The big moves around the National Basketball Association this summer are putting pressure on Cleveland for next season, Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving said Friday.

After losing the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors in five games, the Cavaliers have been quiet in the offseason while marquee names such as Chris Paul and Paul George have been dealt to ambitious Western Conference teams, the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

Free agent Gordon Hayward signed with the Boston Celtics, whom Cleveland beat in the Eastern Conference Finals and who also added the No. 3 draft pick, Jayson Tatum.

Making matters more complex was the pre-free agency period departure of general manager David Griffin, known as the architect of the Cavaliers teams that have reached the last three NBA Finals, and LeBron James has been eerily silent on team matters.

"It's a very unique place that we're in because honestly, changing so much within the league and you're watching all these other teams get these pieces, and it almost puts a lot more pressure on teams that aren't making any moves," Irving said, after appearing at an event for his endorser Nike.

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"So for us, we're just observing, seeing how all this plays out. I know that our management is going to do a great job of filling in the pieces that we'll need, and then we'll go from there."

Although Cleveland has not made the kind of splash its competitors have, Irving said he is fired up for the new season after missing out on his second ring.

The Rio Olympic gold medalist said he has kept some of the confetti that rained on Oracle Arena as the Warriors celebrated their second championship in three years, to remind him of June's bitter defeat.

"Going through a season like that and ultimately coming up short, all it did was spark something inside me and motivated me," he said. "I kept a piece of confetti that came down after the Golden State Warriors won the championship. I kept it in my toiletry bag just for motivation for next season."

Irving has enjoyed his first trip to Japan, where he met with fellow Nike athlete Kei Nishikori and hijacked a section of Harajuku, a Tokyo trend hub, before conducting his basketball clinic.

Irving said he is already looking forward to returning to Tokyo in 2020 for the Summer Games.

"I can't wait. God willing, if I'm picked on the team by coach (Gregg) Popovich and USA Basketball, I will be back in Tokyo in 2020 for sure. I can't wait to experience what Tokyo looks like when the Olympics come here. I know it's going to be freakin' beautiful."

Irving also gave a ringing endorsement of the addition of 3-on-3 hoops to the Tokyo Olympic program.

"I think it's awesome and it adds a new dynamic to the Olympic sports that are already in place," he said. "There's nothing like 3-on-3 basketball, there's nothing like it at all."

"I'm glad it's implemented into the Olympics. The players that don't make the Olympic team have a chance to play in the Olympics. It's just more talent coming in, and a lot better basketball is happening."