it could be the trade that loses us luka which would indeed make it one of the worst trades ever, Im not exactly confident. That being said I think it definitely works basketball wise. Kyrie can just slot into what Brunson did last year, which in the playoffs was standard your turn my turn iso basketball with two high usage guys. Brunson had a 28% usage rate in the playoffs last year, and Kyrie this year has a 30% usage rate. Theres some noise because Luka missed 3 playoff games, but regardless I dont see how the difference cant be split for Kyrie who is better than brunson.
Kyries also worked well with lebron and harden who Luka is most stylistically similar too. Not denying Kyrie isnt a franchise killer but for whatever reason the players all love him and he doenst seem to have a problem being a number two, or at least a 1b.
And this hasnt leaked out to the rest of the league yet, but dorian finney smith has not been our best perimeter defender this year. Thats been josh green. Albeit putting trust in a 22 year old is another major risk, but the defensive core of Bullock, DFS, and Kleber is still in tact with Green sliding into the DFS slot. DFS is one of my favorite Mavs ever but Green might be better than him all around right now and Id be pretty surprised if he isnt next season. Also worth noting that the primary reason the mavs defense has been so bad is because Kleber has been injured, and he'll be back around the all star break.