The Plane Truth: Dantley Wanted Jet to Snooze In

FT. WORTH —  Adrian Dantley’s holdout from reporting to Dallas apparently wasn’t just over money.

That’s the plane truth.

It seems the new Dallas Mavericks’ forward wanted team owner Donald Carter to buy back a private jet that he sold to the Detroit Pistons, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram reported.

The plane, affectionately dubbed Roundball One, allowed Dantley and other Pistons often to avoid the drudgery of early wake-up calls and foreign beds.

‘Missed the Most’

“I told him that’s what I missed the most,” said Dantley, who was traded from the Pistons to the Mavericks on Feb. 15.

Dantley said he believes having a private jet available would lengthen his playing career.

“There’s no question that it can put years on a guy’s career,” Dantley told the newspaper. “I thought I could play 20 years. Now, I’m looking at only 17 without the plane.”

The Mavericks owner said he realizes Dantley is serious about the request.

“I can’t get that plane back, but (when) we hit the playoffs, I’ll probably get a couple,” Carter said.

Detroit is the only NBA team that flies alone on its own jet.