Cuban-Nelson dispute headed to arbitration

Jun 17, 2008 - 5:47 PM DALLAS (Ticker) -- The dispute between Dallas Mavericks owner and former coach Don Nelson will be settled by arbitration.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the parties met Monday night, but were unable to resolve a disagreement over wages that Nelson and his attorney claim are owed from the Mavericks' previous owner.

"We're not sure what Cuban's legal reasons are going to be as to why he doesn't have to pay an employee wages he's already earned," Nelson's attorney, John O'Connor, told the Morning News. "It's clearly not going to settle and is headed to arbitration."

Nelson, the once popular Mavericks coach who resigned with 18 games left in the 2004-05 season, claims he deferred more than $6 million in salary from the Ross Perot Jr. ownership after he took the Dallas job late in the 1996-97 campaign.

However, bad blood between Cuban and Nelson developed and intensified when the Mavericks lost point guard Steve Nash to Phoenix in free agency after the 2003-04 season.

In 2005, Nelson turned over the coaching duties to Avery Johnson, and Cuban agreed to pay Nelson for the final year on his coaching contract at more than $5 million.

Nelson took over as Golden State coach prior to the start of the 2006-07 season and gained a measure of revenge when his eighth-seeed Warriors stunned the Mavericks, who posted the NBA's best record, in the first round of the playoffs.