Gund Gets $375 Million in Sale of the Cavaliers

At 5 feet 6, Dan Gilbert never had a realistic chance of playing in the NBA. So he discovered another way into the league: owning the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Gilbert, founder of the nation’s largest online mortgage company, bought the Cavaliers for $375 million on Monday from owner Gordon Gund, inheriting a team that is soaring to new heights with LeBron James.

“It’s been a long, long dream,” said Gilbert, founder of Quicken Loans. “I’m definitely pinching myself. This is something I’ve talked about since I was a kid 30 years ago.”

The Detroit businessman heads a group that will assume ownership of the Cavaliers and operational control of the 20,000-seat Gund Arena once the league’s Board of Governors approves the deal.

Gund and his brother, George, bought the team from Ted Stepien in 1983 for $20 million. Gordon Gund will maintain a minority stake of at least 10%, a source told Associated Press

Gilbert said he has no plans to relocate the Cavaliers, a possibility that had made Cleveland residents, some of whom are still bitter about Art Modell moving the Browns to Baltimore in 1995, nervous when they heard Gund was selling.

“They will be staying put in downtown Cleveland -- right where they belong,” he said.

The Cavaliers have a lease agreement with the city that runs through 2027.

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Sacramento King Bobby Jackson is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.

Two pins were placed in Jackson’s bone to stabilize the ligament, which was injured early in the season. He hasn’t played since aggravating the injury last month against Washington.

Jackson, a top reserve and the NBA’s best sixth man in 2002-03, averaged 12.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 23 games this season -- but this is his third straight year with a major injury.

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Former UCLA player Jerome Moiso was waived less than a week after signing with the New Jersey Nets.... The Golden State Warriors acquired forward Zarko Cabarkapa from the Phoenix Suns for two future second-round draft picks.