Kyrie Irving, as a former NBA lottery pick whose development at point guard was pushed during his formative years by his omnipresent father, Dred Irving, can relate to Lonzo Ball. However, there came a certain point when Dred allowed his son to make decisions on his own, and Kyrie believes Lonzo would benefit from a similar transition from his father, LaVar Ball.

"I’m sorry, LaVar, you’re not going to be in every hotel room that Lonzo is going to be in," Kyrie said as a guest on Uninterrupted's "Road Trippin'" podcast hosted by Cleveland Cavaliers veterans Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye. "You’re not going to be everywhere and part of his life as he continues to grow up. You got to let go. He’s 19-years old. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want it to bypass him being a father, but he’s got to let Lonzo be Lonzo for the long haul."

Irving, 25, said he spoke to his father a long time ago about living life on his own terms.

"I had to have a talk with my dad, and I was just like, 'Man, Dad, I love you, but I’m going to make my own decisions,'" Irving said. "And he told me, when I turn 18, I’m responsible enough for myself to make my own decisions, and he’s going to be there to help along the way. But when I turned 18, like, I got my first tattoo. I got my ear pierced. I just started doing my own thing."

Ball, who averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 assists and 6.0 rebounds in his lone season at UCLA, will be a likely top-5 pick in next month's NBA draft. Irving was the No. 1 pick in the 2011 draft after spending one season at Duke. He said Dred, a former professional basketball player overseas, took a step back once Kyrie reached high school.

Incoming NBA rookie Lonzo Ball, left, will benefit greatly if his outspoken father, LaVar, will give him some room to be his own person, according to Cleveland's Kyrie Irving. Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

"I don’t know what his future plans are for his sons," Irving said of LaVar Ball. "I don’t know the dynamic of their relationship. Me and my dad, I always wanted to be just an individual, and you guys always know that. And since I was a kid, my dad never fought that. He never fought that. And when it was time to let me go and be that individual after eighth grade, he stopped coaching me, and he was like, 'OK, from high school on, you’re on your own. Like, I’m going to be here for advice, but from this point on, I’m just going to be a parent. I can’t be your coach for the rest of your life. I can’t be the Joe Jackson of just staying there on every step and just calculating every move.' But, man, I just want to see what he has now. I mean, Lonzo, we’re just excited for him to get to the league now."

Jefferson expressed a different emotion than excitement, saying, "We have zero mindset; we could care less about him," when asked if he’s considered playing against Ball. Frye said Ball's father will make him a target. "No matter what [Lonzo] does, it is going to be so easy to hate on him now," Frye said. "It’s going to be disgustingly easy to hate on him."

Irving said Ball's status as a rookie, combined with playing perhaps the most talent-laden position in the NBA at point guard will make Ball's job hard enough.

Kyrie Irving on his relationship with his father: "Me and my Dad, I always wanted to be just an individual ... And since I was a kid, my dad never fought that." Ken Blaze/USA Today Sports

"We’re going to go at him because he’s going to be a rookie," Irving said. "He’s coming into the point guard position. That right there is ... I mean, you think about it, you go through the top 10 point guards in the league, no matter what LaVar says or what he believes, we’re all going to come at him, and that’s just competition outright.

"Then you start adding, I mean, we’ve seen it. We’ve seen people be implemented into the spotlight, and it just draws an even bigger target on them. We’ve seen it."

Jefferson, a 15-year veteran, believes Lonzo's demeanor in spite of his father will earn him some respect in the league.

"I think from my perspective, everyone that looks at his situation that I’ve kind of been around or talked basketball with, they look at the kid with almost -- pity is not the right word -- but just like, 'man, that situation just looks off,'" Jefferson said. "So you’re not attacking this kid. If this kid was talking the way his dad was talking, oh, then it would be a whole 'nother world. It would be a whole 'nother, 'Oh, yeah, we’re going to baptize this kid.' But you see this quiet, somewhat humble kid who makes his teammates better, that plays basketball the right way, so as a basketball fan, you respect that. A guy that just plays hard and passes the ball and he’s young, but he’s compared to [Jason] Kidd and has this high level of basketball I.Q. just off his instincts. As a basketball player, you’re a fan of that. That’s a guy that you would want on your team."

Irving defended LaVar Ball's entrepreneurial instincts, but cautioned against him continuing to be so outspoken about his son.

"We all respect the foundation he’s laid. I’m going to speak from the parent perspective first and then as a player," Irving said. "As a father, the foundation he’s laid for his children, I couldn’t be any [more] proud of him. I don’t listen to the comments. ... Just as a parent, he’s opened up the door for his kids. He was the one that put the ball in their crib. As cliché as that sounds, he was the one that pushed them in that direction to play basketball. And now they’re talented and able to have their own AAU team and able to have their own brand and be able to travel on their own merits, not looking towards the big-time companies to sponsor their team. I mean, they’re controlling it within the family, and I respect that, from that aspect.

"Now, when he starts going off and saying, 'I could beat Michael Jordan one-on-one' and starts going off and he compared Lonzo to Uber and taxi, come on. Just relax a little bit. Take a step back and realize the impact that you can make, not for the moment now, but for the future. Lonzo is going to be in the NBA regardless. But at the end of the day, he still is going into another world that you can’t control."

Irving, whose "Uncle Drew" Pepsi commercial is the most viewed basketball-related video on YouTube and whose Nike Kyrie 3 signature sneaker is a top seller, has benefited from his father making way for his son’s personal growth.

"As I grew up, my dad’s primary goal was for me to be my own kind of CEO, make sure that I’m spearheading it, and I would go to him for advice and he would give it to me," Irving said. "I respect their relationship, but the way that it’s being portrayed from the outside looking in ... I mean, you see it and it may not be comfortable for everyone because, I mean, you see a father with three sons, and he has a brand that he’s trying to push into the whole entire world and basically push into everyone’s faces. Whether it be forcefully or whether it be the right thing, they’re your sons at the end of the day. And it’s not LaVar's life."