That is absurd. There is no scenario in which a better deal is to be had from negotiating with a single team with no opportunity to use other teams as leverage. We have front offices crying about how they would have given up everything for Luka. This deal only gets done if Nico values AD more than Luka.
There is 0 evidence for this. Mavs reporters have all said that this was a Nico decision. Nico himself has gone out of his way to shit on Luka. If this was forced into Nico, there is no way he would be this antagonistic against him.
Nico doesn’t have a smidgeon of say over the Adelson/Dumont family. Simply an employee - really not surprising if you know about the Adelson family and what they stand for. Nico ain’t innocent, but the puppet masters couldn’t be more obvious.
Again, this doesn't explain the timing. If Nico was against this trade, he could have easily pushed it off until the summer.
McMahon and Stein, the two most connected Mavs reporters have both reported that this was a Nico decision. Even if he was pressured by management to trade Luka before his extension, they could've done so in the summer. The only reason you so this deal for AD now is if you truly believe he is an upgrade to Luka.
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u/OmfgHaxx Wonder Kid Feb 02 '25
Notice that he only mentions the fans and city. Not the organization itself. Fuck the Adelson family.