From a purely x's and o's, on paper, basketball standpoint, this trade is an absolute homerun for the Mavericks. The Mavs desperately needed to put another star next to Luka, and Kyrie is still one of the most talented players in the league. The only problem is... it's Kyrie Irving. The guy is a supremely talented nutcase.
If this were just about any other team, I would say that nobody should touch Kyrie Irving with a ten foot pole. But I think the Mavs are/were actually in a much more desperate position than people realized. They needed to make a big splash or probably lose Luka, and I don't think there was another star player out there to be had. I'm not at all optimistic that the deal will work out long term, and yet I can't fault the Mavs for doing it.
Short term though? I love it. I agree with the OP that Kyrie will be on his best behavior for at least the next few months and will be eager to prove his critics wrong. And I do think Kryie and Luka will work very well on court together.
Slightly off topic though- what I am extremely excited and optimistic about is the development and emergence of both Josh Green and Jaden Hardy as legit assets. That needs a thread of its own.
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