Rumors

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is looking to sell a stake in his NBA franchise, according to a half-dozen sources who asked not to be named because the details are private. He has retained Allen & Company to explore selling up to 15% of the team, according to three of those sources. The transaction could be in one parcel or to several individuals. Gilbert would retain his majority stake in the team he bought in 2005 for $375 million, which was a record at the time for a standalone NBA franchise

Sportico

Gilbert’s sports assets sit within Rock Entertainment Group and also include the Cleveland Monsters in the AHL and Cleveland Charge in the NBA G League. REG also operates Rocket Arena, Cleveland Clinic Courts and Rock Entertainment Sports Network, a joint venture with Gray Media. In November, the company announced its plans to bid on the WNBA expansion franchise.

Sportico

If the Cavs decide to make some moves before the deadline, there could be a handful of players around the league hoping to be included in a package. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported last week that Cleveland has become a desirable location this season. "Something interesting has happened this year with the Cavs, I've had multiple agents tell me that their players want to play in Cleveland," Windhorst said on ESPN Cleveland. "Part of it is because they know that Dan Gilbert will spend money and that if they trade for their client, their client can get paid. Part of it is they like the way the Cavs are playing, stuff like that. That is an indication to me that they're being well-received. The way they're playing is being well-received."

Bleacher Report

Since 2014, with basketball operations departments and team payrolls expanding, 20 of the league’s 30 franchises have opened new practice facilities. It has been an unrelenting contest of innovation and one-upmanship, with most of the participating clubs claiming new advantages in athlete care, roster retention and free-agency recruitment. In recent years, the price tag to build a standalone training center has typically ranged from $70 million to $90 million, according to figures cited by the teams, usually paid for by the franchises themselves. “This is an arms race of sorts,” said Nic Barlage, the CEO of Rock Entertainment Group, an umbrella company for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. “The NBA … is built off of innovation and evolution and leveraging all the amazing resources that we all have across the league.”

New York Times

More than 20 years after losing the Cleveland Rockers, the city of Cleveland is trying to get back into the WNBA. Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group confirmed to cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor that they are working on a bid to get an expansion WNBA franchise in Cleveland.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Dan Gilbert was the only one that didn’t vote for you to get into ownership here in the NBA. What’s your relationship like with him now? I know you guys are rivals in the mortgage world, but what’s your relationship like? Mat Ishbia: Yeah, you know, I have a fine relationship with Dan. For years, we’ve competed in the mortgage industry. His company used to be number one, but for the last three years, my company has been the number one mortgage company in America. So, we compete every single day in that world. At the same time, now we’re both in the NBA, competing at that level. I don’t have anything negative to say. I want him to do well—just not as well as us in the mortgage business, right?

YouTube

Mat Ishbia: At the same time, we’re competing every day. I didn’t appreciate not being voted for, and he knows my opinions on that. But the way I look at it, it didn’t matter. It doesn’t matter now. Every day, I focus on the Phoenix Suns, focus on my mortgage company, and focus on getting better every day. And we’ll be all right.

YouTube

The over-the-air renaissance continues in sports media as Dan Gilbert’s Rock Entertainment Group (REG), the holding company for the Cleveland Cavaliers and other properties, is launching a sports platform with Gray Media called the Rock Entertainment Sports Network. The new venture will broadcast live games for several other teams under the REG umbrella—the Cleveland Charge (the Cavs’ NBA G League affiliate), the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, the Lake Erie Crushers of the Frontier League—as well as high school varsity sports. Games will be shown on Gray’s local affiliate stations in Cleveland (WUAB, WOIO) and Cincinnati (WXIX).

Sportico

Jason Lloyd: Still hearing Kenny Atkinson as leader for Cavs job but don’t be surprised if Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant’s name emerges. Bryant was an assistant in Utah when Donovan Mitchell was there. Sounds like Dan Gilbert is heavily involved, more than I originally thought.

x.com

ESPN Cleveland: How much will Dan Gilbert be involved in this Cavs offseason? "Significantly... absolutely, Dan is heavily involved," - @WindhorstESPN .

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Windhorst’s reporting proceeded to reveal that James and his wife, Savannah, were in Northeast Ohio for Mother’s Day and opted to stay for Monday’s matchup at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The couple were the guests of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, with James’ agent, Rich Paul, informing the Lakers that he’d be attending his former team’s game.

Awful Announcing

But the Cavs don’t have the cap space to offer James a max deal. While he did tell me in 2022 that he would do “whatever it takes” if it meant playing with his son because “it’s not about the money at that point,” I somehow can’t picture James returning to Cleveland and Dan Gilbert on a league-minimum deal. Short of James playing for the minimum, or even the midlevel exception, the Cavs would have to execute a sign-and-trade with the Lakers, and who’s to say the Lakers would even agree to such a plan?

New York Times

Dan Gilbert: Hey Cleveland… I thought our guys fought hard tonight, especially without two of our best players. If there’s one thing we have learned, it’s that you have to work hard 24/7 (if you know what I mean) to win in this league. Let’s go get Game 5 and bring this back to Cleveland!

Twitter

Kellan Olson: Billionaire Beef update: Suns owner Mat Ishbia at the unveiling of the Player 15 HQ declined to comment on the UWM story from earlier this week beyond calling it Rocket Mortgage and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert doing Dan Gilbert things.

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