All-Star center Dwight Howard was the hottest attraction in last summer's free agency circus, and the Dallas Mavericks were among those who courted the big man who eventually fled the LA Lakers to join James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

On Thursday, Dallas Mavericks owner Marc Cuban minced no words in attacking Howard's decision to sign with the Rockets, saying the center made a mistake in judgment.

Pressed for comments, Howard dismissed Cuban's statements, saying he understood where the Mavs owner was coming from.

"What would you want him to say? He was taking up for his team," Howard told CSN Houston.com.

The All-Star center was also forgiving, saying there is no need to be mad at Cuban. "He said what he had to say. We talked about it already. I totally understand. It's business."

Howard continued to defend Cuban's statement, saying: "I would do the same thing if somebody didn't want to come with me. I would think they were making a bad decision."

It can be remembered that numerous teams courted Howard in the first week of July, including the Mavs, Lakers, Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks. He eventually chose the Rockets over the Lakers despite the shorter duration and less money offered by the former.

Howard and fellow All-Star James Harden led the Rockets to their second straight win, a 113-105 trashing of the Mavericks on Friday night. The Rockets are among the favorites to compete for the NBA championship out West with their All-Star duo and a host of young complementary players including Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik.