Cavaliers Owner Dan Gilbert Reportedly Frustrated as Team Sputters
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Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is “very unhappy” with the club’s recent slide, according to Cleveland.com reporter Chris Fedor on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast.
The Cavaliers have dropped eight of their last 11 contests and are riding a three-game losing streak that began with a defeat to Charlotte last Sunday. The skid continued with back-to-back losses to the struggling Bulls, and it came on the heels of a narrow win over Washington and a Dec. 6 home loss to a short-handed Golden State squad.
Fedor said two people familiar with the situation describe Gilbert as alarmed by persistent fourth-quarter boos at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and by the club’s habit of falling behind by double digits. The owner is also mindful of the franchise’s league-high payroll, which places the Cavaliers as the NBA’s only team operating above the second luxury-tax apron.
Spotrac projects Cleveland’s current tax bill at nearly $164 million. Gilbert has signaled in the past that he is willing to pay such costs when he believes the roster can contend for a championship, Fedor noted.
Cleveland finished last season with a 64-18 record—best in the Eastern Conference and second overall—before falling to Indiana in the second round of the playoffs. Management kept the core largely intact for 2025/26, but injuries and inconsistent play have left the Cavaliers at 15-14, eighth in the East, roughly 35 percent into the schedule.
The front office has tried to ease Gilbert’s concerns by pointing to pending returns from injured contributors Max Strus, Sam Merrill, and Evan Mobley. Fedor added that Gilbert has become increasingly involved in basketball operations, a factor that could influence decisions ahead of February’s trade deadline.
Source: Hoops Rumors
