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It’s been quite a crazy year for Kyrie Irving.
The Cleveland Cavaliers point guard dealt with a messy 2013-14 season, rife with embarrassing losses, a decline in stats and seeing yet another coach get fired. Irving also had to address numerous rumors about his wanting to leave Cleveland (leading the New York Knicks to naturally start planning for their 2016 offseason two years in advance, as they normally do in these scenarios). Based on the way the year started, you could hardly blame the Cavs star for being a bit burnt out.
However, things took a more than noticeable turn for the better in the offseason. Irving bucked the rumors of him wanting out of town by signing a five-year, $90 million contract with Cleveland just seconds into free agency. He watched as the Cavaliers hired a new coach in David Blatt, who, despite no NBA experience, was met with extremely positive reviews. Yes, it certainly looked like Irving was about to have himself a good year.
Good became great on July 11. LeBron James announced he was returning home to play for Cleveland. Within a month later, the Cavaliers made a trade for Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Kevin Love. What was once a team expected to possibly make the postseason had suddenly become the trendy pick to win the Eastern Conference.
Amidst all the hoopla surrounding Cleveland and its overnight rise to the top of the NBA, many were wondering just how Irving would handle everything which came with this transition. As recently as last year, the young guard was expected to be the best player and help the Cavaliers fight for a low playoff seed. Coming into this season, he’s now tasked with running the floor with two of the league’s best players as they try to win the city of Cleveland’s first championship since 1964. Last year, Irving was the All-Star on the Cavaliers. This year, he’s their third-best All-Star.
How he adjusts to this will have a big impact on just how far the Cavaliers can go this season. So, it has to be asked; is Irving ready for life with LeBron?
First of all, the team is barely into its first week of practice and already there’s a bit of a change in how people view Irving’s place on the Cavaliers. As soon as James returned to Cleveland, everyone began asking Irving how he’d handle watching his shot numbers go down, as well as if he’d be OK with James facilitating the offense. They were honest assertions, as you don’t put up a fight if your coaches say “yeah, so we’re going to let the best player on the planet run the show this year.”
However, said player changed everything with his recent comments. James told reporters he was handing the reigns to Irving as far as running the offense, saying “I’ll probably handle the ball a little bit, but this is [Irving’s] show. He’s our point guard.”
“He’s our floor general, and we need him to put us in position to succeed offensively. He has to demand that and command that from us with him handling the ball.”
So, within a couple months, before any actual basketball has even been played, Irving went from ceding power to James to being almost fully responsible for making sure this superstar-laden offense runs effectively. How’s that for a transition?
This is all part of what happens when you acquire someone like James. He’s gone through pretty much everything you can see during his tenure in the NBA, and he knows what it takes to win. When he tells you what he expects of you, it’s with the belief that it’ll help the team achieve a title.
Irving has never experienced anything like this. On top of that, he’s had minimal time to get used to this change in expectations. James isn’t here to slowly, but surely put together a championship team. He wants it now, and because of this, Irving needs to be ready to accept any and all duties James gives him.
It may be all sunshine and rainbows now, with the fun of media day and not a ton of pressure from the first week of practice. James may be happy to dole out compliments, like when he told reporters, “I’ve never played with a point guard like Kyrie Irving.” However, ask Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers what happens when James is upset with how you’re performing. It isn’t pretty.
Will Irving be able to handle it if James starts critiquing him? Will he accept the criticism which comes with this increased responsibility? What happens if cameras cut to James laying into Irving for some sloppy play? Will the point guard work to improve, or will he scoff at any sort of tough love? We watched him ignore coach Mike Brown last season, but James carries just a little more clout.
For what it’s worth, Irving is definitely saying all the right things. He’s stated a few times this summer that leadership is a quality he needs to improve. The Cavaliers of the past few years looked like a captain-less ship, and though Irving is just 22, being a leader is a bit of a requirement if you want to be one of the team’s best players. It at least sounds like he realizes this now, and he’s coming to this realization at the best possible time.
On top of this, I don’t see the same kind of alpha dog power-struggle here as we did in Miami when James joined the Heat. At the time, Dwyane Wade had a championship ring already, and he had every right to try and claim the team as his own upon James’ arrival. It’s different in Cleveland, though, where Irving is a decorated player, but not nearly as much as James. I highly doubt Irving will have an issue with stepping aside to let James become the team’s driving force.
At least, he better not have an issue with this. As we’ve already seen, James is not returning to Cleveland with an “I’m just here to have fun in my hometown” mood. He’s back on a mission to win a title, and he means business. For Irving, it’s about doing whatever he can to help James fulfill this goal.
There’s hardly any bit of a transition period for the Cavaliers point guard. The laid back, playing-out-the-string mood from last season is long gone. Irving isn’t being eased into this evolution; he’s being thrown right in. It may not seem as daunting now, but everything changes when the season tips off on October 30.
Bottom line: thanks to James, Irving is now in charge of running one of the most talented offenses in the NBA, and he’s being given this duty whether he’s ready or not.
Casey Drottar is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @CDrottar19 or “Like” him on Facebook
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