Mark Cuban explains what he told his Mavericks employees after getting spurned by DeAndre Jordan

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Mark Cuban

Reuters

Mark Cuban speaks at SMU about the player who shall not be named.

Mark Cuban likely had an emotional moment or two when free agent DeAndre Jordan backed out of his agreement to sign with the Dallas Mavericks and instead re-signed with the Clippers. But when it came time to talk to his front office about the move, he says he was very level-headed.

Speaking to the graduates of the inaugural class of the Presidential Leadership Scholars program at Southern Methodist University on Thursday, Cuban was asked how he handles a setback like the Jordan situation and what he says to his people at times like this.

His answer was much more like that of an experienced and composed leader than the combative and fiery personality many were probably expecting (via ESPN Radio).

"The conversations that we had today, it's over. There's nothing you can do about it. You think for a second, 'Is there anything I can change?' You think for another second, 'What have I learned so I can do it differently next time?' Then you move forward and say 'What are our options?' I am a big believer you have to re-earn your business every single day. You have to look to see whether or not you need to reinvent your business every day. Because there is someone out there, there is some 8-year-old, 12-year-old going to UT, SMU, all these great things I just talked about, this great talent, they are out there trying to kick your butt. And if I am going to stay ahead, whether it is the NBA or any of my other companies, I have to keep on moving forward. That's the way it is with the Mavericks. We have this big, tall German [Dirk Nowitzki] who is pretty good and he is still around. And we signed Wes Matthews. We have been fortunate to this point in my 15 years there. We have great leadership, a great team and we are going to keep on moving forward."

Here is the full video via the CBS affiliate in Dallas. Cuban has a funny reaction to being asked about Jordan, which includes, "So, this week on 'Shark Tank'!" and, "Oh, you had to say his name." 

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