Cavs Owner Gilbert Returns To Work, Progressing From Stroke

Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has returned to work at Quicken Loans with his support dog "Cowboy" by his side, as relayed by Crain's Detroit Business.

Gilbert spoke with the publication for his first extensive interview since suffering a stroke in May.

"When you have a stroke, here's the problem with it: Everything is hard. Everything," Gilbert told Crain's. "Like you wake up, getting out of bed is hard, going to the bathroom is hard, sitting down eating at a table is hard. You name it. You don't get a break. You're like trapped in your own body."

Gilbert is using a wheelchair and his left arm is in a sling as he continues his rehab. He had returned to work one or two days a week and more recently has been going three to four times.

All the while he has been working with therapists at his home in Franklin, Mich.

"I can grab a ball and drop it into a box sometimes," he said. "But not always."

Gilbert spent much of the summer recovering at the Chicago Rehabilitation Institute. He progressed well enough to return to Michigan in August.

"With stroke recovery, it's a marathon, it's not a sprint," Gilbert's wife, Jennifer Gilbert, told the Detroit News. "But every day he's working hard and every day we're seeing improvements. He's encouraged."

Gilbert is scheduled to be honored by Crain's Detroit Business on Friday as the publication's inaugural Newsmaker Hall of Famer.

He has owned the Cavs since March 2005. They have made five appearances in the NBA Finals since then, winning the franchise's lone championship in 2016.

The Cavs are 14-40 entering Friday's game at Washington, with rumors of another possible coaching change in the works.