on this one. Thanks.)

LeBron James: Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Honestly, what exactly have the Cleveland Cavaliers been doing this offseason? Because I can tell you what they have not been doing…getting star forward LeBron James an ounce, a bit, an iota of help.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again…What the hell is wrong with this franchise? Absolutely horrendous for a decade, lady luck finally strikes the Cavs in the form of Akron-born King James in the 2003 NBA Draft. Aside from being arguably the best player in the league right now, James is a hometown guy and as much a star away from the court as he is on it.

He took a downtrodden franchise to the top, barely missing the Eastern Conference Finals in 2005-06, barely losing the NBA Finals in 2006-07 and again barely missing the Eastern Conference Finals and losing to the eventual champion Boston Celtics this year.

And he has done it…alone. All by himself.

Do the Cavs want him to be impressed by their endless list of third- and fourth-rate support players? Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Damon Jones, Donyell Marshall, Drew Gooden, Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Varejao, Delonte West…? It’s pathetic.

You have a franchise player who has the ability to take you to the title game every single season. Give him a little help getting to that point, and he will finish the job.

And what do you do with perhaps the best player we’ve seen since Michael Jordan? You waste your opportunity and sit Indian-style watching as he gets disgusted with the franchise—his franchise. You wait and expect him to do it on his own while his contract slowly expires; you leave him no other choice but to head to New York (Knicks or Nets) for greener pastures and championships without so much as trying.

So you’re going to take the 2003-04 Rooke if the Year, annual All-Star (four appearances, two MVPs), four-time All-NBA player, league scoring champion in 2007-08 with career averages of 27.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 6.6 apg and 1.8 spg (17 triple-doubles) and let him sit in Cleveland and fester?

Smart move. But you’ll be kicking yourselves when he’s putting up those numbers for a franchise that cares and will help him win titles.

Help Wanted: All by himself

I had a strong belief since watching a high school basketball game in 2001 that LeBron James (in only his junior year) would be the greatest player in the history of the NBA. To this point, he has done nothing to prove me wrong.

After earning Rookie of the Year honors in 2003-04, James has become an annual All-Star (four appearances, two MVPs), a four-time All-NBA player, league scoring champion in 2007-08 and has taken the Cleveland Cavaliers to three straight playoff appearances including an Eastern Conference Championship and NBA Finals appearance in 2006-07.

He has career averages of 27.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 6.6 apg and 1.8 spg including 17 triple-doubles—Magic Johnson numbers. Also like Magic, he can and will play all five positions on the floor, based on talent and team needs. However, that is where the comparisons to Magic and Michael Jordan end. Worse of all, it is not his fault.

Where is his surrounding talent? James won the East last season with David Wesley, Anderson Varejao, Eric Snow, Donyell Marshall, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson.

I randomly pulled out the roster of the 1996 NBA Finals. Jordan had Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Toni Kukoc, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Bill Wellington, Ron Harper and John Salley.

There is no other player in the history of the NBA that has done so much with so little. Hughes was supposed to be James’ Pippen. He’s not even on the team anymore. The Cavs blew up James’ championship-contending squad and traded for/added Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace and Deltone West while losing Wesley, Hughes, Gooden and Marshall.

That isn’t enough. West has proven himself to be a nice point guard and you cannot argue with Ilgauskas’ fundamentals or Wallace’s defense. However, West is far from polished, Ilgauskas can barely move and Wallace is a huge liability on offense.

Now it is time to put the pressure on GM Danny Ferry. James needs a compliment, not a spot-up shooter. He needs a baller, a player that can contribute 25 points any given night. A guy that can take the pressure off James to put up 30-40 points a night and allow him to dish and rebound like he wants to. Just look at how much Pau Gasol helped Kobe Bryant improve. Imagine that times two.

James may be, forget that, IS a great NBA player. He has the potential to be a legend, if not THE legend. But he cannot, and should not, be expected to do it himself. And if that help doesn't come by 2010, the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets will have their arms (and wallets) open and ready.