Deron Williams said Mark Cuban's absence was a big reason to
sign with the Nets  Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE - Presswire  The
All-Star point guard told reporters on Monday that Cuban would
have answered a lot of questions about the future of the
franchise.  We've talked about Mark Cuban's absence from the
Deron Williams meeting at length before. The topic dominated the
normally dormant sports talk radio summer airwaves and filled
plenty of space during a slow week at the local newspapers. Old-
timey folks were appalled that Cuban wouldn't show up to the
potential biggest free-agent signing in Mavericks history and
hip folks were just like, "Hey, calm down, man, Carlisle and
Donnie are more important anyway."  Well, turns out it Cuban's
presence was pretty important. Here's Stefan Bondy of the New
York Daily News:  Deron Williams revealed Monday that Cuban's
absence from his free-agent meeting in July clinched his
decision to reject the Mavericks and re-sign with the Nets.
Cuban, who cut payroll and gutted a ch