Lue Irving East handshake

Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue extends his hand to Kyrie Irving as the point guard is removed from Friday's Game 6 series-clinching victory over the Toronto Raptors. Irving had 30 points in the victory, which validated the Cavaliers' decision in January to promote Lue over the fired David Blatt.

(Thomas Ondrey, The Plain Dealer)

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 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.

LeBron James understood the talent the Cavaliers had long before Lue was given the keys. They spoke the same basketball terminology and Lue was able to push James intellectually in his on-court decisions. That's what impressed James the most. His basketball IQ was being matched and that automatically garnered respect.

"I knew what he was capable of," James told cleveland.com. "I've had a long history with Coach Lue. ... I just always believed he was ready for the moment if the moment presented itself. I was just hoping we didn't lose him to another team. That was my thing, because I knew he was next in line [for a head job]. I was just hoping we didn't lose him to somebody else and obviously he's shown how valuable he is."

The results have borne out James' assessment.

"Just look at him. Look at how we respond to him," veteran forward James Jones said. "You can tell a lot about a person by the way people respond to them. On this team, guys are laying it on the line. I don't know if you notice in games, but our guys are reaching levels physically that they haven't reached in two years.

"He connects with us and he's done a great job of helping us connect the dots and see the plan, the vision and how every step is necessary."

Lue, 39, changed the course of a franchise by reaching heights seemingly unattainable four months ago. Blatt's firing seemed certain to set the organization back in the short term. It did -- but for a much shorter period than anyone could have expected. Management felt (and hoped) that there was enough time left in the regular season to absorb the rougher moments of the transition before postseason play began. That's exactly what happened.

Now the Cavaliers are on the brink of a title. They seem better equipped than ever to do just that and end a city's long championship drought. The talent is there, as is the coaching. Just as vitally, the buy-in and belief are present, too. This organization has never possessed a healthy dose of all four.

Griffin deserves the credit for the vision in making that call back in late January. Lue deserves the credit for accepting his promotion and executing that vision. Late Friday night, J.R. Smith placed the Eastern Conference trophy on top of his locker stall and said, "We're going to get your sister next."

The storybook ending is almost complete.

"I think it is different," Gilbert said of his team's vibe heading to The Finals. "It's hard to explain really, but I think it's a different feeling. The team feels more mature, like they're expected to be here. LeBron just has a certain calmness about him, a certain leadership that I think permeates throughout the whole team.

"They're celebrating, they're happy, but they know they have to get back to business. You get so close. It's four more [wins]. Fifty-two years is a long time. We just got to get four more for the city of Cleveland. That's what it's about.

"And Lue, he's so into the game, he's so focused and he's so smart. He's always thinking ahead. My hats are off to him."