This summer, Kyrie Irving decided to take control of his career and made the huge decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The point guard represented the franchise for six years and that period included a lot of ups and downs.

After being selected with the number one overall pick in the 2011 draft, Irving was seen as the player to replace LeBron James who had left for Miami the previous season.

After failing to make the playoffs in Kyrie's first three seasons, the tables turned for the Wine and Gold with the return of LeBron in 2014.

The Cavs immediately went from a perennial lottery team to making three consecutive Finals and winning a first championship in 2016.

'Uncle Drew' played a major role in that success but after losing to the Golden State Warriors in the most recent finals, he decided that he needed to take his talents elsewhere.

There have been many reports as to why the 25-year-old wanted to leave Cleveland but in an interview with ESPN's First Take on Monday, he stated that it was about him becoming a better player and being happy.

"I'm looking forward to becoming something that I've always envisioned myself being, that's being a complete point guard on a great team," he said.

"I want to be able to come off pick and rolls and be able to dissect the defence and to be able to have guys -- and this is not a knock on anyone I was playing with, but my role was completely different."

This can be perceived as a shot against the Cavaliers coaching staff and the system they've deployed in recent years.

LeBron is one of the best passers in the league and he usually runs the offence and has the ball in his hands for much of the game, essentially being the point guard.

This limited Irving's ability to make plays and was often tasked with playing isolation basketball as he's arguably the best one on one player in the league.

Despite enjoying aspects of that, the four-time All-Star ultimately wants to do more and be involved in a system that incorporates the entire team.

"I'm not just this one-on-one individual that wants to go one-on-one every single time down. That's not how I appreciate the game; I've watched a lot of basketball, probably more than a lot of people have realised." Irving said.

These comments will not go down well with members of his former team, but it's a refreshing perspective from one of the superstars of the league and he deserves to be commended for taking a brave approach and wanting to further himself.