The NBA (National Basketball Association) has taken cognizance of the event that occurred between J.R Smith, the guard of Denver Nuggets and Mark Cuban, the owner of Dallas Mavericks. It is learnt from some sources that both Smith and Cuban may have to pay fine regarding the incident. On Tuesday (13th January 2009) while the game between the two teams was in progress in the second quarter, Smith allegedly threw an elbow at Antoine Wright, the guard of Dallas Mavericks. Consequently, at half time Cuban approached Smith.
In an e-mail to the News, Cuban wrote that he does take notice if the players of the opponent team would throw elbows to his players which would result in severe injury to his players. He added that he politely told Mr Smith at half time that he would be turning the incident to the league and he hoped that Mr Smith would be suspended for what he had done. In reply, Smith remained composed and after the game was over, sent a pair of autographed shoes to Cuban.
However, George Karl, the coach of Denver Nuggets, came up with a different response. He warned the Denver media not to get involved, to stay away from the court and to maintain a distance from his players. He said if they desired to interact they must do so with the league office and with their players. He added that there was no room to mess with his players. Karl was of the opinion that if Cuban was a normal fan, he would be banned from the building and probably from the game. When a game gets over, Cuban is an owner, however when the game is in progress he is a fan.