The Miami Heat are going to end up being the biggest losers of the NBA offseason, and that is really no fault of their own. If LeBron was willing to return to Cleveland despite the letter Cavs owner Dan Gilbert wrote about him four years ago, this has probably been his plan for quite some time. Still, Heat owner Micky Arison was “shocked” by The Decision 2.0.
I am shocked & disappointed in today's news. However I will never forget what Lebron brought us for 4 years. Thanks for memories @KingJames
— Micky Arison (@MickyArison) July 11, 2014
That’s basically about as well as Arison could have handled it. Of course he is disappointed that he just lost his best player, which could ultimately lead to Chris Bosh leaving and the Heat becoming a below average team. Some would even argue that LeBron wanted to stick it to Arison after the owner refused to spend last offseason to fill out Miami’s bench.
Whatever the case, every owner in the NBA must have learned something from Gilbert’s temper tantrum. The NBA is a business. Business is best when handled with class.
