This time, praise for James
Cavs owner thanks LeBron, promises to retire his jersey.
Cavaliers owner CLEVELAND —
Dan Gilbert didn’t trash LeBron James on his way out of town this time. Instead, he promised to retire his jersey.
Eight years after he famously criticized James for leaving as a free agent in a letter, Gilbert thanked the superstar for coming back to Cleveland and ending the city’s half-century championship drought. James announced on Sunday night that he’s agreed to join the Los Angeles Lakers for a four-year, $154 million contract, a decision that dredged up bad memories for some Cavs fans.
Although James is leaving Cleveland again, Gilbert used the occasion to wish James well, opening his statement by recalling the night in 2016 when James led the Cavs to a Game 7 win in the NBA Finals over Golden State. That victory gave Cleveland its first professional sports title since 1964.
“A championship that united generations of Clevelanders, both living and passed,” Gilbert said. “Virtually anyone with roots in Northeast Ohio paused and felt the memories of the past and the utter joy that the burden of the so-called ‘curse’ was finally a thing of the past. Cleveland, Ohio, was the home of a championship team for the first time since 1964. Words do not express the meaning and the feeling this accomplishment brought to the people of Northeast Ohio.”
Gilbert, whose relationship with James improved after the Cavs’ title but was always a source of speculation, went on to credit the four-time MVP for deliver-