Mark Cuban says Dwight Howard comments aren’t personal

Earlier this week, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that center Dwight Howard made a “mistake in judgment” when he decided to sign with the Houston Rockets. The Mavericks and the Rockets squared off on Friday night, and the Howard led squad beat the Mavericks. Before the game Cuban and Howard talked and he explained that his comments weren’t intended to be personal.

“I said I wasn’t picking on him, but it’s just common sense,” Cuban said, via ESPN Dallas. “I think anybody who doesn’t come to the Mavs is making a mistake, an error in judgment. Only I used stronger words. I told him anybody who doesn’t come [to Dallas] is an idiot, and if I didn’t say that, I’d be an idiot. Because that’s the reality.

“Whether you’re buying a product from one of my companies or making a deal with me instead of somebody else in ‘Shark Tank,’ if I don’t have the confidence of our product to think that you’re making a mistake if you don’t do business with me, then it’s on me. I always feel that way. I don’t know if he understood, but that’s the reality. If you’re a free agent and you pick somewhere else, you made a mistake in judgment.”

For the record, does he think LeBron James made a mistake not signing with the Mavericks?

“You know, what can I say? It was still a horrible mistake,” Cuban said, laughing. “He could have had three [titles].”