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The Franchise: Lebron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers | 
 enlarge | Authors: Terry Pluto, Brian Windhorst
Publisher: Gray & Co., Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy New: $12.00
You Save: $7.95 (40%)
New (15) Used (4) from $12.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 134362
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 5.6 x 1
ISBN: 1598510282
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.323092
EAN: 9781598510287
ASIN: 1598510282
Publication Date: December 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Brand new, first edition, signed by the author!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Award-winning sports journalists Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst give us an in-depth look at how a team and a city are being rebuilt around superstar LeBron James. When the Cleveland Cavaliers won the top pick in the 2003 NBA draft, an entire city buzzed with excitement. How often does a LeBron James come along? Especially for Cleveland, a midmarket rustbelt city without a sports championship in fifty years, and for the Cavaliers, a team that had never reached the NBA finals. Now, everyone has a stake in LeBron. From billionaire team owner Dan Gilbert down to the popcorn vendors, everyone has something riding on this one guy. Chock full of facts and analysis.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A superstar player like Lebron James doesn't come along too often May 7, 2008
A superstar player like Lebron James doesn't come along too often in the world of the National Basketball Association, "The Franchise: Lebron James and the remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers" is the tale of who is viewed as the second coming of Michael Jordan and how he is changing the NBA everyday he plays. Award winning team of sports writers in Terry Pluto and Brian Windhorst write this story of how James brought the struggling basketball Franchise from obscurity to prominence and how Lebron James is doing more than carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers - how he is carrying the entire NBA on his shoulders. "The Franchise: Lebron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers" is highly recommended to sports fans and analysts who want a wide ranging look at today's NBA.
 Good Book, Good Insight. April 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book was great at providing background information on the Cavaliers in the pre-James era. It also gave great insight into the courting of James by shoe companies. It didn't give enough information in the years since acquiring James and it was poorly written with dozens of typos. Other than that, if you enjoy Lebron or are interested in learning just how much he has revolutionized a franchise, it is a worthy reading.
franchise: the making of lebron james and the cleveland cavaliers January 18, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Great book for anyone who is a lebron james or cavaliers fan. lots of great input and tips in it.
LeBron James's impact on the Cavs December 23, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Pluto and Windhorst do a very nice job of providing background, insight, analysis, and perspective on recent Cavs history. And not only from the time James was drafted. After a very brief review of Cavs history (literally a couple pages) prior to the Gund purchase, the authors provide an interesting look into the franchise from the time James was a freshman in high school. Alternating the Cavs saga with James progress during those four years is a really fascinating build-up to the drafting of James. Of particular import during this time is the story of the trade that got Shawn Kemp out of town and off the books (the story of their pursuit and acquisition of him in 1997 is given a long look also), followed by the dismantling of the team, and the additional dumping of salaries in the hopes of getting James.
An in-depth look into the shoe companies courting James is followed by the elation of the Cavs getting the number one pick and choosing James. A chapter on the Carlos Boozer fiasco provides perspective on that situation and its short-term and long-term effects. Much time is given to the change of ownership to Gilbert (with some fascinating insights and perspective from Gund and Gilbert), the subsequent hiring of Brown followed by Ferry (discussion of the latter's playing career and move to Cleveland as GM is detailed), the rough start Gilbert had, lessons learned, and future successes ending in a spot in the NBA finals in 2007.
Plenty of time is given to James, of course. By no means a detailed autobiography, enough information is given on his early years, and particularly his influences (family and friends), that a real solid picture is given of how he became a phenom early in life and how he developed into the star he is today.
A couple of negatives, though. Apparently recent interviews with Gilbert, Gund, Embry, Paxson, Silas, Tait, and Ferry really give insight and perspective to past events. But no interviews with Brown or current or recent players, especially James, appear. I would have liked to get their thoughts. Also, particularly annoying were several typos and awkwardly worded sentences. I'm sure these will be cleared up in any future editions. But these are mild criticisms and do not substantially take away from the book.
Meant to be a history of the Cavs leading up to James and how he has changed the franchise, the authors succeed admirably. A must-have for the hard-core Cavs fan, this would also be of interest to avid NBA fans of any stripe. In addition, casual fans would get great insight into how the Cavs got to where they are today and the impact one player can have on a franchise.
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