Dallas News: Clippers making a run at Dwight Howard

It is hard to say how much of this is true but you just never know. But one thing is for sure: Rumors will start flying all over the place.

But with Chris Paul looking less and less likely to leave the Los Angeles Clippers, Howard is the singular target in free agency that the Mavericks can take a big swing at. And they will do so.

There is new competition, by the way. A few executives around the league have learned since the Clippers' season ended with a first-round playoff loss to Memphis that they are probing ways to dump enough salary to make a run at Howard. Other personnel execs said they doubted that the Clippers could free enough money to make a serious run at him.

If they can, it will raise the number of capable and presumably desirable teams that will pursue Howard to five - the Lakers, Clippers, Mavericks, Rockets and Hawks.