*rising. I guess they really don't have editors anymore.
Tim Macmahon's article from yesterday laid out how Nico did not like Luka and the way he went about the business of basketball. He'd spent the last year trying to get through to Luka via Kidd and when that didn't work by slowly firing the people who meant the most to Luka, trying to get his attention.
I think it makes more sense that this wasn't a directive from the Adelsons to trade Luka, but that Nico knew the Adelsons' business timeline was 4 to 5 years for legalized gambling and the secret but viable backup plan of moving the Mavericks to Vegas (see Raiders, Athletics) if plan A didn't materialize and used it to his advantage to persuade the owners to approve the trade and move on from Luka. With that perspective, Nico's quote of "The future to me is 3-4 from now. The future 10 years from now... They'll probably bury me and (Jason Kidd) by then, or we'll bury ourselves." makes a lot more sense. Nico seems himself as a mad genius who can unlock this next level in the Mavericks by acquiring who he believes to be the ultimate player in the league.