Lynn Henning
Dan Gilbert's hypocrisy emerges in destructive message

The Detroit News

Sifting through the rubble of Dan Gilbert's post-LeBron James remarks is not easy or pleasant, all because the destruction was so wanton.

But, piece by piece, Gilbert's hypocrisy that merged with uncontrolled rage Thursday night created some kind of mess after James announced he was signing a free-agent contract with the Miami Heat.

The ugly stuff that spewed from a Cavaliers owner's mouth late Thursday is only partially included here, but, if nothing else of value came from his tantrum, it sure looks as if Tom Izzo made the right decision to stick at Michigan State, and not only because the Cleveland Cavaliers no longer have James:

1. Gilbert says James "quit" on the Cavs in the second round of this spring's playoffs. That's interesting news. Not sure why it took three months for the Cavs owner to issue his indictment, but the timing is as savage as the charge, which is utterly baseless.

2. If James "quit" on his team, why is Gilbert so incensed James is moving on? The answer, of course, is as obvious as Gilbert's irrational charge. He only "quit" if he left a team Gilbert owned. He would have walked back into an owner's embrace had he stuck with the Cavs. He would have been hailed for his loyalty. And Gilbert is going to tell us otherwise?

3. James, said Gilbert, "has gotten a free pass." The owner had about 100 million more free passes, in dollars, had this supposedly treacherous, betraying, insubordinate superstar merely returned to Cleveland. Usually, hypocrisy is at least camouflaged. Give credit, as it were, for Gilbert being so overt with this outburst, which was more like self-immolation.

4. Let's reverse roles for a moment, which Gilbert can obviously do with aplomb. Had it been the Cavs who courted James from Miami, what would have been the owner's reaction Thursday night? What might the statement released to Cavs fans have said? And what would Gilbert's disposition have been toward Miami and to the Heat fans James had disappointed? I think we know the answer to that. Does Gilbert wish to tell us otherwise?

5. What did Gilbert expect Michigan State to say if Izzo had left East Lansing for the Cavs job, when Gilbert, who decries the money James accepted, was tempting Izzo with $30 million or more to leave behind a program of supreme quality and achievement at MSU? And does he think for a moment, for all the sadness it would have brought to East Lansing, that Michigan State officials would have expressed anything other than gratitude for Izzo's work and best wishes for his future?

We all have seen 4-year-olds throw at least acceptable fits when things haven't gone their way. We saw nothing as mature or forgivable from Gilbert with his scorched-earth assault Thursday.

It was tough to make James a sympathetic figure as this out-of-bounds, over-the-top free-agent soap opera crawled to an ugly finish Thursday night.

But one man showed it could be done. And that pretty much is the only thing Gilbert has succeeded in achieving with his NBA team the past few months.

lynn.henning@detnews.com