{"product_id":"the-blueprint-isbn-9781524741907","title":"The Blueprint","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn unputdownable, must-have sports book for every LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, and NBA fan.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJune 19, 2016: the greatest moment in Cleveland sports history, when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals and broke the Cleveland Curse. It was the triumph fans had been waiting fifty-two years for, and it wasn’t easy to get there—but thanks to LeBron James, an audacious plan to build a winning team, a couple of maverick GMs, and an incredible community of fans, it happened; and 2016 saw the birth of a new Cavaliers dynasty.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut how did they get there? It was a roller-coaster ride from tragedy to triumph, one that Jason Lloyd, a longtime Northeast Ohio resident turned reporter for the \u003ci\u003eAkron Beacon Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, got to see firsthand. He was witness to the Blueprint, as he calls it, which the Cavs put together to win their star player back from Miami and build a team that could win the ultimate championship. It incorporated several losing seasons, some high-risk draft picks, and an entirely new understanding of how to build a championship team.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe best part of the plan is that it worked, culminating in the most exciting Finals series in NBA history. And, most important, the end of the Cleveland Curse. Jason Lloyd, a true insider, tells the story of how the NBA really works, and how everyone—from the front office to the stars on the court to the new generation of coaches—worked together to create an unforgettable winning team.\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Blueprint\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[An] energetic, detailed slice of basketball history... Lloyd’s intoxicatingly thorough reporting allows readers to grasp the difficulty in assembling a team—even one featuring a legend.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“[A] brilliant book, one that takes the reader back through the many momentous moments over the past several seasons in Cavaliers history...Lloyd masterfully tells a truly compelling story of the fall, and subsequent rise, of the Cavaliers.”—Tim Bontemps, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“In the tradition of Michael Lewis’ \u003ci\u003eMoneyball\u003c\/i\u003e (2003), journalist Lloyd traces how the Cleveland Cavaliers, after re-signing LeBron James, captured the NBA championship in 2015–16.”—\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I couldn’t put down \u003ci\u003eThe Blueprint\u003c\/i\u003e...this book will interest anyone whose team has had a long championship drought.”—\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“A very personal account of the return of LeBron James to Cleveland in 2014 and of the Cavaliers' NBA championship in 2016... [Lloyd] tells several interlocking stories: James' decision to leave the team, the four intervening years when the Cavs' front office began plotting to get him back, the arrival of key players (especially Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and J.R. Smith)... and, of course, that championship that erased decades of frustration for Cleveland sports fans.”—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“This is a book about basketball, but also about hope and loss and redemption and what happens when the impossible somehow becomes real. Page after page, Lloyd expertly pulls back the curtain on all the private moments that coalesced to give Cleveland something more than a miracle: its first major championship in more than half a century.”—Rachel Nichols, ESPN \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “In 2011, Jason Lloyd told me LeBron was coming back to Cleveland. 2011! That's how deeply ingrained he is with this franchise, this athlete and this story, a modern epic he was hard-wired to tell.”—Lee Jenkins, \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eJason Lloyd\u003c\/b\u003e is a lifelong resident of Northeast Ohio. He has covered the World Series, the NCAA Tournament, the BCS National Championship Game, and the NBA Finals; and he has won several state and national awards for his work covering the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has also worked for ESPN.com, \u003ci\u003eLindy’s Sports\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCleveland Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, and CBSSports.com. He and his wife, Alessia, live in Avon Lake, Ohio, with their three children.Chapter 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In the Beginning, King James Version\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Cleveland sports is littered with tales of sadness, devastation,      and heartbreak. But it wasn't always that way. Cleveland teams had      a proud tradition of success in the early nineteenth century up      through the NFL's Cleveland Browns championship in 1964. The      following fifty years, however, contained so many magnificent      disasters that they were given their own legendary names, such as      \"the Shot,\" \"the Drive,\" and \"the Fumble.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e LeBron James was supposed to change all of that. The phenom who      grew up just down the road from Cleveland in Akron was regarded as      basketball's best prospect by his junior year of high school. He      was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the first time as a      junior at Akron's St. Vincent-St. Mary and was declared \"the      Chosen One\" and the next great NBA superstar. James was ready to      soar. And the Cleveland Cavaliers wanted to go with him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e During the 1998-99 basketball season, just as LeBron was getting      media attention, the Cavs began losing more games than they were      winning. They were sliding into NBA mediocrity, not good enough to      compete for championships and not bad enough to draft elite      talent. The teams with the worst records have the best chance at      high draft picks, so in the NBA landscape, the absolute worst      place to be is stuck in the middle. By the time James was entering      his senior year of high school, it was clear he was the top talent      available in an elite 2003 draft class that had scouts, coaches,      and general managers swooning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Heading into that lottery and that draft, there was a lot of      preparation that took place internally regarding the outcome of      the lottery,\" Cavs senior vice president of communications Tad      Carper said. \"That draft was one of the strongest ever. History      has proven that to be the case. We knew that going in. This was a      loaded, powerful draft and we knew it was going to be a      game-changing situation for us.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Carmelo Anthony was a freshman who guided Syracuse to a national      championship. Chris Bosh was the ACC Rookie of the Year, leading      Georgia Tech in scoring, rebounding, blocks, and field-goal      percentage. Dwyane Wade was an explosive combo guard out of      Marquette who kept rising on draft boards throughout the predraft      process. Darko Milii was a tantalizing European who dazzled during      workouts. In all, the 2003 draft produced nine All-Stars and two      NBA Finals MVPs. The jewel of the draft, however, was James. And      the Cavs were determined to do everything possible to get him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Cavs had swung and missed badly at acquiring a superstar when      they traded for Shawn Kemp in 1997 and signed him to the      seven-year, $107 million deal his former team, the Seattle      SuperSonics, refused to give him. As Kemp's weight ballooned north      of three hundred pounds and his play deteriorated, the Cavs      regretted giving him the deal almost immediately and spent at      least two years trying to get out from under it. They finally did      in 2000, dumping the last four years and $71 million on the      Portland Trail Blazers. Removing the bloated Kemp erased the only      star off the roster, and fan interest was waning. The Cavs faced      the same problem the NBA in general battled at the time: a lack of      star power.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Ratings had steadily declined following Michael Jordan's      retirement in 1998. More than twenty-nine million people had tuned      in that year to watch Jordan topple the Utah Jazz and win his      sixth NBA championship. Ratings plummeted after that, and by the      time James was a senior in high school in 2003, less than ten      million watched the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets for      the franchise's second championship. In Cleveland, attendance was      down, and so were the gate receipts. The Cavs were losing more      than $1 million a month. Cleveland, and the rest of the league,      desperately hoped the 2003 draft would supply the needed star      power to jolt fans back to the game.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"There was an acute awareness about LeBron and the path that he      was headed down and how those roads were going to intersect      eventually,\" Carper said. \"There's that saying about how 'when the      stars align.' It really was a situation where the stars aligned.      Players and coaches go out to win every game. That was certainly      the case with us. Everything that we did, I think, leading up to      that was designed to allow us to be in that position to allow the      stars to align.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The NBA instituted a draft lottery beginning in 1985 in an effort      to dissuade teams from intentionally losing games-tanking-to get      the number one pick. Now just being bad was no longer good enough.      Teams had to be bad and lucky. The team with the worst record      entered the draft lottery with a 25 percent chance at landing the      top pick in the draft, while the team with the best record of all      the non-playoff teams had less than a 1 percent chance at the top      pick.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e As James entered his senior year of high school, the Cavs knew      they had a future superstar in their own backyard. They won      thirty-two games his freshman season, thirty his sophomore year,      and twenty-nine his junior year. They were trending in the right      direction, but not fast enough. The team with the worst record      over the previous five full seasons had averaged about fifteen      wins. The Cavs had the sixth pick in the 2002 draft, but if they      were going to be in position to draft James the following summer,      they had to get worse. Much worse. They needed to race to the      bottom of the standings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Prior to the start of the pivotal 2002-03 season, James's senior      year at St. V, the Cavs traded away their top three leading      scorers in Lamond Murray, Andre Miller, and Wes Person. All were      decent veterans, but none of them were pillars of a championship      organization. They got little back in return. Miller was arguably      their best player and set a franchise record for assists in a      season, but he was entering his contract year and wanted a max      deal. The Cavs knew he wasn't worth max money, but he was good      enough to keep them from losing enough to have a chance at James.      They dealt him to the Los Angeles Clippers for Darius Miles, a      preps-to-pro phenom who was high on potential but low on      production. Miles could run and jump as well as anyone, but he      couldn't guard a dead body and it quickly became clear he      certainly couldn't play basketball in the NBA.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Cleveland began the season with the league's youngest roster.      Seven players had two years or less of experience, including guys      like Smush Parker, Tierre Brown, and draft bust DeSagana Diop.      Players and coaches compete to win every game, but the focus of      ownership and the front office was simply to lose enough games to      have a shot at James, or at worst, one of the other future stars      in this talent-rich draft. Things seemed to be going according to      plan, but at 8-34, coach John Lucas was fired around the midway      point and replaced by interim coach Keith Smart. Lucas was never      viewed as the long-term coach. He was always a stopgap measure to      guide the Cavs through losing seasons. But Lucas's firing angered      James because Lucas let him work out with the team. James had      played with some Cavs, some other pros, and some college players      at Gund Arena (now known as Quicken Loans Arena) the summer before      his senior year of high school. James held his own against the      veterans, even dunking on one. The workout, which was against      league rules at the time because James was still in high school,      was reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Lucas was suspended      two games and the Cavs were fined $150,000.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Despite that minor bump, everything else was going as planned      until the Cavs closed the season by winning two of their last      three games and three of their last seven. They needed a loss on      the final day of the season to clinch the league's worst record      and the best chance at landing James. Instead, Parker scored      seventeen points, Brown scored sixteen points, and the Cavs beat      the Raptors 96-86.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"It was really good that our fans got to see down the stretch that      we did pull some games out at home,\" Smart said after the finale.      \"We had a tough season and it was good that the guys got a chance      to win and get the feel of victory. They get to go home this      summer glad they won their last game.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Not everyone shared Smart's joy. Dick Watson, the team's general      counsel and a minority owner, was incensed as he stormed into the      coach's office after the win. \"You fucked it all up!\" Watson      screamed at Smart as he pounded on the desk. \"We spent months on      this and you fucked it up on the last day!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Because of that win, the Cavs finished the season at 17-65 and      entered the draft lottery tied with the Denver Nuggets for the      league's worst record. That meant they also shared with the      Nuggets the same 22.5 percent chance for winning the number one      pick. No one knew at the time, but Carper was already carrying a      number 23 jersey in the Cavs' new colors with james stitched      across the back. Team owner Gordon Gund sat on the stage      representing the Cavs at the lottery while general manager Jim      Paxson stayed home to tend to his wife, who was undergoing      chemotherapy for brain cancer. When NBA deputy commissioner Russ      Granik revealed the Cavs had won the number one pick, the city of      Cleveland erupted. Carper reached into his briefcase, grabbed the      James jersey, and shot onto the stage as the television show cut      to a commercial break. Carper handed the jersey to an elated Gund.      It was the most important victory in franchise history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"Nobody knew I had that [jersey]. Nobody,\" Carper said. \"I went      onstage and gave it to Gordon, and as I turned around-this is      still during the commercial break-the members of the media that      were there were looking at me with their eyes wide open and mouths      dropped open saying, 'Oh my gosh! I can't believe you just did      that! Did you know something going in? Isn't that arrogant or      presumptuous?' I still remember standing there on the edge of the      stage looking at them saying, 'Not presumptuous, just prepared.'      That's what it was. The preparation, trying to prepare for      success. It worked out. And if it hadn't, then the jersey would've      stayed in my bag and no one would've known we had it. It was so      obvious and so clear, we had no reservation about it. If we won      the lottery, this was obviously going to happen and this was our      pick. We had no hesitation in doing that. It was one of the rare      moments in NBA draft history. Even if a team knows who they're      going to take, there is leverage and reason to be gained by not      talking about who you're going to take in advance. This was one of      those very rare situations where there was no leverage to be      gained, no benefit to be had. We were very clear about that.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 2\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e LeBron Raymone James was born to a sixteen-year-old single mother      on Hickory Street in one of Akron, Ohio's tougher      neighborhoods-about forty miles south of Quicken Loans Arena. He      was raised by his mother, Gloria, and grandmother, Freda, until      his grandmother died of a heart attack on Christmas Day in 1987.      James was a week away from turning three. Unable to keep up with      the maintenance on their old house, which had been in the family      for generations, Gloria and LeBron were eventually evicted and the      house was razed. James spent his childhood bouncing between      apartments, family, and friends. He moved twelve times in three      years and missed nearly a hundred days of school in the fourth      grade.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e While James was struggling to survive, so were the Cavs, who      didn't even exist until 1970 and wasted little time in capturing      Cleveland's crown for sports stupidity. Ted Stepien purchased the      team in 1980 and will go down, God rest his soul, as one of the      worst scoundrels in NBA history. Stepien served in the air force      during World War II and told people he once fell out of an      airplane and lived to tell about it. The plane, he said, was about      five hundred feet off the ground. Former Akron Beacon Journal      sports writer Sheldon Ocker, who covered the Cavs when Stepien      bought the team, approached him with the idea of spending a couple      of hours together for a Sunday magazine piece. \"Come over Sunday      after church,\" Stepien told Ocker. \"We'll sit out by the pool and      watch porn.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Stepien stories are endless. When Ocker went to his house that      day, Stepien wasn't home. Instead, Ocker tracked him down at a      nightclub on the east side, where he was judging the Cavs'      first-ever cheerleader tryouts. Stepien and two of his associates      were judging the pageant and taking notes. Stepien asked the girls      questions such as \"What's your favorite color? What's your sign?      Would you ever attend a nude beach?\" When one of the contestants      replied that she'd go to a nude beach with her husband, Stepien      grew flustered. \"I didn't say anything about a husband,\" he      snorted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When the pageant was over, the judges and Ocker retreated to      Stepien's house to tally the scores. Each judge wrote down a      number between one and ten for each contestant and made comments      about each. When Stepien got to a card he didn't like (\"Shit,      small tits!\"), he'd throw the index card into the middle of the      room. They finally narrowed the field of forty contestants down to      twelve. There was only one problem: They were all white women.      When it was pointed out to Stepien he needed to have some      minorities, Ocker said he started digging through the index cards      on the floor he had previously discarded. \"I think she was black,\"      Stepien said about one. \"She had nice tits and a nice ass. She's      in.\" By the time they were finished, Stepien had added two      African-Americans. The dance team was complete.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e On the court, Stepien never valued draft picks, discarding them      like gum wrappers while chasing marginal talent. He traded Butch      Lee and a future first-round pick to the Lakers in 1980 for the      anonymous Don Ford and the Lakers' first-round pick that summer.      The Cavs selected shooting guard Chad Kinch from UNC-Charlotte      with the Lakers' pick. They traded him twenty-nine games into his      rookie year and he was released by the Dallas Mavericks after the      season, his NBA career over after one year. The pick traded to the      Lakers became Hall of Famer James Worthy. Stepien, in fact,      managed to trade away all of his first-round picks between 1982      and 1986 for little in return.","brand":"Dutton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46302603247845,"sku":"NP9781524741907","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781524741907.jpg?v=1767738426","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-blueprint-isbn-9781524741907","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}