LAS VEGASâ€”In the two years since he was the first pick in the NBA Draft, Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving has racked up some nifty accolades. He was Rookie of the Year two seasons ago and followed that up with an All-Star appearance last February, part of a season in which he averaged 22.5 points.

But in listening to Irving talk about his NBA career to this point, what stands out is his persistent dissatisfaction with his performance. There have been reports that Irving is somehow unhappy in Cleveland, but he dispelled those pretty emphatically. What he is unhappy about is not the Cavs, but himself.

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â€œI had to re-evaluate myself and what I want to become and what I want to be known for,â€ Irving, 21, said after the second day of Team USA minicamp here. â€œI donâ€™t want to be known for being the guy that gives up games off or takes plays off or anything like that. I want to have a consistent effort and be known as a great player. What makes those great players great is just the consistency every night, and thatâ€™s what I have to bring.â€

To hear Irving describe it, the effort problem has three layers:

Defense. This has long been one of the knocks on Irvingâ€™s game, and in fairness to him, he has been asked to do so much for the Cavs on offense that defense gets knocked down on the priority list. Irving conceded that, but also said things need to change.

â€œThe burden for me on the offensive end, to go out there and try to maximize the effort on the defensive end, I was just giving up plays,â€ Irving said. â€œMy philosophy (is), it canâ€™t be that way. It canâ€™t be, â€˜Your turn, my turn.â€™ I am playing against great players, so, â€˜You score, then I score,â€™ it canâ€™t be like that. For me, it is about taking the challenge defensively and doing that. Sliding my effin' feet, thatâ€™s what I have to do.â€

Conditioning. To be able to score the way Irving does and still be able to give a top-notch defensive effort, Irving has to get into much better shape. That has been an area of focus for him this offseason, and itâ€™s a big part of the reason he has called together his teammates for informal workouts, both before the Las Vegas Summer League began and during it.

He canâ€™t let fatigue be a factor anymore. â€œIt was a little fatigue and kind of pacing myself for the offensive end, especially at the end of games,â€ he said. â€œIt canâ€™t be that way. I have to take the challenge defensively, and that is what I am doing.â€

Leadership. Irving wasnâ€™t specific, but he acknowledged that the pressure of being the face of the franchiseâ€”especially at 20 years oldâ€”was a burden that he struggled to bear. It didnâ€™t help that the Cavs had a winning percentage of .304 in his two seasons, but it was more than that.

â€œI donâ€™t want to blame it all on the losing,â€ Irving said. â€œThere were a lot of maturity things that I had to get rid of. For me, it was just about being OK with being in that position and having all the expectations put on me. Taking responsibility for the team, taking control of it. Taking this team head-on. I kind of shied away from that at times, but now I am ready to take this team full-on and be the leader. Like I said, I had a lot of growing up to do.â€

Going forward, Irving will have a lot more help in all three areas. The Cavaliers replaced coach Byron Scott with Mike Brown in the offseason, and Brown is known for pushing his players to be in peak condition. Irving said he has had multiple meetings and dinners with Brown, and that Brown has attended the informal workouts.

One of the things theyâ€™ve discussed is having Irving play off the ball more, both to conserve his energy and to take advantage of his excellent shooting. The model would be Stephen Curry in Golden State, and that is exactly why the Cavs gave Warriors point guard Jarrett Jack a four-year, $26 million contractâ€”Jack was a backup who was frequently on the floor with Curry last year, taking pressure off Curry and allowing him to flourish into a star.

â€œFor me, it is finding ways to be more efficient now,â€ Irving said. â€œI think that is what coach Brown is trying to do. Me coming off the ball, bringing me off screens, me playing without the ball, it gives me a rest on the offensive end, I donâ€™t have to work as hard to get the ball every time. Coming down, iso-ing, pick-and-roll, every single time down, that gets tiring after a while. Coming off screens, I am able to do that now.â€

The Cavaliers have been one of the most productive teams this offseason. In addition to signing Jack, they took a low-risk chance on center Andrew Bynum, added forward Earl Clark and drafted another forward, Anthony Bennett, with the No. 1 pick. Cleveland is a strong candidate to land one of the wide-open seeds at the bottom of the Eastâ€”Irving thinks they can break into the top part of the conferenceâ€”but as much as the new guys have bolstered the roster, the teamâ€™s ceiling ultimately depends on its third-year leader.

He is OK with that. He knows he is at a critical time for a potential star. â€œI planned out my career and how I want it to go,â€ he said. â€œIn terms of the third year, for different guys in the league, itâ€™s either they get worse or they continue to get better. And I want to be one of those guys who was a good player but turned into a great player during his third year and going into his fourth year, and after that, and so on, continuously getting better. The third year is a big one for a person in my position.â€

He seems to have a handle on what he needs to fix after his first two years. Now, itâ€™s up to him to make the changes.