Cuban, Ballmer clear air in Jordan aftermath
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Wednesday he has met with Los Angeles Clippers counterpart Steve Ballmer and the two have “cleared the air on a few things.”
The talk, according to Cuban, took place Tuesday during league meetings in Las Vegas, and it came less than a week after prized free-agent center DeAndre Jordan backed out of an agreed-to deal with the Mavericks to return to the Clippers.
The Mavericks’ owner described the initial conversation between the two as “more than a little frigid,” but noted that talks eventually thawed.
“I told him exactly what I told other owners, I didn’t have a problem with his Hail Mary approach to keeping a player,” Cuban said via the Cyber Dust messaging app. “I understood why they did it. And even how they did it. They got their player back. End of story.”
Ballmer and several other members of the Clippers visited Jordan in Houston last Wednesday after word surfaced that the free agent was having second thoughts about signing with the Mavericks. The group didn’t leave Jordan’s offseason home until he signed with the Clippers shortly after midnight Thursday — when the NBA’s free agent moratorium officially was lifted.
Cuban has said the moratorium period that enabled Jordan to change his mind isn’t to blame, a point he reiterated Wednesday.
“They are still a few unresolved issues that the NBA will have to work through, but one I don’t feel is an issue is the moratorium,” he said.
He also said he’s looking forward to the start of the season.
“The thing about the NBA is that you don’t know which deals are the good deals and which arrows you avoided ’til you start playing the games,” Cuban said.
“My guess is that we open the season against the Clippers. That’s when the real fun will [begin].”
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