Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was fined $100,000 for a scathing letter in which he called LeBron James’ decision to play for the Heat “cowardly behavior,” the NBA said yesterday.
Gilbert released a sharp-tongued statement shortly after James’ announcement last Thursday, calling it “narcissistic” and “cowardly behavior.” Later, Gilbert told The Associated Press that he felt James quit on the Cavs during the playoffs the past two years.
Commissioner Daniel Stern said Gilbert’s statement was “a little bit extreme.”
Stern also congratulated James on his decision, but wishes it came without “The Decision.” He said he would have advised James to tell the Cavaliers of his choice to leave for the Heat earlier than he did, and that the two-time MVP’s public announcement shouldn’t have come in a made-for-television special that attracted nearly 10 million viewers.
The commissioner said James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh violated no league rules in discussing free agency among themselves, and that the league isn’t investigating how the Heat managed to land all three. That doesn’t mean Stern didn’t take issue with certain elements of free agency, particularly James’ decision to say he was leaving Cleveland on ESPN.
“The advice that he received on this was poor,” Stern said. “The performance was fine. His honesty and his integrity, I think, shined through. But this decision was ill-conceived.”