That aint an excuse when you are in charge. They are either stupid or on some bullshyt. Either way it’s on them since it’s their team.
It’s on the owners for being stupid. That’s never been up for debate. The moment Nico even suggested trading Luka, he should’ve been relieved of his duties.
But there’s nothing deep about this. He isn’t some fall guy. He planted the seeds to trade Luka a long time ago, well before the new owners took over. He then fed Dumont some bullshyt and Dumont believed him. He has even come out and publicly stated he had to convince Dumont (who initially laughed at the idea).
Ultimately, this is all Nico’s doing, so I really don’t know why this board has this obsession with trying to deflect blame away from him. He let his ego get the best of him, and once he’s fired he’ll likely never get a job in the NBA again. And he’ll have nobody else but himself to blame for it.