Posted by dmurphy104 on 7/9/2010 9:30:00 AM (view original):
Im waffling on the impact of that letter.
On one hand I love that he'd fire on Lebron. And it is playing well in Cleveland. The Cavs franchise lost a lot of value and Gilbert lost a lot of money. He needed to play to the fans.
But yeah, it could bode poorly for future free agents-although they never got anyone big to come before Lebron, no reason to expect it would be different post-Lebron anyhow. And, I dont know how the other players perceive Lebron--but if they think he's as much a jackass for steeling the spotlight--they may think he has some of this coming.
I liked it simply because it was refreshing to see such a public figure spew his unedited thoughts to the public, without the meticulous crafting of the message by a PR department. And you're right. Cleveland is just like Minnesota or Toronto in that no FA is ever going to choose to go there unless the money is far above that which they could make elsewhere. The Cavs will continue to have to rely upon draft picks, trades, and signing role players to build a contending roster, just like they always have.
7/9/2010 9:42 AM (edited)