CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Last Tuesday night was a potentially huge win for the Cavaliers' franchise. And not just because they had a nice comeback victory against the Wizards.
A couple hours after the game, there was a massive party underway on The Q's fourth-floor practice court. The team's owners, especially majority owner Dan Gilbert, and top officials were celebrating and hugging amidst tables with high-end food and top-shelf alcohol. There was even a disc jockey. If not for the dozens of Issue 3 banners, you could have mistaken it for a five-star wedding reception.
Voters have cleared the way for Gilbert to build two casinos within the next three years, including one across the street from the arena he controls. The effect it will have on downtown is debatable, but there's no doubt the impact it will have on the Cavs.
Gilbert's victory -- which amounted to pulling the sword from the stone after casino issues had failed four times before -- can be attributed in part to how well he's managed the Cavs since he bought them in 2005. It may have only been the beginning.
Lost in all the discussion over where LeBron James would be playing next year was Gilbert's future as owner. If you took an informal poll in Northeast Ohio, there's a good chance Gilbert would rank second behind James in fan's approval ratings of Cleveland sports figures. He's committed to running a first-class operation, even if it is operating significantly in the red.
With the promise of the new casinos, which could perhaps vastly increase Gilbert's wealth over the long haul, it can be expected that he will continue to invest massively in his most high-profile asset. It does make sense to spend to keep James happy and in Ohio, but it doesn't make much fiscal sense to have $90 million payrolls in Cleveland. Yet Gilbert has never blinked in writing checks, and his war chest is about to grow.
Considering the value of keeping 20,000 fans coming downtown and around the forthcoming casino to watch the Cavs 41 times a year, don't expect to see Gilbert change his aggressive style, no matter what happens with James.
In fact, with that in mind, if the Indians or the Browns should ever become available there's a good chance Gilbert would make a bid to purchase one or the other. Before he bought the Cavs, Gilbert tried to buy the Milwaukee Brewers. Besides just wanting to win, having successful sports teams that draw people to downtown just became very important to the budding casino magnate.
Should there be celebration that Gilbert, who is already one of the richest men in America, is likely going to get richer? There are a lot of opinions on that one to be sure, but there is no questioning his willingness to spread that wealth around. The Cavaliers will likely only continue to reap those rewards.
AROUND THE ASSOCIATION
The delusion tour: Coming off the bench for the first time in his first game with the Memphis Grizzlies last week, Allen Iverson was asked how his injured hamstring was feeling. He missed almost all the preseason and the first week of the regular season, so coach Lionel Hollins slowly worked him back in, playing him 18 minutes.
But the answer about the hamstring said everything you need to know about The Answer these days.
"I had no problems [with the hamstring]," Iverson said. "I had a problem with my butt sitting on that bench for so long."
Ah, yes. Only one team made Iverson a concrete contract offer over the summer -- the Grizzlies with a one-year, $3.1 million deal. This was the reason for that lack of interest -- even though Iverson's skills have receded in his mid-30s, his ego has not. Time and age have made him a role player on one of the league's worst teams. But apparently he's no closer to accepting this reality than when he was sent home by the Pistons last spring.
In the preseason Iverson took aim at the Pistons and former coach Michael Curry and branded them "liars" because after they traded for him last year they promised he'd be a starter. What Iverson doesn't seem to understand is the Pistons weren't lying, they were just flabbergasted. They didn't think they'd have to resort to making the lineup change, assuming the former MVP still had game left. As it turned out, he was in the middle of a stunning loss of ability and athleticism, which was backed up by sight and by stats.
When Curry, who obviously didn't have a great year as he was fired, realized it was better to start Richard Hamilton instead of Iverson, he did it for the team's sake. It was not surprising the Pistons played their best ball of the season when Iverson was sent to the bench in the second half of the year. Apparently Iverson missed it -- he was in self-imposed exile, after all.
Now after being provided a career lifeboat by an organization desperate to pump up fan interest, Iverson is in the middle of ruining what could be his last chance. The Grizzlies should have known better, though; every other team did. They trusted a future Hall of Famer was ready to go out with some class. Right now, that doesn't look like it is going to be the case.
On Saturday, Iverson took a leave of absence for personal reasons on the same day he was supposed to meet with Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley. Unless he comes to grips with the truth, there's a chance he's he'll be on the bench for good.
Shooting star: Over the summer, the Cavs recruited Channing Frye and hosted him on a visit to Cleveland, liking his ability to shoot from the outside as a big man. Ultimately they finished second to the Phoenix Suns, who were prepared to offer Frye a significant role near where he starred in college at the University of Arizona.
After being buried on the bench in Portland the last two seasons, the Cavs felt Frye was undervalued and he's showing it with the Suns during their hot start. After Friday's win in Boston, Frye was averaging 14.6 points a game and shooting 51 percent from the floor.
Bat man: Manu Ginobili created one of the off-the-wall highlights of the year last week when he slapped a bat that was flying around the AT&T Center on Halloween night. Guess the security staff didn't check the bags fans brought in that night too closely.
But while it's gotten him a lot of attention, there's been some unpleasant fallout.
First the animal rights group PETA was upset, thinking Ginobili had killed the bat. However, team officials said when he picked it up off the floor and gave it to a security guard it was alive and it was later released. But out of precaution, team doctors recommended Ginobili undergo rabies vaccination, which is a series of four sets of shots. Ginobili told the San Antonio Express-News that the first batch gave him a fever for 24 hours.
Don't get in his way: After a blowout loss in Indiana Friday, which was the Washington Wizards' third straight, veteran forward Antawn Jamison went on a locker-room rampage. Calling it the "Wrath of Tawn," The Washington Post reported that Jamison went on a tirade about his team's lethargic effort, and to emphasize the point smashed a fruit tray against a wall in the visitor's locker room.
Perhaps Jamison, currently out with a shoulder injury, should have taken this approach years ago. The Wizards have never been able to get the most out of their impressive talent. A clutch player and a class act, Jamison stewed in the playoffs two years ago when teammates continued to run their mouths against the Cavs to the point of distraction. Often the Wizards' famous childish antics have seemed to upset Jamison. The days of bearing them silently seem to be at an end.
Getting a good break: As part of a new deal with Spalding, the NBA is using a new style of rims this season. Called the "Arena Pro 180," it has a thicker rim that collapses from all sides when dunked on. For years, the classic breakaway rims only flexed in the front.
Over the first two weeks of the season, scoring has shot up, leading some to speculate that the more flexible rims are permitting more shooters rolls. There's not enough data to support that yet. Some of the scoring numbers can be attributed to a couple of terrible defensive teams that are driving the whole league up.
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