Could Lebron simply be pulling one of the greatest trolls ever on Dan Gilbert?

[chambers]

I pondered this a few days ago, wondering why Lebron would put up with the asinine Dan Gilbert and let him get away with 'the letter'. I always thought it would be great if he could get back at him.
Delay your decision, build up Cleveland and Ohio's hope and get everyone deliriously excited for the return of the king!
Then have a last minute meeting with the homies in Vegas, and release certain info to goons like Chris Sherdian to give Ohio even more hope. Make them trade away a pick and Zeller.

Then when everyone's hanging and desperate to know you're going home and it's looking like it's a 95%, almost guarantee that he's going home....

Lebron pulls the chair out from Gilbert's a$$ and blames Dan Gilbert for his decision not to return. "Why would I return to play for this punk P.O.S after I gave the organization so many years of my blood sweat and tears ? As long as Dan Gilbert owns the Cavs, I'll never be able to play there again, no self respecting man would."

And I would accept that as perfectly understandable. Lebron would just gift wrap Gilbert hundreds of millions more dollars just by playing at home and he doesn't deserve that.

Just a little speculative rant.

Has this crossed anyone else's mind in all of this?

One reason, if not the major reason, that LeBron James has taken so long to decide whether to play in Miami or Cleveland next season is the infamous letter Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert penned about James after the superstar left Cleveland in 2010, sources said. In the letter, written in Comic Sans font, Gilbert called James a "coward" and mocked the many nicknames and catchphrases attached to James, such as "King James," "The Chosen One" and "Witness." ESPN.com

[fitzhickey]

That would be so funny, but also really sad for all Cleveland fans.

[D.o.s.]

That would be so funny, but also really sad for all Cleveland fans.

Which means it fits pretty comfortably into the canon of Cleve's sports lore.

[GreenWarrior]

sure he could. but he won't be able to go there for road games or live there. he's painted himself into a corner, he has to go to Cleveland.

they burned his jersey the 1st time. what are they going to do this time? 

[SCeltic34]

I'd lose even more respect for LeBron for toying with the fans of Cleveland just for the sake of "trolling" Gilbert.  Even if Gilbert is a POS.

[chambers]

sure he could. but he won't be able to go there for road games or live there. he's painted himself into a corner, he has to go to Cleveland.

they burned his jersey the 1st time. what are they going to do this time?

Well I don't know if they'd care as much as the first time. And Lebron will appear to have given it some serious thought by taking so long. He loves Ohio, on his website and media crap it's all about Akron. The state knows that he loves Ohio.

But I think the Dan Gilbert saga really could work as a method of deciding not to go back to Cleveland (when he really never intended to). I'd accept it as a reasonable excuse to not return.

In reality it's 99% unlikely that anything that I've suggested is true, but it's a funny thought none the less.

[D.o.s.]

sure he could. but he won't be able to go there for road games or live there. he's painted himself into a corner, he has to go to Cleveland.

they burned his jersey the 1st time. what are they going to do this time?

Very little.

[Eja117]

Wow. I never thought of that. I don't know how I'd feel about that.  He'd basically be putting his own family through said ordeal.....yeah...I think Bron is capable of that.

[Donoghus]

That would be pretty classic.

No doubt Gilbert never thought that his little open letter stunt in 2010 might, one day, come back to really bite him in the butt.  Part of me really wants to see that happen.  Can't blame Lebron if he didn't want to go work for that clown again. 

I still think he's going back to CLE, though.

[pearljammer10]

That would be so funny, but also really sad for all Cleveland fans.

Which means it fits pretty comfortably into the canon of Cleve's sports lore.

Haha funny yes but if I was Lebron and did this I would be worried about my life and safety.

[Smokeeye123]

sure he could. but he won't be able to go there for road games or live there. he's painted himself into a corner, he has to go to Cleveland.

they burned his jersey the 1st time. what are they going to do this time?

Very little.

I'm sure ESPN will find a liveshot of some bum burning a lebron jersey just to get on tv.

[Moranis]

he would never do that to Cleveland.  He may end up staying in Miami, but it wouldn't be about him trolling Gilbert.  He is legitimately torn, just like he was when he left. 

[gpap]

I really don't think Lebron is leading anybody on.

He hasn't promised anything to anybody and I don't put any stock into what Chris Sheridan says with his BS "90 percent chance Lebron goes to Cleveland" story.  Yeah okay, how did he come up with that number?

Anyway, I also don't think I would go back to a team if a pinhead like Dan Gilbert wrote a nasty letter about me.

[fairweatherfan]

He hasn't promised anything to anybody and I don't put any stock into what Chris Sheridan says with his BS "90 percent chance Lebron goes to Cleveland" story.  Yeah okay, how did he come up with that number?

Good news, he's up to 100 now! 

[ram]

What if Gilbert has provided a path for Lebron to become part owner of the Cavs after he is done playing?  That would be something that Lebron would have a hard time turning down.