To answer the OP:
I hope so or this deal will go down as one of the worst trades in NBA history and that's not hyperbole.
The only way this goes down as the worst trades in NBA history is if the pick becomes an MVP caliber player.
I think you underestimate the risk.
Uh how was last year's C's ascending? Our record exceeded our point differential and expected wins.
Our primary players in the rotation are at their peaks or past it. IT had a career and historic season he was unlikely to replicate in efficiency regardless of injury due to age and career years are not the norm. Bradley is as good as he's going to be, Crowder can improve still but he is what he is, and Horford is on the downslope.
Growth needed to come from Free Agents, Brown, Smart, Rozier and future picks (Tatum, next BKN pick)
No matter what Danny needed to take risks to improve the roster, which is what he's done. I wish he'd picked a different horse than Kyrie myself but the idea that this is soo dang risky is maddening to me.
Same people publishing articles about this risk have been demanding that Ainge make a dang trade for years. Literally the same writers, content!
If Kyrie leaves after two years and we haven't won a title the deal is a massive bust no matter who is selected in the draft. It's not just the pick, it's also Zizic (who was valued as a late lottery pick at draft time), Crowder (one of the best contracts in the league) and breaking up the core of an ascending, 53 win, ECF team. The only way that isn't true is if IT is done (and he's not).
It's also not just "the pick" but the value of the pick. There's a simple economic idea called opportunity cost. Even if the pick turns out to be a bust, there's also the question of who else could we have reasonably drafted with that pick or who we could have received in a trade for that pick. Thus Irving leaving means we gave away a good prospect, a top contract, an All-Star who wasn't yet 30 and a pick that could have returned any number of All-Star caliber players. That's an epic bust any way you slice it.
If it turns out to be #1, Bags ends up being the Next Great Thing and Irving leaves? Then this goes down as the worst trade in modern NBA history. Even worse than the Brooklyn deal that gave us those picks. It would be considered about as bad as the deal that ultimately ended up bringing Magic to the Lakers.
I'm not saying that's what it will go down as. I hope that Irving develops into what we all hope he can become and the Nets pick ends up being 7th or 8th. Then we win. But Lordy there's a lot of risk in this one.
Edit man I forgot the Goodrich thing was a FA signing. Such a weird thing for the NBA compared to modern day.
If the pick ends up being an all-timer like LBJ/Magic/Bird then even if we win a title its probably a bad trade for the C's overall. Those guys won multiple titles after all. Them's the breaks of making trades there are risks.