LeBron James on Cavaliers' offense: 'This is Kyrie's show'

LeBron James returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers means a whole lot of change for the franchise and the team's style of play.

The offense should look much different, it should be far more effective and efficient, and it should allow the players around James to improve their own offensive games by lessening the usage burden on them.

To hear James tell it, though, while he'll obviously be a major part of the team's plans, the offense still runs through the team's talented young point guard, Kyrie Irving.

"I'll probably handle the ball a little bit, but this is Kyrie [Irving's] show," James said on Saturday. "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."

It will be interesting to see if James' comments hold true, and if he'll handle the rock less than he did in Miami as a result. Last season, James averaged 77.7 touches and 5.1 minutes of possession per game, some of the highest marks among non-point guards in the league. Irving, meanwhile, averaged 82.5 and 6.2, respectively, marks near the top of the NBA.

That's not to say they can't effectively share the ball. Much the opposite, really, as James is a terror to contain off the ball, and when James plays the role of point forward, Irving and his 37.8 percent career 3-point mark become a deadly option.

"I'll be ready to shoot every single time," Irving said of that potential scenario.

As for new head coach David Blatt, he downplayed the idea of traditional positions, defining James, Irving, and Dion Waiters as "ball guards."

Despite his willingness to share on offense, James remains clear that he's the team's leader, face, and voice, speaking to the team before Saturday's camp-opening practice session and reinforcing the need to have each other's backs in good times and bad. Something tells us there will be more of the former.