Cleveland, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Cavaliers owner and Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert was discharged from a Detroit hospital Wednesday and has been moved to a rehabilitation center.
On Thursday, Gilbert spoke with general manager Koby Altman prior to the NBA Draft via FaceTime.
“For the first time in a few weeks I was able to talk to him,” Altman said after he made three picks in the first round Thursday night. “He looks great, he's doing really well. We actually got to talk to him about our vision and plan, none of which has changed much, but on the phone before the draft so that was really really positive and exciting and sort of gave us even more of a jolt of energy and goodwill.”
Gilbert has been in the thoughts of everyone with the Cavs organization since he was taken to the hospital by a family friend when he began to suffer stroke-like symptoms on May 26. Gilbert suffered the stroke while receiving medical care and he immediately underwent a catheter-based procedure before being moved to recovery in the Intensive Care Unit.
Altman admitted that Gilbert’s recovery will take time.
“Dan's on the path to recovery,” Altman said. “It's still going to be a long recovery. But his mind's still intact and he still sounded like Dan, which is super aggressive and go after this thing. So great news there and a shout-out to the Gilbert family, who has been through so much these past few weeks. He was with us and his kids were with us today and it was a great day for us and them.”
Quicken Loans CEO Jay Farner released a statement updating Gilbert’s heath Thursday morning.
“The entire family is incredibly grateful for the world-class care Dan received from the entire staff of Beaumont Hospital,” Farner said. “Dan is looking forward to beginning an intensive rehabilitation program and is eager to continue the progress he has made over the last several weeks.”
Gilbert, 57, purchased the Cavaliers in 2005 and since then the team has won five Eastern Conference championships and the 2016 NBA title, which ended a 52-year championship drought for the city of Cleveland.
Following LeBron James’ announcement that he was joining the Miami Heat in 2010, Gilbert wrote a scathing letter eviscerating James’ decision, but the two were able to repair their relationship culminating in James’ return in the summer of 2014 leading to the most successful stretch in franchise history that included four consecutive trips to the NBA Finals.
A self-made billionaire, Gilbert spent record sums of money over the course of the last decade to aid in the Cavs' rebuild in the post-James era as well as keep the franchise a championship contender from 2014-2018.
Gilbert is also the owner of multiple real estate ventures in both downtown Detroit and downtown Cleveland as well as Jack entertainment, which owns and operates casinos in Michigan and Ohio, that have aided in a resurgence for the two Midwest cities.
