Cavs Owner Wishes You’d Stop Insulting the Midwest With Your LeBron Theories

I know I’ve been especially shrill about the idea of Lebron leaving Cleveland. But trust me, that’s all rooted in some “Free LeBron” sentiment. It has nothing to do with any adverse feelings toward The Forest City, and I’m feeling optimistic about what we’ll see from him this season.↵
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↵Try telling that to owner Dan Gilbert, though, who has decided that if you’re not with everything the Cavs do, you’re against the city of Cleveland:↵↵⇥“It’s kind of an insult to the city of Cleveland in my opinion -- an insult to the Midwest,” said Gilbert, who spoke to the media at the Cavaliers’ suburban practice facility Thursday, a few days before the team opens training camp ... “People in your profession are very bored on both sides of the country. There’s no basketball going on so they write this stuff.”↵↵That is some Rove-tastic, turn your weakness into a rallying point and insult to the other side, brilliance right there. Look Dan, people aren’t bored. They’re enraptured by LeBron, even as he’s fallen short of the night-in, night-out superhuman we know he could be. As fans, we simply want to see him put in a position to perform, which is about more than just winning. And I don’t even think people “on both sides of the country” care one way or the other about Cleveland. It’s not a major market, but I’d say indifference is the dominant opinion. It’s not like we have talking points on all that’s silly about the city, like we do Memphis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, or even San Antonio.↵
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↵So don’t quit your day job, fall back, and let us enjoy LeBron nationwide like we’ve always wanted to. That’s all the hysteria over his leaving has ever been about -- well, that and Mike Brown’s less-than-inspiring coaching style. But if things start to turn around this year, and the team’s play isn’t so workmanlike and grueling, the wins more than just a matter of fact, I don’t think you’d find anyone gung ho about James leaving. Except, maybe, for the King himself -- and that’s his money, which frankly, none of us could care less about.↵