Report: Mavs owner Mark Cuban fined $25K for commenting on free-agent deals

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Mark Cuban has never shied away from fines or punishment from the NBA office. Considering how well everything has worked out for his Dallas Mavericks this offseason, he's probably just fine with his latest slap on the wrist.

Cuban was fined $25,000 by the league for publicly discussing free agent deals for DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.

The exuberance and excitement were understandable, as the Mavs could have been on the precipice of disaster - and tanking, as Cuban has admitted - had they not been successful in free agency. Dallas landed Jordan on a four-year, $81-million deal and Matthews on a four-year contract with terms still to be determined.

It's quite a haul, and Cuban couldn't hold back on KTCK-AM 1310 radio:

We wanted to get Wes, he was a target for us all summer, and obviously DeAndre as well. But if we got shut out, we weren't going to just try to fill the roster. We had the discussion that if we couldn't get a serious free agent, whether it was one of the guys still out there or some of the guys who already went, then it was time to take a step back.

He also made comments on his Cyberdust app, speaking openly about the Jordan signing in particular. Rules are rules, and however harmless, Cuban broke them, and now his substantial wallet has taken an imperceptible hit.

Teams are not permitted to discuss free agents publicly during the July moratorium, which lasts from July 1-8 this year. It's a strange game to play, with no signings or trades made legal until July 9, forcing teams to sit on agreements and news while reports and speculation run rampant.

While Cuban received a litany of fines under previous commissioner David Stern, this is believed to be his first fine courtesy new commissioner Adam Silver. The beginning of a beautiful relationship.