Dan Gilbert should sell the Cleveland Cavaliers to Warren Buffet
Dan Gilbert should sell the Cleveland Cavaliers to Warren Buffett.
This idea isn’t borne from intimate knowledge relating to Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ supergiant star LeBron James or their mutual friend in renowned investor Warren Buffett.
It isn’t meant to defame Gilbert either because although he’s made decisions that he should regret in his time as an owner, he’s opened his pocketbooks and swung for the fences since James’ return to The Land, all in an effort to bring championships to Cleveland. That, above all else, is why the two have been able have a solid, if unspectacular, working relationship. They share a common goal.
Gilbert shouldn’t tell team because Cleveland is in danger of losing out on a bid to host an All-Star Game in 2020 or 2021 due to the obstacles that have delayed the remodeling of Quicken Loans Arena, affectionately known as “The Q”. Or because Cleveland is in danger of losing out on James if he sees a better opportunity, one where he can win championships and play for a model organization.
It’s not even because Gilbert has supported, indeed even befriended, the President of the United States when James is outspoken in his disapproval of the nation’s current leader. The proposition that political differences could cause, or deepen, a rift between the two may seem silly to some but look at James’ history or social activism and the President’s history of engaging in socially divisive rhetoric. Imagine what it would be like to work for a man who has chosen to support a person who allows everything you stand against. Considering the old saying that “birds of a feather flock together”, one can only wonder what kind of person Gilbert really is and if he’s simply at odds with James at a fundamental level.
Gilbert should sell the team for all of those reasons. He should sell the team because besides making James comfortable, removing himself from the equation would get the “bad taste” out of the mouths of James and not just Cavs fans but fans of the game. Gilbert is unlike New York Knicks owner James Dolan in that he certainly cares to win. However, like Dolan, Gilbert has worn out his welcome in the eyes of the team’s fans and the league’s broader audience.
Gilbert, who either doesn’t know that he’s detested by Cavs fans or doesn’t care, would be both selfish and demonstrative of foolish pride in refusing to sell the team. The value of the Cavs’ would drop significantly if James were to leave. Yet, because of the presence of Gilbert, James’ future in Cleveland is always up in the air.
Gilbert, no doubt banking on chance, as every great businessman has done at some point or another, likely believes that all he has to do is win it all this year and James will stay. To that point, he may be right. It’s hard to see a team’s leader leave after winning a championship. Most, if not all, would want to defend their title.
But what about the year after that? What if the Cavs don’t win it all this year?
The odds of the Cavs winning it all aren’t slim. However, they’re certainly not the favorites to win it all. As a businessman, especially knowing the effect James leaving will have on the team’s revenue, it would be more prudent for Gilbert to sell the team while it’s value is at its highest, which could be at the conclusion of the 2017-2018 season.
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Why sell to Buffett though?
For one, Buffett’s net worth is valued at $76.6 billion, according to Forbes, and that’s more than enough money to buy the Cavs. The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently valued at $477 million according to Forbes. Buffett, in fact, has so much money he’d likely be able fund the $140 million remodeling of “The Q” without using tax dollars from the city’s residents.
In fact, because Buffett would like to give away the majority of his wealth and he has signed a pledge to, according to USA Today’s David Carrig, it’s hard to fathom it would take much pushing for him to do so.
Secondly, Buffett’s friendship with James (who calls him Uncle Warren) is genuine and one that they both respect greatly. There’s a trust level between Buffett and James that simply doesn’t exist between Gilbert and James. (Buffett isn’t a friend of the President’s either, which helps in terms of the personal dynamic between the owner and a largely anti-Trump team.)
Last but not least, Buffett’s efforts in philanthropy and his business acumen speak of a man who won’t let his ego cloud his decisions, as Gilbert has seemed wont to do. A man whose cut from the same cloth as James, purely in terms of their charitable efforts.
Those three factors (money, trust and Buffett’s business acumen) could be enough to keep James in Cleveland without holding the team ransom every season.
It’s still possible James will leave in pursuit of a new challenge or new chapter in his career. However, it’s less likely when he has a connection with the team’s owner, the city, state and the fans.
This could be the best move Gilbert has ever made.
He gets paid, gets out from under the thumb of James and removes himself from a franchise with a fan base that has little (or no) love or respect for him.
Fans that will rejoice with Buffett as the new owner.