ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM's Chuck Cooperstein, aka "The Voice of the Mavericks", is with the Dallas Mavericks on their first European excursion and will blog on the team's events daily for ESPNDallas.com.

You knew Mark Cuban would return fire after Deron Williams' assertion Monday that Cuban’s absence from his meeting with the Mavericks was the tipping point in his decision to remain with the Nets.

"I’m a big D-Will fan, but I’m kind of surprised that he would throw his front office under the bus like that by saying that I would make a difference," Cuban said before the Mavericks’ exhibition game against FC Barcelona Regal. “I would have expected him to say -- like I’d expect one of our guys to say -- ‘Hey I’m so thrilled with the front office and the moves we made and our team that it wouldn’t have mattered what he did.’

"That’s what I expect our guys to say and that’s the way I feel about our team. Again, I’m a big D-Will fan, but it’s not about individual players, it’s about building a team. And I really think we put together a good team for the current team and the future.

"He’s a superstar point guard, but my goal is to build a team. That’s the important thing, to try to win championships.

"I’m flattered that he thought my presence would have made more of a difference than what the Nets’ management did."

The Mavericks face the Nets in Brooklyn on March 1 and at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on March 20.