Cavs owner Dan Gilbert says his relationship with LeBron James is “great”

It’s all good now.

Among the reasons people were not convinced LeBron James would head back to Cleveland was “the letter” — Dan Gilbert’s comic sans emotional diatribe after LeBron left for Miami, calling it a “cowardly betrayal.”

LeBron and Gilbert sat down and hashed it all out. Now they are all good, something Gilbert emphasized at his press conference Wednesday prior to the Cavaliers tipping off the season Wednesday night, as reported by the Associated Press.

“I just saw LeBron,” Gilbert said Wednesday in his first news conference since February. “He looked at me and said, `Looks like you grew an inch.’ I said I could use it….

“Obviously there are a lot of fireworks at that time and a lot of emotions flying all over the place,” he said. “So you sort of get back to business. You don’t really think too much about what’s going on. It’s been four years. As far as it goes right now, it’s great.”

LeBron concurred.

“I think it’s really good,” James said. “We had one bad moment, and it just overshadowed all the great times we had together, and now we’re back together. We both have something in common: to bring a championship back to this city, and that’s what it comes down to.”

Not new ground, but worth noting that right now all is good in Cleveland. Of course, the real stress tests for the relationship are ahead and start with the opening of the regular season tonight.

But Gilbert said one more thing that shows he learned not only from his mistakes but those of others as well — specifically Heat owner Micky Arison. Among the things that started to sour LeBron’s relationship with the Heat was when the team amnestied Mike Miller to save money when he was a valuable piece for them on the court (well, when he had been healthy he was).

Gilbert said he would spend into the luxury tax, as reported by The Big Lead.

“I almost think it’s kinda silly when you invest in so much into a franchise and have such high costs already,” Gilbert said (of not going into the tax). “[I’m] always a little surprised when owners of franchises stop right there…to me it’s like you’re getting to the 2 yard line and you’re done…it’s not smart business/smart financially.”

That’s exactly what LeBron wants to hear, because to keep him and Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving together with any kind of talent around them is going to cost.