Mark Cuban, the outspoken owner of the Dallas Mavericks, claimed yesterday his recent comments about Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant were taken out of context and should not have been used.

Cuban said "Access Hollywood" reporter Pat O''Brien told him that the quote, in which Cuban said the charges Bryant faces in Colorado for allegedly sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman were "great for the NBA," would not be used.

"Sometimes, you trust people in the media and they screw you," Cuban said before participating in a sports panel at the National Association of Black Journalists convention.

Cuban's comments, which aired last week, drew criticism from NBA commissioner David Stern.

In defense of his statement, Cuban said he was answering a question as to whether there would be an economic impact from newspapers that cover an event like Bryant's sexual assault case.

"I said, 'Yes,'" Cuban said.

Cuban said he stumbled on several words while answering O'Brien's question, and asked if the quote could be discarded.

"Then (O'Brien) said, 'Don't worry, we're not going to use that,'" Cuban said.