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Deron Williams gets even with Mark Cuban

Brooklyn Nets/Adam Pantozzi

It's water over the dam and under the bridge by now, but Deron Williams made clear after Monday's practice that Mark Cuban's absence from his meeting with Mavericks brass was a major factor in his decision to re-join the Nets. (It also may have been affected by what David Aldridge reported back then: that the Mavs offered D-Will $5 million less than the max.)

"Of course," is how D-Will answered when asked if Cuban's absence had influenced his decision. Cuban missed the meeting because he was in California working on his "Shark Tank" reality TV show. "I think he would have been able to ask a lot of questions that me and my agent didnt get answered that day, pertaining to the future," Williams said. "I think if he was there, he would have been able to answer those questions a little bit better. Maybe it would have helped me."

Since Williams spurned his hometown team, Cuban has said that the Mavs were better off without the point guard, noting financial restrictions that even (common) billionaires will face with the new CBA.

Asked about that, Williams essentially shrugged his shoulders. "That’s Mark. He does that about a lot of people. He did that with J. Kidd. It doesn’t matter. I’m not concerning myself with that. I’m a Brooklyn Net." In other news out of practice, Keith Bogans missed time because of muscle soreness and Kris Humphries went home to Minnesota for the funeral of his grandfather.

Although the Nets have Tuesday off, eight players had an extra session Monday night. The eight are all young players: Tyshawn Taylor, Marshon Brooks, Josh Childress, Mirza Teletovic, Andray Blatche, Stephen Dennis, Toko Shengelia and James Mays