Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving will not be playing until January of next year as the team decided to "slowly work him back into playing condition" to make sure that the injury will completely heal and not recur, according to ESPN.

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The 23-year-old three-time All-Star himself disclosed during his basketball camp last July that he had no timetable with regards to his possible return to the Cavs this coming season.

Irving suffered a kneecap fracture in a freak play during the Cavs' Game 1 loss last June to the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 NBA Finals. The same left knee was suffering from tendinitis all season long and surgery was required to repair the damage.

Doctors initially estimated that he will be sidelined from three to four months to recuperate, which meant that he would be ready to go come opening night this season. However, the Cavs are taking extra precaution to make sure that they have their number one guard in tow when they push again for the Finals this coming season.

Meanwhile, some basketball analysts believe that the extended rehab for Irving is actually going to be beneficial for the Cavaliers in the long run.

Fansided reported that "while it would be great" for Irving to start the season and build chemistry with his teammates early on, the team also made known their plan to lessen his minutes, and those of team leader LeBron James', during the regular season to "allow for the longevity" needed to win the NBA championship.

Irving's extended rehab is perfect for that plan to work, as the Cavs would also like to have veteran point guard Mo Williams adjust to David Blatt's system, which would need him to play longer minutes.

Almost everybody in the Cavs' recent Eastern Conference championship roster, except for Tristan Thompson, is already re-signed for next season's title run, and the addition of Williams only made them deeper and stronger in the position.

CBS Sports' Ken Berger also indicated that Irving's prolonged absence may also be good for the third spoke of Cleveland's Big Three, Kevin Love.

Without Irving, Love would be the team's second option on offense, which would make the 6-foot-10 power forward come out of his shell, so to speak.

Playing behind James and Irving, Love was unable to produce the regular numbers he had when he was still with the Timberwolves. Although he should not be expected to duplicate those numbers, something a little closer is what the Cavaliers needed.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA news, NBA News 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, cleveland cavaliers