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Mark Cuban was upset with Jason Kidd

Cuban said Tuesday he thought Kidd was returning to the Mavericks before the veteran point guard surprisingly changed his mind and agreed to sign with the Knicks.

“I was more than upset,” Cuban told the Ben and Skin show on 103.3 [KESN-FM]. “I thought he was coming (back). I was pissed.”

That answer came after Cuban was asked if Kidd would have his jersey in the rafters one day at AAC. Cuban said there was “no chance” of that happening after the way things ended.

“J-Kidd’s a big boy, he can do whatever he wants,” Cuban said. “But you don’t change your mind like that. I’m sure I’ll get over it at some point, but as of right now, I wouldn’t put J-Kidd’s number in the rafters.”

— Reported by Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News

Nets owner takes jab at Knicks owner

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov referred to his new cross-town counterpart James Dolan of the Knicks as “that little man” in New York Magazine.

In the article describing the Nets marketing plan and approach to their brand accompanying a move from New Jersey to Brooklyn for the 2012 season, the focus is on whether the Nets can consistently fill the Barclays Center and establish Brooklyn as a glimmering borough of basketball hope.

The article reads: “Prokhorov told me back in December that he plans on attending a quarter of the regular-season games and ‘all the playoff ones.’ He also made sure that I heard him call Dolan ‘that little man.'”

— Reported by The Sports Xchange

Jason Terry hopes his Dallas Mavericks jersey will be retired

Jason Terry hopes his Mavs jersey will be retired

For Jason Terry, winning an NBA title was the ultimate as far as personal team achievements are concerned. But what could happen next would be sheer euphoria.

“The bow was winning the championship, but the icing on the cake will be putting that jersey up in the rafters,’’ Terry told the Star-Telegram on Monday. “If it happens, I’ll be grateful.’’

Terry was referring to the possibility of having his Dallas Maverick No. 31 jersey retired in the American Airlines Center rafters.

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Blog)

Houston Rockets sign Carlos Delfino

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed guard/forward Carlos Delfino. The unrestricted free agent recently competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, averaging 15.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists with Argentina.

Delfino (6-6, 230, Argentina) has played in seven NBA seasons, averaging 7.7 points (.362, 520-1435 3FG), 3.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 440 career games (165 starts) with Detroit, Toronto and Milwaukee. His most productive years have come the past three seasons with the Bucks, where he has averaged 10.6 points, 4.5 boards, 2.5 assists and 1.32 steals in 30.4 minutes per outing over 178 games (159 starts). Delfino also connected on a career-best 134 3-pointers in 2009-10 and averaged 2.1 3-point field goals per game in 2010-11, which ranked fifth in the league.

Drafted by the Pistons with the 25th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Delfino spent three seasons with Detroit before joining the Raptors in a trade. He was acquired by Milwaukee along with Roko Ukic from Toronto in exchange for Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems on Aug. 18, 2009. In addition to the NBA, Delfino has played a key role on Argentina’s gold-medal-winning teams at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and at the 2011 FIBA Americas Tournament. Delfino began his career internationally with Reggio Calabria (2000-02) and Skipper Bologna (2002-04). He also averaged 13.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 10 games with Khimki Moscow in the Russian Superleague in 2008-09.

Andrew Bogut expects to be ready for Warriors opener

Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut fully expects to be in the lineup for the season opener Oct. 31 at Phoenix after undergoing surgery this spring on his troublesome ankle.

How much he plays during the exhibition schedule, he’s still not sure. Bogut believes he will be nearly full strength by the start of training camp Oct. 3, but might still be limited during the preseason as a precaution.

“I definitely want to be ready for training camp. I think it will be close,” Bogut said Sunday before heading to a Monday morning workout in Australia.

“The immediate goal with all of this is to make sure I’m ready for the first game. Whether that means playing only half the preseason games, it’s just about being smart with my ankle. There’s no point in trying to get ready for Oct. 1 when an extra week could significantly help. It’s just a matter of monitoring it very smartly and not doing anything stupid.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

Sixers have plenty of expiring contracts over next two years

There will be a grand total of nine Sixers whose contracts will expire within the next two years.

Five of those contracts — Bynum, Jrue Holiday, Nick Young, Dorell Wright and Royal Ivey — are up at the end of next season. Four more — Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, Kwame Brown and Lavoy Allen — expire at the end of the 2013-14 season. For reference, Brown’s is technically for one season with a player option for a second, though his agent has called it a two-year deal.

Starting with the five due to end next summer, the Sixers could very well walk into free agency with roughly $30 million off their books. Of course, should they re-sign Bynum, his max-deal will take up about two-thirds of that space. Then there’s Holiday, to whom the team can extend a qualifying offer for one more year, but Holiday is reportedly seeking a max-contract instead. Go figure.

— Reported by Nick Menta of CSN Philly

NBA and Ticketmaster develop ticketing service

The National Basketball Association selected Ticketmaster, a Live Nation Entertainment company (NYSE:LYV), to develop a comprehensive online ticketing destination for NBA fans. As the Official Ticketing Provider of the NBA, Ticketmaster will present buyers all of the available ticket options for upcoming games, including available tickets from the primary market, as well as tickets being resold by other fans. NBA fans will be able to buy with confidence, as Ticketmaster will validate every ticket purchased on the league’s site, making it the premier destination where fans are guaranteed authentic NBA tickets.

“Together with the NBA, we’re building the sports industry’s first comprehensive ticket destination that provides fans all of their ticketing options – from both primary and resale – in one place,” said Nathan Hubbard, CEO of Ticketmaster. “The NBA is determined to provide their fans a safe, convenient place to buy and sell game tickets, and we are delighted to be delivering this revolutionary solution.”

“We are committed to ensuring that our fans receive the best in service and selection when it comes to purchasing individual game tickets, and Ticketmaster’s proven ticketing solutions for both the primary and resale markets were the right fit for us,” said NBA Executive Vice President of Team Marketing & Business Operations Chris Granger. “On behalf of our teams, we also appreciate Ticketmaster’s commitment to analytics, data sharing, and marketing support. This partnership will be a winner for all involved.”

— Press Release

Kevin Durant goes from gold medal to red carpet

Kevin Durant is going from representing the red, white and blue to walking the red carpet.

Adding to a resume that already includes being a three-time NBA scoring champion and Olympic gold medalist, Durant was the star as his movie ”Thunderstruck” premiered in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown entertainment district Sunday night. It opens in other theaters Friday.

Durant strolled down a red carpet in a black T-shirt, grey vest, white jeans and black sneakers to answer questions about his acting skills instead of the deadly shooting ability that propelled the Oklahoma City Thunder to the NBA Finals last season.

”Of course, people are going to look at it a little different because I’m a basketball player and I’m doing something different,” Durant said. ”A basketball player is what I do. It’s not really just solely who I am. I like to do other things.

”It’s all about conquering your fears. That’s one thing I did with this, stepping in front of a camera and people yelling ‘Action!’ It’s not the norm for me. I did something outside the box, and I’m glad it turned out pretty well.”

— Reported by Jeff Latzke of the Associated Press

Brandon Jennings seeks contract extension from Bucks

Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings is hoping to have a contract extension in his pocket by the time the regular season opens on Nov. 2 in Boston.

Jennings is entering his fourth NBA season and is in line for an extension that could keep him with Milwaukee for four additional seasons.

But the 23-year-old had more than his contract on his mind during an interview Sunday morning at Homestead High School. Jennings was on hand to supervise a group of 200 youngsters on the second day of the Brandon Jennings Basketball ProCamp.

“It would be something I’d love to get done with and over with so I don’t have to worry about it,” Jennings said of the contract extension. “But the main thing is just to come into training camp a better player, a better leader … just lead the team to the playoffs.”

— Reported by Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Former NBA, NBPA exec Simon Gourdine dead at 72

Former NBA Players Association executive director Simon Gourdine has passed away.

Gourdine joined the NBA in 1970, and was named NBA Deputy Commissioner in 1974, becoming the highest ranking African American executive in sports at the time.

— Reported by NBA.com