Dan Gilbert: LeBron and I had '1 bad night in 5 years'

Having broken the city's 52-year championship drought, everything is good enough with the Cleveland Cavaliers that past dust-ups can be swept under the rug.

At least that's what team owner Dan Gilbert tried to do when speaking on his infamous letter aimed at LeBron James following the latter's decision to bolt from Cleveland in 2010.

Gilbert appeared on the "Really Big Show" with Tony Rizzo and Je'Rod Cherry on ESPN 850 WKNR in Cleveland on Tuesday to reflect on some ugly history in the Cavaliers franchise.

"I think everybody learns every day in the decisions they make and the things they do," Gilbert said, as transcribed by ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It was just a whole different feeling from Day 1 (when James came back in 2014). Keep in mind, that we just had one bad night in five years that we were here with LeBron - remember the first two (years that James played in Cleveland), Gordon Gund ran and owned the team.

"But we never had a bad day until the way it ended. And as bad as it was, it was one day, it was one night and everybody is a grown man and obviously we focused on the job here. And sometimes things happen for a reason, right? You just never know it at the time."

Gilbert attempts to characterize the ordeal as "one bad night," but his comic sans-fonted letter remained live on the Cavaliers' website right up until James decided to return in 2014. He pointed to a web issue as his convenient excuse.

That "one bad night" marked the nadir of Cleveland as a franchise. Gilbert slammed the door shut on the best player in franchise history after he chose to exercise his free agency, calling the decision a "cowardly betrayal" and "shocking act of disloyalty." He also made fun of James' "self-declared" moniker of "King" before promising the Cavaliers would win a title before James did.

James went on to win two titles in the subsequent three years with Miami before returning home to snap Cleveland's drought.