Mark Cuban and Don Nelson have long been known as enemies and some details of their dispute have now been made public.
There's deposition testimony from Cuban in which he acknowledges that he withheld consulting fees from Nelson in 2006 because he believed the former coach had "badmouthed" the team during the NBA finals and should be made to "beg" for the money. There's also testimony from Nelson in which he describes being so disgusted with Cuban that he signed a contract to stay on as coach in 2003 only after friends "got me drunk."
Cuban's refusal to abide by the arbitrator's decision led Nelson to file suit in state court last September.
Nelson has also filed a defamation suit against Cuban in California over comments the owner made on a Bay Area radio show in 2007. He claims that Cuban, who was on the show to promote his appearance on "Dancing with the Stars," defamed him when he said the coach's demand for money was an attempt "to rip me off."
In support of his claim, Nelson has included in his court filings an off-the-record e-mail exchange between Cuban and a reporter in which Cuban refers to Nelson as "sleazy" and having "no concept of reality or ethics."
