Mark Cuban wanted Dwight Howard to go to Texas, but not to Houston.

The Dallas Mavericks owner said this week that he believes Rockets star Dwight Howard should have gone elsewhere this offseason. A day before his Dallas Mavericks traveled to Houston to face the Rockets, Cuban discussed Howard's free agency decision to leave the Lakers and head to Houston.

"Obviously, he made a mistake in judgment, Cuban said. "Do I blame him? No, that's what young kids do. They make mistakes in judgment."

Howard shined in his Rockets debut when he tied a career high with 26 rebounds in the team's opener. Cuban could only sit and watch after he tried unsuccessfully to bring Howard to Dallas in the offseason. The Mavericks were one of five teams who wanted Howard, who ultimately made his own choice to go with Houston.

Cuban said he thought Howard wanted to go to Houston because of the young and emerging players he would be surrounded by.

"You choose teams. You don't choose players," Cuban said. "If he made a choice off of an individual player, yeah, he made a mistake. You choose teams. You choose organizations. You choose coaches. And it's just not relative to Houston. That's just the way I look at it, because if he's that good, then the right organization ...

"Put aside Dwight. Any young superstar looking to make a move, if you're that good, then the right organization gets all the right pieces around you. So it's not about you'd rather play with this guy. If you're that good and you have [salary-cap] flexibility, the right organization will put the right pieces around you and get you there."

According to ESPN, the Mavericks were trying to convince Howard to go along with a two-year rebuilding plan. Instead, Howard seems to be already surrounded by talented players who are ready now instead of in two years.