According to Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram, Mark Cuban has denied there is any validity to a possible Juwan Howard-Karl Malone swap.  Cuban suspects the rumor came from a call from Utah to guage his interest in Malone over the summer.  Utah management was reacting to a trade request bluff of Malone's, he speculates.

However, a 'Nuggets source' did admit that the Mavs called Denver management to see if they were willing to trade Raef Lafrentz (they are not) in a three-way deal.  All the same, Cuban warns not to expect Malone in a Mav uniform.