Dan Gilbert irritated with Cavs’ floundering start, becoming more hands-on

Team owner Dan Gilbert is not pleased with what he’s seeing from the Cavaliers.

Very much not pleased.

According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, speaking on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast, Gilbert has grown “very unhappy” with the Cavs’ recent slide, particularly as the team has dropped eight of its last 11 games and fallen well short of expectations.

“Two sources with knowledge of the situation, very close to the situation, say that Dan Gilbert is very unhappy about what is going on,” Fedor said. “He turns on the games and he hears boos? Four times in the last five home games? Turns on games and sees the Cavs trailing by double digits again. Sees the Cavs leading by one minute in the second half of these games.”

And then there’s the money.

“And he’s paying a huge luxury tax bill,” Fedor continued. “It’s the highest payroll in the NBA. It’s the only team in the second apron. He’s willing to do that when he thinks the team has a chance to win the championship. When he believes in the group that he has. But it’s not that early anymore.”

The Cavs are currently projected to pay nearly $164 million in luxury tax penalties, per Spotrac, while sitting at 15-14 and clinging to a play-in spot in the East.

This, of course, comes one season after Cleveland finished 64-18 and entered last spring as a legitimate contender. Instead, the Cavs were bounced in the second round and largely ran it back.

Now, with injuries mounting and consistency nowhere to be found, patience appears to be wearing thin.

Fedor added that while team officials have emphasized the eventual returns of Evan Mobley, Max Strus, and Sam Merrill, Gilbert has become more hands-on of late — a development worth monitoring as the Feb. 5 trade deadline approaches.

Translation? The clock is ticking on the Cavs becoming the team everyone said they could be.

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