Kyrie Irving Is Destined to Be a Perennial All-Star

Kyrie Irving might not be the next LeBron James, but he will be the next All-Star for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He might be more in the mold of the next Mark Price though, than the next James. 

His play so far is speaking for itself. Through his first five games, the 19-year-old is scoring 20.4 points and 7.8 assists per 36 minutes. He's equally adept driving to the basket, stopping and popping or setting up his teammates. 

While he's not going to ever be the best in the league at any one of those things, he could end up being the most balanced point guard in the league. 

He has the full potential to be a future All-Star, justify his No. 1 overall pick, and lead the Cavaliers back into the postseason. 

He has the ability to make shots for himself. Only 19.4 percent of his shots are assisted. 

While he isn't Derrick Rose, he's shown the ability to slash to the rim if you give him a little space. He doesn't have the same speed, but he's shown that second burst of acceleration when he gets to open space.

While he's not Steve Nash as a shooter, he's very capable. He's hit .54.3 percent of his overall field goal attempts, and has shot 36.4 percent of his three-point attempts successfully. 

Irving can score, but he can also pass.

Not only that, he's shown himself to be a smart passer, with 83 percent of his assists going into the paint or behind the three-point line. His passer rating at 82games.com is 10.7, better than Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies (10.2) Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder (8.5).

He hearkens back to another elite Cleveland point guard who could both shoot and score, Mark Price, although he's probably got a higher ceiling than Price. Since he was arguably the greatest Cavalier ever until James came along, that's not too bad.