Kyrie Irving on his leadership: 'I haven't been a leader, not at all'

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving is his own worst critic.

In speaking to Shams Charania of RealGM, Irving opened up about his shortcomings as a leader. "I haven’t been a leader – not at all," he said.

Irving went on to elaborate.

Everybody asks me if this is my year to be a leader…I haven’t been so far though, not at all,” Irving said. “I’ve just been a kid trying to figure it out. There’s no perfect way to be a leader, and coming in as a 19-year-old kid and having everything bearing on your shoulders, there are a lot of ups and downs. Now it’s about being the best every single day and not being afraid.

While speculating on a player's psyche is often an ill-advised endeavor, there have been numerous reports of Irving's discontent, most notably that with teammate Dion Waiters. It's also worth noting that Irving's three-year tenure with the Cavaliers to date has yet to yield any playoff appearances, even in the weak Eastern Conference.

However, what is known about Irving is that he is a fantastic offensive player, as the 22-year-old boasts career averages of 20.7 points, 5.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds. His PER has consistently scored above 20, and Irving has one of the tightest sets of handles in the league.

If Irving can improve his demeanor, he could conceivably slot in as the third star in Cleveland's hopeful championship formula. For the first time in his short NBA career, Irving will need to defer to two superstars in LeBron James and (eventually) Kevin Love.