Having previously expressed disdain for Pat Riley, Milwaukee forward Anthony Mason now also is disputing the Heat coach's account of last season's Rod Strickland saga.

In April, Riley revealed the Heat thought it had acquired Strickland as a free agent in March, only to learn the guard instead had signed with Portland.

Mason, however, said Riley provided a different account to his players.

According to Mason, Riley addressed the team shortly after the Strickland gambit, telling them that those already on his team would remain his priority.

"He said, `The reason we didn't want to do that was we want to take care of our own players, who we have to take care of next year,'" Mason said.

"If you choose to go in another direction, that's your right. But you sit there and you tell somebody we're not bringing in Rod Strickland because we're taking care of the people we've got here. ...''