The Dallas Mavericks are never shy when it comes to trying to make big moves in order to improve their team. With several of their marquee players beginning to age, it only makes sense that the team prepares to look at free agency to get some younger stars in the mix. Mark Cuban is planning to get at least one big name into Dallas before the start of next season and he has his sights set on Dwight Howard.
The Mavericks were gifted with the No. 13 overall draft pick after the NBA lottery on Tuesday. That truly does the team no favors. So, what does Cuban intend to do about it? Trade it, of course. According to ESPN NBA Insider Chad Ford, the Mavericks intend on trading away their top draft pick in order to save on salary cap space. The No. 13 pick has a cap hit of $1,655,300. The Mavericks are looking to save that money and use it in free agency.
If Cuban has his way, that money intended for the draft will be used on the hottest soon-to-be free agent, Howard. The All-Star center will likely command a maximum contract from any team. If Dallas wants him, they will have to have money saved up in order to offer him a better deal than Los Angeles.
If Dallas can pull of the trade, they will be in a better position to enter into the Howard bidding war once free agency begins. They will likely have to compete with the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks to get the big man. The Rockets are set up well in the salary cap area. They also have a group of young talent that make them attractive to Howard. Atlanta might be ok to offer Howard a large deal, but they do not have the pieces to make it a team worthy to go to.
Howard has been relatively silent when it comes to his free agent mindset. He is unhappy with the coaching staff in Los Angeles and has said he is intrigued by Houston, but other than that not much has been heard from him. Dallas plans on being aggressive in their quest to land Howard. They are prepared to do almost nothing in the NBA draft to get him.
