The Clippers and the Dallas Mavericks don’t play each other until Nov. 11, but that hasn’t stopped two of the organizations’ leaders from taking some shots.

During a recent radio appearance, Dallas owner Mark Cuban said Doc Rivers’ “professional life” would’ve been over if DeAndre Jordan had signed with the Mavericks. Cuban also said he now has doubts whether Jordan can be a “cornerstone player.”

Thursday in an interview withThe Register, Rivers responded to Cuban’s comments.

“I’ll say this. I’m so grateful to work for a team owned by Steve Ballmer, someone who stands for character and substance and who is so loyal,” Rivers said. “He is someone who I know will stand with me, even when things aren’t always going our way. I think what happened with D.J. was he decided to choose substance and character over smoke and mirrors.”

Cuban voiced his displeasure with the Clippers and Jordan in the aftermath of Jordan’s free-agency drama, with the All-NBA big man committing to Dallas before changing his mind and returning to the Clippers.

Tuesday on Colin Cowherd’s radio show, Cuban responded to comments Rivers previously made on Cowherd’s show.

“Did you see me out in front of the cameras screaming and yelling and crying? I didn’t do that. I was disappointed. I was disappointed internally and I handled it that way,” Rivers said. “Mark tends to do things out in the open and that’s fine… when you take shots at DJ, the guy you loved two days ago, but now you don’t like so much anymore, I think basically what all that did is told DJ even more that he made the right choice.”

Cuban didn’t hesitate to fire back.

“I think the most interesting thing is that it shows you what someone will do when their entire future is vanishing in front of them. And that’s exactly what Doc did, and I give him credit for it,” Cuban said. “His professional life was over if he didn’t get DJ. And so his back was against the wall and he did what he needed to do, so more power to him. Sometimes the deals you don’t do are the best ones, so we’ll see.”

The Clippers’ first game with the Mavericks will come on Nov. 11 in Dallas.