Nearly a month has passed since the Mavs traded Luka Doncic to the Lakers. But Nico Harrison and the Adelson family are nowhere close to hearing the end of it. Since the shocking move, they have been under constant fire from fuming fans and critical analysts for letting go of a generational superstar in exchange for an aging and injury-prone Anthony Davis. And veteran broadcasters Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson joined the trend during tonight’s Lakers game by expressing their disbelief.

As the LA franchise faced the Nuggets in Denver and Luka caught fire early, Breen was left in awe of the star guard. He said live on air, “So hard to fathom that the Lakers were able to obtain this guy mid-season.” But RJ, being his unfiltered and hilarious self, corrected Breen’s statement and called out Nico Harrison and Mavs management with a harsh remark, “So, you’re saying Lakers were able to obtain him because you’re being nice. It’s hard to fathom that the Dallas Mavericks would trade him. That’s a very different conversation.”

Yes, although it’s hard to believe, it was Nico who approached Rob Pelinka with a pitch to trade Luka for AD. The two GMs were spotted together at Ascension Coffee in the lobby of Upton Dallas’ Hotel Crescent Court on January 7, where the idea of the trade initially sparked as per insiders Ramona Shelburne and Tim MacMahon. And a man named Asad Munir even photographed the meeting and shared the image on social media soon after the trade went public.

Moreover, Pelinka publicly thanked Harrison for coming to him with the offer, “Anytime there’s a trade or a transaction, there has to be a partner, and I want to thank the Dallas Mavericks, led by their GM Nico Harrison, who was also very instrumental in bringing this opportunity to us.” So, it was not Pelinka’s genius that helped the Lakers acquire Doncic, but Nico’s potential error in judgment. And Jefferson rightfully called it out on air. But why would Harrison give up on a talent like Luka?

Luka Doncic’s culture fit and relation with Rob Pelinka might explain Nico Harrison’s shocking decision

As great as Luka is, speculations are that the Mavs management was concerned about his conditioning and ability to stay healthy for an entire season. During last year’s run to the NBA Finals, the Slovenian Sensation looked extremely fatigued while running up and down the court on several occasions. He was also playing through multiple lingering injuries.

But an even bigger concern was Luka’s cultural fit with the team, as Nico publicly stated, “Listen, one thing about me, I’m not going to talk bad about any players. I mean, that’s not going to do us or me any good. I just say there’s levels to it. There’s people that fit the culture, and there’s people that come in and add to the culture. And those are two distinct things. And I believe the people that [are] coming in are adding to the culture.” Although he never said it directly, his comments hinted that Luka was not considered the right fit to lead the team.

But why only go to Rob Pelinka and not let the entire league know of Luka’s availability to get the best offer? Well, that mystery is yet to be completely solved, but Rob hinted that his ties with Nico might have something to do with it: “There was a partnership and a history of traveling the world between Nico and myself, working around Kobe Bryant, there was a fabric of trust in the discussions.” Whatever the reason, the reality is that Luka wears the Purple and Gold now, and the Lakers somehow manage to always bag a generational superstar to build their team around.