<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LIVONIA, MICH. - Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry was stunned during one of his first meetings with his new boss after taking the job in the summer of 2005. Team owner Dan Gilbert had asked Ferry, "If we take money out of the equation, what is the best way to do this?'' He was talking about changes to Quicken Loans Arena and the dressing room, and Ferry realized that Gilbert is very serious about his "isms,'' which are proverbs or statements that govern Gilbert's approach to business. One of Gilbert's isms: ``Numbers and money follow, they don't lead. Don't chase money. Chase the skills that will make you great at what you are doing or what you are building.'' Gilbert asked Ferry what it would take to make the Cavaliers into a championship team, beyond such obvious answers as talented players and coaches. Ferry slowly began talking about state-of-the-art dressing rooms with plush carpeting, DVD players and individual TV sets in each locker, so a player could study personal game video. He talked about building a practice facility away from downtown Cleveland. He waited for Gilbert to bring up the cost, but the owner was more interested in the ideas -- and the benefits that would come from them. He already was in the mind-set of having an elite dressing room to attract players, based on what owner Mark Cuban had done with the Dallas Mavericks. Ferry stressed what Gilbert already knew: It was crucial to keep LeBron James. Cleveland is not No. 1 on the list of favorite places for most players, so everything has to be first class. ? ? ? ? ? "A penny saved is just a penny. You can't tie a dollar to an action.'' -- Dan Gilbert ? ? ? ? ? It didn't take long before the old lockers were removed. New, larger, deeper wooden ones were installed. In addition to the TV sets, Xbox consoles and stereo systems were added to each locker. The coaches' offices were remodeled. A large family lounge was built with play areas for the children of players and coaches. Giant TVs and lots of food were available in an upscale atmosphere. Gilbert also put nearly $16 million into the arena, starting with new seats, new scoreboards, a new playing floor and upgraded concourses. He knew the improvements could not inspire many more ticket sales. James already was helping to sell out most home games. Gilbert also is investing about $20 million to build a new practice facility in Independence. It should be one of the best in the NBA. Or, as Cavs veteran radio broadcaster Joe Tait said: ``It will be the Taj Mahal. This guy spares no expense.'' When Gordon Gund owned the team, he kept the arena in good condition, but there weren't any significant additions. The Cavaliers also spent time making sure they didn't have to pay rent under their deal with Gateway Corp., charging any improvement they made against payments due on the lease. For several years, they paid no rent. In the last few years of Gund's ownership, there was a sense he was looking for someone with more energy to buy the team -- and that became Gilbert in the spring of 2005. "Let's just say we have a lot more resources now to work with,'' said Tad Carper, the Cavaliers' senior vice president of communications. "If you have a good idea, there is money to get it done.'' Such as changing the color scheme of the arena and uniforms to maroon, gold and white. "There was nothing wrong with the old royal-blue seats,'' said Gilbert. "I just thought they looked like garbage on TV. You can have only 10 percent of them open, and it seemed like half the arena was empty. So we spent $3 million on the maroon seats to just brighten up the arena.'' He did the same with the floor, the scoreboards and the high-quality sound system. He brought in bands to entertain fans and baskets for them to shoot at in the parking lot before some games. There were face painters for young fans. "Dan just wanted to liven up the atmosphere,'' said Pat McInnis, Quicken Loans president. "He wasn't worried about how it would pay off, but he knew it would.'' Gilbert believes it did when the Cavs signed a lucrative 10-year TV deal with Fox Sports. He said it's ``the third-best local deal in the NBA. I know having No. 23 (James) had a lot to do with it, but they also said they sense my commitment to the team by what we did at the arena -- and that was why they went out 10 years on the contract.'' ? ? ? ? ? "The inches we need are everywhere. Everything we do matters. If we keep our eyes open, we'll see the little things -- the inches -- it's 1,001 of these little things that add up to who we are.'' -- Dan Gilbert</div> Source
