CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Not long after the draft lottery, Minnesota team president Flip Saunders came to Cleveland to visit his father. A former star at Cuyahoga Heights, Saunders also had returned to coaching the Timberwolves.

While in town, Saunders and Cavaliers General Manager David Griffin met for dinner. It didn't take long for the name of Kevin Love to come up in the conversation. That was no surprise.

"We had been talking about Kevin Love for a year and a half," said Griffin.

It wasn't Griffin who opened the talks. Former GM Chris Grant had started the Love discussions. The Cavs wanted to find a way to at least add Love for 2014-15. Or in one of their wildly optimistic scenarios, team up Love and LeBron James.

Grant had been planning ways for the Cavs to convince James to return to Cleveland when he became a free agent. When the franchise retired the number of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, they made sure the Miami Heat were off that day so James could attend.

They correctly assumed James would want to be there when one his former teammates was honored. The Cavs also wanted James to know that the door would always be open for a return.

That was March 9, 2014. In one of the stranger twists, James ended up sitting next to Grant -- no longer the GM -- during that ceremony. He had been fired a month earlier -- although Grant was one of the main architects of bringing James, Ilgauskas and the Cavs together.

Yes, the Cavs wanted James to feel a little homesick and very, very welcome at Quicken Loans Arena.

So what does all this have to do with Love, who had his first press conference Tuesday as a member of the Cavs?

Well, how about ... everything.

No LeBron James, no Kevin Love in Cleveland.

Kevin Love and David Griffin with Love's new uniform and number.

THE DINNER

It was a few days after the May 20 NBA lottery, Griffin and Saunders were having dinner.

Saunders was shaking his head about the Cavs snaring the No. 1 lottery pick. There was less than a 2 percent chance of that happening.

Saunders knew that he had to trade Love at some point in the summer to receive maximum value. Griffin was debating how much risk he wanted to take to obtain Love. It was no secret the 6-10 All-Star wanted to play on the West Coast. He also wanted to play with a contender.

In late May, the Cavs were neither. They were coming off a 33-49 season, and not totally certain they could convince Kyrie Irving to sign an extension once free agency opened on July 1.

Saunders wanted the No. 1 pick for Love, along with some other things. Griffin wondered if he could convince James to sign if he first traded for Love. But he worried that if he brought Love and failed to add James, where would the franchise be in the summer of 2015? Love would probably leave, and they'd have no James.

Saunders and Griffin agreed to keep talking, but they knew they had to wait.

Andrew Wiggins played with the Cavs summer league team before he was traded to Minnesota.

THEN CAME WIGGINS

When Grant was the general manager, Duke's Jabari Parker was at the top of the draft board early in the season.

As the year progressed, the Cavs became enamored with Joel Embiid, the 7-foot center from Kansas. Griffin especially liked Embiid, who moved to the top of the board once Griffin took over.

Then came the report on June 19 that Embiid had a stress fracture in his foot. The Cavs were already concerned about his back problems. Embiid dropped off the top of the board, and Griffin replaced him with Wiggins.

Griffin was very concerned about Parker's defensive problems. He believed the Cavs desperately needed an athletic wing player, one capable of being a small forward and shooting guard. That was the 6-8 Wiggins.

On June 24, the Cavs called Wiggins' name. They were amused by speculation of a division in the front office. Those who thought the Cavs wanted Parker were relying on old information.

Saunders also loved Wiggins, but wondered how he could put together a deal with Love and Wiggins, knowing other pieces were needed?

Even after the draft, Saunders and Griffin knew they had to wait even longer.

Signing Kyrie Irving was the start of the rebuilding of the Cavs.

KYRIE'S DECISION

The Cavs and Kyrie Irving met in a Manhattan restaurant at one minute past midnight on July 1 -- the first moment they could officially discuss signing a five-year, $90 million extension with their guard.

Owner Dan Gilbert and Griffin talked big picture, and it had to sound more like a wild dream to Irving.

The Cavs would add Love and James. It really, really could happen, they insisted.

Really, Irving wondered.

Really, Gilbert and Griffin insisted.

But Irving had to make the first move. If he failed to sign -- and forced a trade -- the Cavs' plans would turn to ashes. New coach David Blatt was there, along with associate head coach Tyronn Lue. Irving was there with his agent and his father.

Over and over, management stressed things would be different -- and better.

At the worst, they were adding the top pick in the draft (Wiggins) to a core with Irving and Dion Waiters. They had a new coaching staff that would fit an offense to maximize Irving's talent. Lue was very important in these talks, as he was a former NBA point guard and respected by most players.

Gilbert and Griffin also explained how they were going hard after Love and James.

Granted, Irving's decision made sense -- and millions of dollars. The Cavs could pay him about $20 million more than any other team. But there were rumors the 22-year-old All-Star wanted out.

"Kyrie bought in," said Griffin. "That started everything. It created the momentum."

LEBRON'S DECISION

On July 6, Gilbert met with James and his agent, Rich Paul, at a house in Miami. They talked out their problems over a kitchen table. Gilbert apologized for his inflammatory email after James left in the summer of 2010. James agreed that he didn't handle his departure well.

They spent about 30 minutes rehashing the past, then moved on to reshaping the future. Griffin had previously talked with Paul, telling the Cleveland-based agent how the Cavs were well positioned with Irving signing long-term and with the addition of Wiggins.

Griffin also said they really wanted Love, a favorite of James from the 2012 Olympic team. He added that if James signed, they could pull a deal for Love that made sense for both teams.

Meanwhile, Gilbert and Griffin decided to clear salary cap room for James, not knowing if he'd sign. Tyler Zeller to Boston was part of a three-way deal that positioned the Cavs to offer James a maximum contract. If James had turned them down, they probably would have made a huge offer to free agent forward Trevor Ariza.

Gilbert owns casinos and a mortgage company. He believes there are moments in any business situation "when you take the roast out of oven." You don't wait too long. If momentum is on your side, keep pushing. Don't wait for everything to be perfect.

Winning the draft lottery, convincing Irving to sign, and the three-hour meeting with James had Gilbert believing in what would become a basketball miracle.

On July 10, Rich Paul called Gilbert. He told the owner that in seconds James' letter would appear on the Sports Illustrated website.

James was coming home.

LEBRON'S CALL



Within a few hours of the announcement in Sports Illustrated, James called Love.

"You know what? I'm in," Love told James.

At his Tuesday press conference, Love said the call was one of the main reasons he wanted to come to Cleveland. Not only did the Cavs have James, but James immediately was recruiting Love.

Meanwhile, Saunders and Griffin were talking trade ... over and over, day after day. Saunders wanted Wiggins, Anthony Bennett and a first-round draft pick in 2015. Thanks to some shrewd deals by Grant, the Cavs had Miami's top pick (1-10 protected), Memphis' pick (protected 1-5 and 15-30) and their own in 2015. So they could trade one, and still potentially have two others in the first round.

The Cavs now believed Love was likely to stay in Cleveland at least for a few years, assuming James did the same.

THE LAST GAMBLE

When Blatt was hired as coach, he said he needed a power forward who could shoot from the outside and rebound. He wanted a trigger man for the fast break. He wanted someone like Kevin Love.

As Gilbert and Griffin talked about the Cavs, they knew Blatt wanted Love. They knew James wanted Love. They now knew Love's heart toward Cleveland had changed -- because of James. They liked Wiggins ... a lot. They believed Wiggins would become at least a very good player ... but perhaps not right away.

They wondered if they should hold up a trade that would make them a title contender because of a 19-year-old who had played only one year of college.

They were enamored with Love being only 26 and heading into the prime of his career. Should they worry that Love would wait until 2015 to sign a contract extension? Should the possibility (even remote) of him leaving after a year hold up the trade?

For a while, they tried to keep Wiggins out of the trade talks with Minnesota. But finally, Gilbert knew that he would always second-guess himself if he passed on a chance to add Love. Griffin felt the same way. But in the end, it was Gilbert's call.

"There's always a risk that he (Love) would have a turn of thinking (and leave in 2015)," said Griffin. "But we believe he is committed to the franchise and winning titles here, just as he said."

And they weren't sure if Wiggins would make a major impact as a rookie.

Older teams tend to be the top contenders. James will turn 30 in December. The Cavs felt now was their time, their moment.

Maybe it doesn't work. Maybe their rookie coach (Blatt) can't blend the talent together. Maybe Love, James, Irving and Waiters all want the ball -- and there aren't enough shots for everyone.

But maybe it indeed all does come together -- or at least, most of it.

At the very least, the Cavs are determined to find out, because they know they probably will never have another summer like this where so many huge pieces fell right into place.