Bill Lubinger Interviews Dan Gilbert

Shaver Sports' favorite columnist and Austin Carr Drinking Game aficionado, Bill Lubinger, sat down with Dan Gilbert, for an interview that ran in the Plain Dealer today. Its a good read, and I would recommend checking out the whole thing. Below are a couple of excerpts from the article:

On his principal enterprise, Quicken Loans, one of the largest online mortgage lenders in the country . . .

Gilbert: "We never did these kinds of loans that really started this mess, the subprime loans. We just never got into that business. We were enticed a lot of times to do so by a lot of Wall Street-type players, but I, frankly, never understood some of this stuff. I'm sitting in this room, and I've been doing this for two decades, and they put this stuff on a white board and if I can't understand it, then I'm not going to do it. That was not just me, but a lot of other people at the company, too. So we never really touched that stuff. . .We actually had a slight profit in '08. It was our worst year profitabilitywise in 10 years, but it was probably our best year because we actually turned a profit in this crazy environment, and we're very proud of that."

On LeBron, does he stay or does he go?

Gilbert: "A lot of people think 'We need an owner who can write a check.' There's a lot of owners that write a lot of checks. Some are more frugal than others or whatever, but you really have to create an environment, culture, get the great people, the right people. [And] just as important as getting the right people is getting rid of the wrong people. . . .
"Everything's philosophically driven. We just say, 'Look, if we can create the best environment, the best franchise, a winning franchise in a city that I think loves its sports teams, then we're in the best chance and opportunity to not only keep our greatest people but to attract others.' . . . To me, it'll take care of itself."

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My take is this...Gilbert has gotten rid of the wrong people, he does have the right people in place, and as a business man, if his company can survive the mortgage crisis this country is currently faced with, and go as far as turning a profit in it, the Free Agent summer of 2010 is going to be a piece of cake for this guy. Additionally, I like the comment about 'keeping our greatest people, and attracting others.' Instead of playing this thing not to lose, he's playing to win, as the aggressor, and that attitude is evident throughout the Cavaliers' organization.

Nice work Bill.