The Franchise: LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers, a book by Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst from Gray & Company, Publishers – front cover

The Franchise

LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers

Terry Pluto, Brian Windhorst

$14.95

An in-depth look at how a team and a city were rebuilt around LeBron James. Two award-winning sports journalists tell the converging stories of a struggling franchise and a hometown teenage phenom. Will fascinate basketball fans who want the inside story of a young superstar shouldering the weight of an entire NBA franchise.

Softcover / 192 pages / 5.5 x 8.5 in. / 22 photos

ISBN: 9781938441615

Description

“Not your typical sports biography . . . Take[s] the reader behind the scenes in the Cavaliers’ front office, revealing how championship contenders are built” — Library Journal

An in-depth look at how a team and a city were rebuilt around LeBron James . . .

When the Cleveland Cavaliers drew the top pick in the 2003 NBA draft, the entire city buzzed with excitement. How often does a superstar come along? Especially for Cleveland, a midmarket Rust Belt city without a sports championship in forty years. Especially for the Cavaliers, a long-struggling team that had never reached the NBA finals.

Soon, everyone had something riding on LeBron: a billionaire team owner wanting a return on his investment . . . teammates eager for a championship ring . . . the league looking for the next Michael Jordan to promote . . . the shoe company with its record-breaking endorsement deal . . . even popcorn vendors in the stands of Quicken Loans Arena and servers waiting tables at downtown restaurants.

Award-winning sports journalists Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst tell the converging stories of a struggling franchise and a hometown teenage phenom. This book will fascinate any basketball fan who wants the inside story of how LeBron James became the young superstar shouldering the weight of an entire NBA franchise.

Additional information

Weight0.43 lbs
Dimensions8.5 × .45 × 5.5 in
Format

Softcover, Softcover (Autographed)

Table of Contents

1. “The kind of guy other teams want” (Getting The Guy)

2. “Why would I want this team?” (LeBron is born . . . and a franchise nearly dies)

3. “When you trade for a star, there’s a risk . . .” (Shawn Kemp arrives)

4. “He was that good” (LeBron James on the rise)

5. “They never would have been able to rebuild” (Shedding Shawn Kemp)

6. “None of us should worry about recruiting him” (LeBron makes a splash)

7. “The Chosen One” (Courting LeBron)

8. “It is going to come down to money” (The $hoe deal)

9. “I knew why we were doing it, but I still hated it” (Hitting bottom)

10. “That guy should be yours” (The LeBron lottery)

11. “He looks like an NBA player right now” (Making the pick)

12. “All he ever talked about was wanting to win” (LeBron starts over)

13. “You can trust me on that” (A bad deal with Carlos Boozer)

14. Bringing it to life (Dan Gilbert buys in)

15. “You have to take the roast out of the oven” (Dan Gilbert learns the hard way)

16. “A chance to do something special” (Danny Ferry to the rescue)

17. “A penny saved is just a penny” (Building around LeBron)

18. Reasons to stick around (The clock starts ticking)

19. “This is always evolving” (Plowing through the playoffs)

20. Getting there (The first trip to the finals)

Acknowledgments

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