Dan Gilbert Sounds Off on Mo’s All-Star Snub
Mo Williams - AP Photo/Tony Dejak
When Allen Iverson was named a starter for the All-Star team along side fellow shooting guard Dwyane Wade, many people knew that it would be very difficult for all of the deserving point guards to make the Eastern Conference team. The coaches had their say, and New Jersey’s Devin Harris made it along side Orlando’s Jameer Nelson. But once Nelson went down with a season-ending injury, many felt that this opened a door for David Stern to name Mo Williams – a point guard – to team.
After yesterday’s news that Boston got their third player in Ray Allen – not a point guard – you can understand the frustration around Cleveland.
When Ben Wallace called the original snub a “shamockery,” (a clever blend of sham and mockery), many had a good laugh. When LeBron James dropped the “disrespect” card, many got out their collective violins and used this as yet another reason why LeBron could bolt in 2010. But after the second snub, team owner Dan Gilbert jumped all over it with an email to the Plain Dealer.
Ben Wallace was right when he called Mo originally being passed over for the All-Star Game a ’shamockery,’ ” said Cavaliers owner Daniel Gilbert in an e-mailed statement. “But not naming him as the natural and obvious replacement for the unfortunately injured Jameer Nelson is stupidiculous, idillogical and preposterageous.”
It’s absolutely great to see Gilbert pick up right where Tri-C’s own leaves off. Even made up words sound better than those emailed by Phil Savage.
Does Ray Allen deserve to play in the All-Star Game? Of course. But does not naming a point guard in the absence of Nelson make any sense whatsoever? Not at all. It doesn’t help matters much that David Stern has now subbed in Allen in back-to-back instances. Of course, the Commissioner offered zero explanation when asked of his selection.
The Eastern conference will go to battle against the West with one point guard (Devin Harris) and one center (Dwight Howard). The rest of the roster is filled with all types of tweener players that could be either shooting guards or small forwards. LeBron James may now be forced into extra minutes as a ball-handler, all because his teammate – one that is well-deserving of a role in this game – got looked over once again. Gilbert has every right to feel the way that he does.
Just to get this out of the way, I do not think that a team should have more players based on their overall record. But I do think that a player that has meant as much as Williams has to the Cavaliers and their respective success means more in terms of a bid than that of someone like Mike Bibby and the Hawks. Heck, even Harris is a bit questionable due to the fact that he is the first option for the Nets.
And what did Danny Ferry have to say?
“I know Commisioner Stern has followed our team’s success but maybe doesn’t appreciate how important Mo has been to our team. We have had a great start. We have been really good on both ends of the court, have the top record in the league, and thus far have led the league in point differential all year long.
“Our players and coaches know how important Mo has been to our team’s success. Regardless, we have done a great job of not getting distracted and staying focused on our team goals. I am confident we will continue to do so.”
Many are hoping that Mo will use this perceived snub as motivation. He has already been quoted as saying he will just take it out on the opposing coaches of the East/West that failed to vote him in. If there is another injury on the team and David Stern chooses someone like Bibby, Rajon Rondo or New York’s David Lee, I can only imagine the collective scream that will come from the general Cleveland/Independence area.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:09 am
“It’s absolutely great to see Gilbert pick up right where Tri-C’s own leaves off. Even made up words sound better than those emailed by Phil Savage.”
– I love it
February 6th, 2009 at 11:11 am
Thanks Dan-thanks for your passion, commitment, professionalism, and unwavering focus to bring not only a championship to Cleveland but a product and organization that we can all be proud of. Thanks for your support of Mo, for David Stern needed to add this deserving CAV to the Eastern Conference roster. A single player from this team while Orlando and the Celtics have three is absolute disrespect of the CAVS and blatantly unfair; Dan Gilbert is a true leader.
As a season ticket holder, I can’t thank Dan Gilbert enough for the type of organization and entertainment provided by the CAVS to their fans. It’s more than clear this man cares totally about his product and his customer’s, totally. And, his players.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:12 am
Deep down, I hope that Mike Brown runs the Celtics players in to the ground during the All Star game.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:13 am
I hope Coach Brown plays Garnett, Pierce, and Allen all 48 minutes.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:13 am
@2. Wow, great minds think alike.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Gilbert’s a winner. He’s the yin to Lerner’s yang.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I’m going to use Mr. Gilbert’s words as often as possible for the rest of the month in day to day conversations.
For example,
“It’s stupidiculous that Lerner would hire a coach before a GM”
February 6th, 2009 at 11:28 am
NCbuckeye………….I like it!
February 6th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Mo’ rest for Mo, so I don’t mind that he didn’t make it. I wish LeBron didn’t have to play.
February 6th, 2009 at 11:45 am
Yeah, Dan gilbert shows that he CARES about his team, and the city. I love the way his tenure as owner of the Cavaliers has panned out. Maybe after his 5th or 6th title with the Cavaliers, he’ll buy the Browns and do it all over again. (A guy can dream can’t he?)
February 6th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Why would Lebron need to do extra ball-handling?
Mr. Iverson will have that, the offense, and heck, every shot locked up for the 20 or so minutes he plays. Wait, you mean there’s a team of All-Star’s playing with him? They’re there for their ‘All-Star’ defense, to make up for his lack thereof.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Dan Gilbert is really moving his way up in the ownership ranks in the NBA.
He’s got the good traits of Mark Cuban, with a little more restraint. He’s pretty awesome methinks.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
@ Randy – I didn’t know you had any positive thoughts in yah.
I love Gilbert’s response, I have loved all of his responses since owning the team. The guy is running things the right way
February 6th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Seriously, we need to petition for a http://www.dangilbertpleasebuythebrowns.com. It’s nice to see what the owner of a professional franchise should look like.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
A point guard in an All Star game? wouldn’t that be a little superfluous seeing as no one passes the ball?
February 6th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I won’t paste my belated comment to the other all-star snub thread except to summarize that this whole “you dissed Cleveland” thing is much ado about nothing, and how insecure are we about Cleveland that we care? Let’s just get that ring.
Re Gilbert, I am really starting to like him. He has clearly grown since his early p.r. snafus with Paul Silas, he writes checks to benefit the product and the team future, and he has picked the right management team and been patient through their own growing pains. When he speaks, it always seems modulated and in support of his players, and they must appreciate that. If the unthinkable happens, and LBJ leaves, no one can blame Gilbert, and knowing that Ferry will rebuild is somewhat comforting. I wouldn’t imagine a nosedive to the bottom would occur.
February 6th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
We don’t want Gilbert dividing his attention between the Cavs and Browns. Lets leave him alone to focus on the Cavaliers.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Dan Gilbert = best owner in professional sports, hands down.
Between this and his color commentating during the game a couple months back…
February 6th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I think its worth the snub that Dan Gilbert said the words “stupidiculous, idillogical and preposterageous.”
Seriously, what would you remember 5 years from now? That Mo Williams went to the All-Star game as a reserve? Or that Dan Gilbert added these magnificent words to the English language?
February 6th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
last night when they were right in the middle of the celtics/lakers highlights mashburn mentioned how he really thought mo should have gotten a look for all-star consideration.
just thought it was good to see someone chime in nationally..especially right in the middle of a highlight reel.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
cleveland/independence area? whats that about
anyways i pretty much knew mo would get the snub for jameer nelson and now that ray ray took his place im not surprised. mo will be out in phoenix with his wife for the weekend so maybe we will suit up and just run onto the court during the halftime warmups.
as for bron playing the disrespect card, he is right to do so. the cavs wont get respect until we make the finals again and win some games there. its hard to respect a team that has never won an nba finals game. we need to focus on besting the celtics during the regular season (esp our last two meetings) to pick up the numebr 1 seed. there is no way i see them winning a series in which we have home court after two rounds of playoff bball.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
“cleveland/independence area? whats that about”
happens to be the two locations in which Cavalier facilities are located…
February 6th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
MacNip…..then you haven’t been reading my posts.
Positive thoughts on the Browns…….sorry, I have none at this time. And, I won’t apologize for stating my case until we are freed from that regime.
But please………read my posts on the CAVS before you typecast.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Sorry if anything in critique of the Browns seems to get one typecast, but so be it.
Thank goodness for Viagogo.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
How lucky are we now as Cavs fans that Gilbert didn’t get Quicken Loans involved in the sub-prime mortgage debacle?
February 6th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Ummm hate to break it to everyone but there should still be players ahead of Mo for this spot besides Ray Allen. If you want a pure pg how about Rondo or Calderon? Nobody is even mentioning these guys names and they are superior players, and have had better years than Mo. Don’t get me wrong, Mo has had a good year, but there are still much better selections than Mo for the all-star game.
February 6th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Calderon may be a better player, Rondo definitely is not. But again, would Calderon be the player he is if he was playing next to someone like LeBron James, where the offense runs through him and not the PG? I highly doubt it.
I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying that I do not agree…
February 6th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I’m not doubting that Mo is better suited for his situation than Calderon would be. Calderon is a PG through and through, Mo is more of the Iverson style scoring pg/sg, and he’s always been that way. But if the debate is who is the best selection for the allstar game, its Calderon who should be there (and I won’t argue Rondo because I’m sure that will be a sore point for Cavs fans), particularly if the criteria is having another pg.
But as for every year there are always alot of players that don’t make the all-star team that deserve a shot, and a few players that make it that probably shouldn’t be there…
February 6th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
“Sorry if anything in critique of the Browns seems to get one typecast, but so be it. ”
The irony of this to me is that I myself don’t believe that your praise for Gilbert would be so effusive here were it not for your ongoing criticism of Lerner/Mangini/Kokinis. No one is typecasting you but you, man.
For the record, though, you’re right-on about Gilbert. Not only is he a smart enough business man that he manages to run one of the few national mortgage brokers that didn’t lose their shirts in the subprime crisis as I pointed out, but as owner of the Cavs he has gone above and beyond to bring a solid product as well as additional perks (re-doing the arena, Flash seats, etc.) to his fanbase, as you pointed out.
Though, in fairness, it would have been easier for Randy had he had a LeBron-sized building block to start with when he took over ownership…
February 6th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I agree with Scott about Calderon and Rondo. And I still think that Ray Allen is pretty comparable to Mo when you look at all of their numbers. He may be slightly better (his PER is 0.95 higher than Mo’s), but I don’t see how it’s that much more impressive than Mo.
And is Allen really having that remarkable of a year? If you look at his numbers compared to last season, they’re honestly about the same.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
And in other news, did anyone see how Lebron’s triple double was taken away? Sorta makes that game a lot more bittersweet now, eh? RockKing, do we get a more critical post from you know about how Lebron is pushing the offense in the wrong direction?
February 6th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
One thing you guys forgot to mention is Mo as never acted in a movie with Denzel. David Stern is obviously a HUGE Jesus Shuttlesworth fan.
February 6th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Would it be too much to propose a boycott of the all-star game? To be honest, it doesn’t seem as interesting as watching the Cavs play.
February 6th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Eric Mangini was asked about the Mo Williams snub. He said “George and I were on the same page”.
February 7th, 2009 at 12:23 am
I hope after the jump ball Mike Brown calls time out and benches Gar-not and doesn’t play the “OLD” 3 the entirer game. Stern is a moron for that decision. Only a Celtic fan would think it was the correct move. Wake up Stern!
February 7th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Jason, I’d rather he plays them the ENTIRE game. Let them battle it out for 48 while all of the Cavs get to rest.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
mo’s goin for fitty tomorrow.
February 7th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Can somebody take a minute to add “stupidiculous, idillogical and preposterageous” to urbandictionairy.com?
@ # 28 Theswirsky
I think Rondo is a legit arguement – but he had a stretch when they lost those 6-7 games where he was awful. But then you still have 3 Celts to Cavs none?
Calderon has some of the Raptors blood on his hands this year. Last year he was more of a force.
If you wanted the ideal player to facilitate for the All-Star game it would be TJ Ford, but obviously he’s not an All-Star.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
@#38 yeah he did have a stretch where he played terrible…. and what happened to the Celtics over that stretch, they played terrible (in fact if I’m not mistaken they only won 1 of those games). I really don’t think people see how important he is to that Celtics team. Everyone’s watching the big three… but thery are ignoring the guy making the team run.