After LeBron’s initial exit from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat in 2010, team owner Dan Gilbert penned a letter on the team’s website criticizing the move by the franchise’s “former hero.” Among calling James "narcissistic" and his move a "cowardly betrayal," Gilbert also wrote, in all caps, that he guaranteed a championship in Cleveland “BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE."
On Tuesday, former Cavs player Baron Davis took to Twitter to reveal how Gilbert's contempt towards LeBron James even affected him, saying that he prevented Davis from joining LeBron James and playing for the Miami Heat back in 2011.
“I remember Dan Gilbert sent a message to me he wouldn’t let me out my deal if I went to play with LEBRON!!! Facts. He knew that where I was going so they played hardball... he said if I went to play with LEBRON he would win a title. I told him LEBRON gonna win one anyway,” Davis tweeted.
In February of 2011, Davis and a first-round draft pick were traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Mo Williams and Jamario Moon. Davis would be waived from the team in December after the Cavs acquired Kyrie Irving with the first-round draft pick from the Clippers in the 2011 NBA Draft.
Regardless of the issues between the Gilbert and LeBron, LeBron returned to Cleveland in 2014 to give a championship to his home state’s team, and in 2016, he delivered. When LeBron left again in 2018, this time for the Los Angeles Lakers, Gilbert pinned a new message with a different tone.
Are you surprised by Baron’s revelation? Let us know.