Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban releases Dwight Howard recruiting video
By Bryan Rose
The Dallas Mavericks and owner Mark Cuban have done everything in their power to lure a name free agent to Big D the past two years. Last season it was Texas native Deron Williams, who eventually landed with the Brooklyn Nets. This year it was Dwight Howard, who did decided to come to Texas – just the wrong city.
Dallas will hope the third time is the charm as they attempt to repeat the process one more time after the 2013-14 season, which Mark Cuban documented in a lengthy blog post yesterday afternoon.
The eccentric owner also touched on the failed Dwight Howard recruitment, posting the video the Mavericks created for him in hopes he would sign with them:
"So we went for a max free agent this summer. We had hoped that Chris Paul may be available He wasn’t. So Dwight Howard was our first target once again.Let me address here the inevitable question of Dwight vs Mavs culture. We saw it as somewhat of a risk, but felt like because Dwight by all appearances and checking we did, is a good guy and with our support systems we believed we could make it work. if not, he was obviously a very trade-able asset. But, as everyone knows, we didn’t sign him. He went to the Rockets. I do have to say the meeting with Dwight was very interesting. He is a smart guy. Much smarter than people give him credit for. He is also a very, very good listener. Unlike most people, he spent far more time listening than talking. And he had the best response to an opening question that I have ever heard from a player, or anyone for that matter. When we asked him what his goal was, his response was very specific ” I want to be Epic” . Which was a perfect lead in to the video we created for him:Would i do it the same way again ? In a heartbeat. Why ? Because in the NBA, like in the non-sports business world you have to take chances in order to be rewarded. You have to be smart and you have to be more than a little lucky."