I think you answered your own question. Why didn’t they shop him for a haul? If the Adelsons didn’t want to pay Luka and wanted to move on, so be it. It’s a mind-numbingly stupid decision, but it’s a choice. The Cowboys traded their far and away best player in Herschel Walker once upon a time. It happens. BUT, they got an absolute haul that essentially netted 3 Super Bowls.
Why didn’t Nico put feelers out to the entire NBA and let the bidding start? Why did he go to one team and one team only, which happens to be the singular glamor franchise of the NBA? With all due respect to the Celtics, the Lakers carry the banner for the NBA. And why did Nico settle for 32 year old AD, a guy named Max that I know nothing about, and 1 fucking first round pick.
There has to be more to the story. Because this is simply not a fair trade. The team with the monster trade chip got absolutely hosed. It makes no sense. Until we learn the true reason it made sense.