Report: Cavs owner Dan Gilbert part of Ricketts family bid to buy Chelsea

Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is reportedly joining the Ricketts family in bidding to buy Chelsea Football Club.

“The Ricketts family’s bid to buy Chelsea is backed by Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, the PA news agency understands,” wrote Nick Purewal.

Chelsea is currently owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. He purchased Chelsea back in 2003, and the football club has accomplished a lot since then.

However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year led to sanctions on Abramovich. Consequentially, he put Chelsea up for sale in March.

There are four remaining bidders for Chelsea, including the Ricketts family. The Ricketts family’s bid is reportedly funded entirely by cash.

Gilbert has been the team’s majority owner since 2005. The Cavs franchise has experienced its greatest success under him. Cleveland won an NBA title in 2016 and has clinched five conference titles during the Gilbert era.

Of course, the Cavs’ recent success was largely due to LeBron James.

After James left the franchise for the second time during the 2018 offseason, Cleveland languished at the bottom of the standings for the next few years. But the Cavs have a good chance of reaching the postseason again this season.

They are currently 43-35 in the standings, which is good enough for seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The team is two games behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 6 seed. Being in sixth place would provide Cleveland with an opportunity to avoid the play-in tournament.

The Cavs will face the Philadelphia 76ers in an important matchup at home on Sunday.