CLEVELAND -- Kyrie Irving wants room for his star to shine even brighter.

Irving is on tour with Nike through Asia, where throngs of fans, especially young ones, have flocked to events of his in Japan and Taiwan.

Irving had the second-best signature basketball shoe sales in the U.S. over the past year, trailing only LeBron James.

In fact, it was Irving who signed a five-year, $94 million extension on July 1, 2014 to stay with the Cavs, with the understanding that the franchise was making a commitment to him long term and he would use that commitment to launch superstardom.

Then James showed up, and almost everything changed for Irving.

Three years, three Finals, one championship, and a growing global footprint as a shoe and NBA jersey salesman (his No. 2 Cavs jersey was the league's fifth-best seller) later, and Irving wants to take his show away from James so he can grow his career (his on-court acclaim and notoriety, his brand, his voice) outside of James' shadow.

Numerous people who've talked to Irving over the past month have said to cleveland.com that he told them he wanted to leave to grow his career, and it was the message Irving sent to Cavs owner Dan Gilbert when he asked to be traded last week.

Irving has acknowledged over the past three years, to cleveland.com and to others, that is was an adjustment for him to play with James, to learn to take that back seat, or ride shotgun, with one of the few players in the NBA with enough chops to rightfully claim Alpha-male status over him.

And a quick examination of Irving's past statements, which we'll get to shortly, would show that Irving has long thought of stepping out on his own -- that he's learned to appreciate playing with James, he loved the thrill of winning the Finals, but for him there is more to an NBA career.

It is his right to feel that way. The Cavs should be able to get a high return on a trade for him, and the first four of the seven consecutive NBA Finals has been to were without Irving. James continues to expect he'll play in an eighth straight next June.

But what Irving's request is not, nor could it really be, is a reflection on James' future in Cleveland. They are incongruous.

James can be a free agent after this season. He has given no indication to the Cavs what he will do -- whether he intends to exercise his option for another season (unlikely), opt out and then seek the five-year, $209 million contract from Cleveland that he couldn't get anywhere else (plausible), or leave for the West coast or some other destination (possible, but, really, unknown).

James really doesn't know what he's going to do next summer, as frustrating as that might be for Gilbert, new GM Koby Altman, or even former GM David Griffin -- when it comes to long-term planning for this franchise. And, as an aside, if Cleveland demonstrates that it is where he has the best chance to win, the odds are strong he returns.

There is a discussion in the national media and in some basketball circles that if James would just commit to Cleveland long term, Irving would not have asked to be traded.

Consider what Irving said in May, during the Eastern Conference finals, after he scored 42 points in a Game 4 win on a night when James spent time on the bench with four fouls.

Irving said "it hasn't been anything short of difficult, trying to figure out when will it be my time," and, "the honest answer from me is that I cannot give any energy to anything that people say would be best for the team or even sometimes what I think would be best.

"My job is to be in the moment, especially with an unbelievable player like him," Irving said. "You have to just enjoy the ride just as much."

If Irving truly felt James was leaving after one more season, which almost surely would end in a fourth Finals with a chance to beat the Warriors for a second title in four years, why would Irving pick now as the time to get away from Cleveland?

If, in a doomsday scenario for the Cavs, James were to leave next summer, Cleveland would have the contracts of Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson to trade for pieces more suitable to Irving's game -- if indeed Irving believes a Cavs team as constructed (but without James) could not win.

Or, if the thought of playing without James in Cleveland was too much for Irving, he could've asked for a trade next summer, and the Cavs would be in the similar position of being able to get a huge return for him because he's such a great player.

Instead, Irving has asked out now, willing to walk away from the chance at a "super max" contract,because he feels he's ready to be a headliner now.

Regardless of who James plays for. This season or next.