Kyrie is a better player than Dinwiddie for sure, but is the gap really that big? Kyrie scores more points (again, during a time in the league where it has never been easier to score points) at good efficiency. Dinwiddie and Kyrie have basically the exact same eFG% and TS%, with Kyrie obviously taking more shots per game. Dinwiddie isn't a good defender, but he is better than Kyrie and his size is less problematic on defense, especially in a playoff series where guys start hunting matchups more frequently. He's also considerably more durable. That isn't even considering the wild card of Kyrie being Kyrie and the questions that come with that. I'd probably rather have Dinwiddie because he is a safer bet, although obviously the ceiling with Kyrie is theoretically higher and Dallas feels like they HAVE to swing for the fences here. There is so much evidence over the last 6 years that Kyrie is never hitting his theoretical ceiling that I really can't believe teams are still riding on it, and yet here we are.
I think so. Brooklyn is all about Durant coming back and playing hard and being at the level he was at before he got injured. Who knows what happens with Durant now, but I like how their team is comprised more now that they don't have the Kyrie wildcard stirring the pot. DFS gives them a big physical wing that should shoot well enough to keep defenses honest. A huge problem with Brooklyn was their lack of size on defense and the need to play a bunch of small guards, which is how the Celtics completely shredded them last year. Now they can roll out a lineup of Dinwiddie/O'Neale/Durant/DFS/Claxton, which is a big, strong, switchable rotation of defenders while also having a good amount of shooting to play around Durant.
They will miss Kyrie's creation and his ability to create without Durant, but they will be much stouter defensively and they can more comfortably work in players like Seth Curry to give them some extra offense without worrying about playing two small guards. They are not a real title contender because they won't have enough firepower unless Cam Thomas turns into SGA overnight, but I don't think they were a serious title contender with Kyrie so it doesn't move the needle that much. They lost the Kyrie bad juju, and the roster composition makes more sense for the modern NBA.