After LeBron James infamously bolted from Cleveland in the summer of 2010, the Cavs went through four painful years of losing.
Team owner Dan Gilbert napalmed the bridge he’d built with his superstar upon his departure to South Beach, but against all odds, they’re now back working together.
Gilbert expressed confidence Wednesday that he’s always believed that amends could be made with LeBron.
Per the Akron Beacon Journal:
“Unless you’re really doing some significant harm to another human being, I don’t think the bridge is ever burned,” Gilbert told reporters Wednesday on the eve of the Cavs’ opener against the New York Knicks. It was the first time Gilbert spoke publicly in eight months.
“We had a night where emotions were flying high on all sides,” Gilbert said. “Things like that happen a lot in business where people have phone calls and heated exchanges and people are writing each other emails and letters, and then the next day they’re eating lunch and doing business. It’s not a be-all or end-all type thing. […] Except when you’re in the sports world, something like that is blown up and the whole world knows it.”
“We had one bad moment and it just overshadowed all the great times we had together,” James said Wednesday. “Now we’re back together. We both have something in common and that’s to bring a championship to this city. That’s what it comes down to. We have an opportunity and we have an obligation to represent this team and franchise the right way.”
