LeBron James "FREE Agent", Cleveland Cavaliers' owner Dan Gilbert

It's called "Free Agency" Mr. Dan Gilbert. Free Agent defined here Mr. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert as: If you do not surround LeBron James with credible players for close to a decade, then LeBron James will 'freely' find his own All-Star NBA players to win a championship, without your "Turbo Tax" owner assistance.

In the final analyst, free agent LeBron James did find his "text-buddies" and colleagued all-star NBA players on another team. While frugally signing less than stellar players, purposely withholding your checkbook Danny Boy Gilbert with what you view in the Wall Street business world as having the ultimate brand, LeBron got tired of being the show and begged you publically to get the NBA's top players beside him to bring Cleveland the championship. Instead Danny you chose to go for second and third-tier NBA players that cost you half as much money. NBA teams are no mortgage nor income tax nor loan or insurance business Danny Gilbert. It is the NBA, where players strive to win a championship each and every year...so should owners. 

Surrounding James with second and third-tier basketball players is the business risk that you chose to take, and predicatably and historically, again, this method did not work.

Now, and finally, LeBron James will be able to compete on a "team" with two bonafide high-level professional ballers with LeBron. This is what LeBron has been speaking of since you bought the team in 2005, take notes.

The only NBA finals that Cleveland played in was with LeBron James. However the reason for this entry to the NBA finals was with an asterick. Winning the Eastern Conference came with a combination of a melted-down Detroit Pistons team, and LeBron had to score the last 25 straight points to close out the series. That rare combination of playoff circumstances rarely occurs in the NBA playoffs. Detroit should have won that series against LeBron James and the others on the Cavaliers.

Thank God for Free Agency, LeBron does not have to return to Dan Gilberts' style of putting together another failed Cavs team. And the Free Agency opportunity came hard for the NBA players. Before Free Agency the NBA owners practically owned their players for their entire professional basketball careers. The owners then did even not pay the players their actual value. NBA owners called the shots. If they wanted the players they drafted then they kept them, or if they did not want them then they traded them. It was a tough-luck slave-like deal for the players. These near slave-ownership conditions continued for decades, up until players stood up in the courts for their rights. It began with former All-NBA Basketball player Spencer Haywoods' 1970 lawsuit that forced the NBA to first treat men like men from age 18 years on allowing adults to enter the NBA. Before you needed four years out of high school. Majoring in basketball frankly is a rarity.

Haywood's lawsuit challenged the NBA using the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The lawsuit challenged that NBA four year rule. Haywood won the lawsuit in the United States Supreme Court, which allowed adults to gain early entry into the NBA.  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/frank_hughes/02/24/spencer.haywood/index.html .

Haywoods' lawsuit was blasted by NBA owners, players, the courts used injunctions, fans protested that Haywood could not play for their Lenny Wilkins' coached Seattle Supersonics, and overall Haywood was ridiculed for bucking the system.

Because of Haywood, of the 27 NBA all-stars that suited up for the 2010 all-star game, 24 of them entered the NBA early.

The Haywood lawsuit paved the way for the Free Agency lawsuit also based on Anti-Trust later that year in 1970, it was Oscar Robertson's lawsuit against the NBA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Robertson_suit. The Robertson lawsuit, settled in 1976, allowed players to become 'Free Agents' after the duration of their contracts, 'freeing' them to sign with other teams if they wanted to. Freedom of movement finally.

The leader of the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman (photo left), whom freed thousands of slaves would be most proud. Tubman put it best: "I could have freed thousands-more slaves, if they knew they were slaves". The complaining players whom stood publically against both Haywoods' and Robertsons' lawsuits, did not understand that the settling and court decision of these lawsuits freed them from the shakles of multi-millionaired NBA owners conspiring to get their way on every clause and item.

It's unfortunate today that NBA players today do not know, nor appreciated, the guts that it took for Spencer Haywood and Oscar Robertson to transform the league to a player-friendly environment versus the lack of NBA's pre-1970's freedoms. "Freedom of movement" is the very basis of the US Constitution.

However, from the looks of the very top-right picture of Danny Boy Gilbert, it seems as if Dan thinks:
1. He knows basketball, and
2. Danny's demeaning comments directed at LeBron James in his open letter http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html , Gilbert thinks that he can own players for life.

From what I understand, Daniel Synder-like Cavs owner Dan Gilbert overrides the President of Cavs Operations, General Manager, and Coach to do as the Los Angeles Clippers are known to do, which is to save a buck or two focusing on signing 2nd and 3rd tier players to join "The LeBron James Show". Unfortunately, the branding of a superstar or flat out circus mentatlity, does not win championships...though it does fill the "Quicken Loan" (Dan company) Arena.

Year after year the elite first-tier NBA organizations routinely would kick the Cavs butts in the NBA playoffs. Teams that treasure have first-tier championshp all-star players like the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, or the new upstarts in the Orlando Magic would laughed as the LeBron show featuring LeBron and the second and third-tiers while the Cavs would sadly leave the floor to end their playoff run season after season.

Dan Gilbert 'had' arguably the best player in the league yet refused to pay to get all-stars needed to bring a championship to Cleveland. Gilbert would rather filll the seats profiting in the hundreds of millions from KING JAMES. A ten-story billboard of LeBron became a Cleveland landmark to the liking of Dan Gilbert. It is kind of funny now that LeBron James leaves Gilbert to figure out a way to sustain the hundreds of millions James brought to Gilbert. The sold out Cleveland arena used to be the place where 20-thousand paying season ticket holders and fans would pay for not only tickets, but merchandise, hot dogs, beer, and parking to "witness" King James. Never did Gilbert think of righteously surround LeBron with another all-star or two to go for a NBA championship, just pay Gilbert.

Yes Cleveland Cavalier owner Dan Gilbert it is your fault that LeBron James left your organization. It is now very evident that LeBron James wanted an NBA championship moreso than you Mr. Dan Gilbert, who left and took ten of millions of dollars less to do so and leave your King James show. LeBron intellegently chose the organization led by a 6-time NBA champion as a player, coach, and President of Operations in Pat Riley, and at the same time, leaving a consumate loser and evil dis-respectful person in Dan Gilbert. William Rhoden of The New York Times, defended Lebron by stating that Gilbert's "venomous, face-saving personal attack", along with the ensuing "wrath of jersey-burning fans", only validated James’ decision to leave Cleveland.

Today's reigning MVP LeBron James gave you Dan Gilbert five (5) opportunities in 5 years to get Mr. James one, just one other All-Star to join James to get that coveted championship for Cleveland. But the Cleveland Cavaliers owner could not deliver that one All-Star player to effectively compete with James for an NBA championship. The Cleveland Cavs fans should be burning Dan Gilbert Armani Suits, and not LeBron James' jersey for Gilberts' incompetence to the 10th power.

Childishly and without merit what does the consistent failure of the decision-maker in owner Dan Gilbert do when LeBron James himself achieves and what both James and the fans have been asking for for year. In James' one spoken 9pm moment, James joined a team with not just one all-star caliber NBA talent, but two all-stars.

What does Danny boy then do but to call LeBron James out of his name and further treats LeBron like a common criminal worthy of being lynched by fans for stealing Dan Gilbert's championship hopes in the open letter posted on the Cavaliers website http://www.nba.com/cavaliers/news/gilbert_letter_100708.html .

Up to that 9pm hour this past Thursday, Gilbert again did not produce one of the so many quality Free Agents to the Cleveland Cavaliers. You would think that Gilbert would get a free agent or two for the Cleveland Cavalier fans to cheer for next season, just in case LeBron decides to leave the team. LeBron would have returned to the same ol crappy Dan Gilbert team to again lose in the playoffs without any quality help for LeBron. 

Here you have a Cleveland Cavalier franchise that has never, ever, ever had an NBA championship, and it is evident why. One un-called tyraid from the multiple failure of an Cleveland Cavelier owner Dan Gilbert, and we now fully understand why Cleveland will continue to be NBA championship-less. We now see why LeBron James pulled the Cavs jersey off quickly after his very last playoff lost as a Cavillier to the Boston Celtics. LeBron had enough of Dan Gilbert.

LeBron cannot win for any organization that surrounds him with two over-the-hill centers, and a carrot-top forward that does absolutely nothing. The Lakers would have laughed Zegogis and carrot-top out of LA for good in their Summer League try-outs. The Lakers rightfully already deemed Shaq as out of his prime six years ago. However on Gilbert's Cavs, these cats played nearly the whole game -- every game of the season an play-offs - with LeBron James. Having these guys on the court with the reigning MVP is an insult to James.

These three under-achieving players also came cheaply with creative financing by owner Dan Gilbert. In fact, he trade Zegosis to the Wizards and the Wizards then cut Zegosis, whom Dan Gilbert then re-signed for millions cheaper to the so-called Championship-minded Gilbert. Did I mention that both Carrot-top and Zegosis are Cleveland fan favorites. Niether Zegosis nor carrot-top can play hard-core basketball, but they are fan-favorites. Being a fan-favorite is a fill-the-seats criterier of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert -- not championship quality basketball players, but fan-favorites. This is what LeBron James had to deal with you for five, and 7 consecutive long championship-less years with the Cavs organization. Oh btw, nothing has changed. In this year of multiple all-star NBA free-agents, again, not one of these franchise changing free-agents signed with the Caveliers' Dan Gilbert. I wonder why?

The never championship-titled Cleveland Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert has failed to bring not one all-star to the Cavaliers to accompany James and compete for a championship. Lebron James should have left years ago. I am most certain that the Cleveland Cavaliers will try very hard next season without their 'only' all-star in LeBron James, and maybe win 10 of the 82 games next season. I am now convinced that LeBron really is the Most Valuable Player. Up to now I thought it was Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant is the best player, but if you take Kobe off the Lakers they still would make the playoffs. It was again made obvious in the 2010 NBA playoffs that if you took LeBron James off of the Cleveland Cavs they would be the worst team in the League.