Dan Gilbert regrets sending letter to fans

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert regrets the open letter he sent fans after LeBron James announced he had decided to play for the Miami Heat, reports Jodie Valade. The letter included a guarantee that the Cavs would win an NBA Championship before LeBron did, something that failed to pass when the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in June of 2012. Gilbert says he regrets sending the letter, but that the issue is history:

"Looking back now, that probably was not the most brilliant thing I've ever done in my life. If you're going to predict something that doesn't happen and you're going to do it publicly, you'd for sure take it back. When that happened, when they won, it was the end of the end of the end of that whole thing. Now there's nothing more to talk about."

Gilbert adds that it isn't just his hindsight that's improved. When James' drawn-out decision making process eventually left the Cavaliers empty-handed, Gilbert realized in the future it would be better to deal a franchise player than to risk getting nothing when the player enters unrestricted free-agency and opts to play somewhere else. He admitted that such a decision might backfire with the fans, but that it would present the Cavs with their best value.

Gilbert became the majority owner in the Cavaliers franchise in 2005.