On the final page of The Franchise: LeBron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers, co-author Terry Pluto begins his "Acknowledgements" with the assurance, "This was not a quick book written just because the Cavs made the NBA Finals. It was a two-year project." That promise may be true, but at times, it's hard to tell.

The tale of LeBron James' emergence as the most marketable, profitable and talented figure in basketball is a compelling one. Ditto the story of the Cavaliers franchise, which went from being the NBA's most laughable organization to one of its most respected in the span of a couple years. These dovetailing stories are surely worthy of a book. They have the potential, in fact, to make a great one.

In The Franchise, Pluto and co-author Brian Windhorst deliver a good book - thorough, informative and with its share of intrigue - but one that feels rushed to press. Take, for example, the multitude of grammatical blunders ("...two veterans who had a reputations as outside shooters"), typographical mistakes ("After Gordon Gund got finally got The Guy to revive his franchise..."), and omitted words ("[Larry] Hughes crashed to the floor and immediately reached his lower right leg."). The inexplicable lack of copy editing certainly gives the impression that the book was fast-tracked in order to capitalize on the Cavaliers' current status as Eastern Conference champions. It's also a short book (206 pages), the kind of large-fonted entertainment aimed at the reader with a brief attention span.

That isn't to say the authors haven't done their homework. The Franchise knows its material inside and out, and offers about as close to an insider's perspective of events as possible. Pluto, a sports columnist for the Plain Dealer and the author of more than 20 sports books, brings decades of experience to the project. He writes in the classic sportswriter's voice, elevating everyday events to high drama, sometimes going overboard with purple prose. ("[The Cavs] were as overwhelmed as a 5-foot-9 high school kid trying to stop James from dunking. Phones didn't ring, they seemed to scream," the book says, referring to ticket sales on the night of the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery.)

Windhorst, a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal, has earned a reputation as the guy for insider info on LeBron James and the Cavs. Young, objective and extremely well-informed, he makes an excellent writing partner for Pluto. His contributions are evident in the "back-door dealings" chapters (such as one describing the fierce but largely unpublicized competition between Nike, Reebok and Adidas to ink LeBron as spokesman). Windhorst has been covering this story since well before LeBron appeared on the national media radar, gaining access, and it shows.

The Franchise strives to tell a complete tale, giving equal weight to the most intriguing sagas, such as the Cavaliers' mad quest to tank the 2002­03 season in hopes of winning the "LeBron Lottery," and the less compelling ones, like the Cavs' early attempts to build a winning team around James in 2004 and 2005. LeBron is drafted less than halfway through the book, at which point the narrative tends to focus on team ownership and the front office. Three or four chapters go by in which LeBron is barely mentioned; the narrative focuses on owner Dan Gilbert's style, with constant mentions of his motivational, corporate "Isms" - clichéd mantras which almost certainly adorn cubicle walls at Gilbert's mortgage-lending company, Quicken Loans.

Otherwise, Pluto and Windhorst tread very lightly in an attempt to remain impartial, and at times seem overly reluctant to assign blame for things gone wrong. Everyone is given the benefit of the doubt - former Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund; ousted general managers Wayne Embry and Jim Paxson; current GM Danny Ferry; former head coaches; LeBron's family; his confidants; the shoe companies; etc. Even would-be villain Carlos Boozer, who allegedly broke a promise when he walked out on the Cavaliers in 2004 to play for more money elsewhere, is cast in a sympathetic vein.

The ending of The Franchise is awkward and abrupt (to paraphrase: "...and just like that, LeBron and the Cavaliers put the finishing touches on this amazing story, finally winning the Eastern Conference Championship! Then the NBA Finals were played. The end."). It might be the most poorly executed element of a work that suffers all over from poor execution. The subject matter is compelling and will be of interest to any basketball fan. Pluto and Windhorst bring an insider's insight to the tale. But there will be scads of books written about LeBron before all is said and done. The Franchise is a book of the moment; it's not likely to be the book you'll want to pick up years from now, after LeBron and the Cavs have (presumably) gone onto bigger and better things.

Alex and Corey Rubin blog about Cleveland sports at the Mistake by the Lake Sporting Times.