SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — For those who get off on me being slapped silly, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban branded my disclosure that Avery Johnson broached trading Dirk Nowitzki a "ridiculous assertion."
He was a trifle more tender in an e-mail soon after reading the column than he was in his blog that labeled my source "an out-and-out liar."
My response below, in essence, is identical to the one I sent Cuban.