TORONTO – Tyronn Lue was enjoying a peaceful, rare afternoon off when his phone begin to ring. There would be little peace for the rest of the day.Eventually, that one call led to others. It sparked conversations between Lue and every member of the Cavaliers roster that eventually reset a season. But it was that initial call that changed everything. General Manager David Griffin was on the line.In speaking with numerous sources close to the “The Call,” cleveland.com learned the details. There were no initial pleasantries. Griffin got right to the point — David Blatt was being relieved of his duties.Lue’s response was candid and immediate.”This is f—- up, Griff.”That didn’t prevent Griffin from calmly asking Lue if he could take over. Hired as the associate head coach a year and a half earlier, becoming the head of a franchise was Lue’s eventual goal. But this didn’t seem right.Lue pleaded with Griffin, arguing for several minutes that firing Blatt was an excessive move for a team carrying a conference-best 30-11 record. Griffin listened to Lue’s pleas. When they ended, he told Lue the decision has already been carried out.Griffin circled back to his original question.”What’s done is done. I’m asking you if you can lead this team?” It had taken a few minutes, but Griffin got the response he sought.”Yeah, I can f—ing lead this team.”Griffin then congratulated him.January 22 marked the birth of a rejuvenated culture that catapulted the franchise to securing its second consecutive NBA Finals appearance.”I was like, ‘what the f—.’ That was my initial thought,” Lue told cleveland.com. “I didn’t see it coming. I couldn’t believe it. But, you’re prepared because you’ve done the coaching interviews and you have your philosophies. But to fire the head coach and you take over the next day with no practice or anything and you have the Chicago Bulls coming in. It was overwhelming.”Owner Dan Gilbert has been reluctant to speak about Blatt’s departure and Lue’s promotion. However, after his team eliminated the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference Finals in Friday night’s Game 6, Gilbert took in the sight of a revived and confident roster. He felt it was the appropriate juncture to comment.”I just think it was a great decision that was made,” Gilbert said to cleveland.com. “You never know what would happen any other way, but I think [Lue is] fantastic. It’s rare that a guy knows the game and has people skills. You get both with him, like offense and defense almost. He’s a special guy.”Lue’s personable demeanor has permitted him to maximize his team’s potential. Before stuffing Xs and Os down a player’s throat, they first have to be open to sacrificing personal goals. How that player adapts is dependent on the relationship he has with his coach.In dealing with Kevin Love, there’s a constant open line of communication. When the power forward didn’t play in the fourth quarters of Games 3 and 4 in Toronto, Lue made it a priority to talk with Love after each game and the following mornings.He reassured Love of his value to the team, while at the same time explaining his rationale. Benching an all star-caliber player is a delicate situation. But Lue’s ability to explain his decisions allowed him to win over the locker room.
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