Feeling the Heat

So there was LeBron, sitting on the podium in Miami and getting asked again about Dan Gilbert's letter. A reporter asked James if he tried reaching out to Gilbert after that, to which James responded with a grunt that resembled a "mm-mm" and a head shake that resembled a no, but only if you rewinded it a couple times and watched closely. And that was that.

As for James and the Cavaliers, he said he's talked to a lot of the guys he was close to. Boobie Gibson confirmed on Monday that he has spoken to James a few times this summer and that he knew for a fact LeBron would "definitely" miss playing in Cleveland.

"There are a lot of people writing them off, but they're an NBA team and they have some really good players," James said, somewhat forced, it seemed. "They're going to try and exceed the expectations people have of them. They're excited about their season and we're excited about ours."

Now back to Gilbert. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who joins LeBron in Miami this year, said he was shocked when he read the scathing letter that ultimately cost the Cavs owner a $100,000 fine.

"I felt like it was frustration talking from Dan’s side," Ilgauskas said. "I thought somebody might have gotten into his Blackberry. When you lose a player like that people are not going to sing and dance and be happy about it but it was LeBron’s decision he was free to go wherever he wanted.”