Allow us to set the stage: Caron Butler suffered a season-ending injury, Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson opined that it would be hard for the Dallas Mavericks to fill the “vacuum” left by his injury, and Mark Cuban lashed out.

From ESPN.com:

“I love that Jeanie Buss‘ boy-toy had something to say about us,” Cuban said while sweating on the stair-stepping machine in the Mavs’ workout room. “I don’t know if it was his thought or Jeanie’s thought, but it’s nice to know that she lets him speak in public about other teams.”

There’s no love lost between the two rivals – although it’s not much of a rivalry, considering Jackson’s bagillion rings to Cuban’s zero – and it’s always fun when they spar.

While the coach and the owner backed down from their statements with the typical “that’s not exactly what I meant” rhetoric, the comments can be used as bulletin board material and saved for when the clubs face off in two weeks time.

(That game is on ESPN. No surprises here that the Worldwide Leader is helping stoke the fires.)