The Golden State Warriors have next to zero chance of landing Dwight Howard. They knew it when they asked to meet, Howard knew it. Convincing the Lakers to do a sign-and-trade that makes the Warriors a contender for years to come is next to impossible. But Howard was interested in what Golden State was building and the Warriors wanted the meeting.

Golden State also had a meeting in Los Angeles with Andre Iguodala. It was kind of the same situation — you can see the fit on the court but this would have to be a big sign-and-trade that Denver likely wants no part of. But both sides took the meeting.

What does Golden State get out of all this?

It’s all part of changing the culture.

Golden State was as poorly run a franchise you could find for a couple of decades — they made the playoffs once in the 18 seasons before this last one.

New owners Peter Guber and Joe Lacob set about changing the culture of the franchise. They brought in the highly-respected Jerry West to the front office. They went way out of the box with Mark Jackson as the coach. They have talked about a new arena on the San Francisco waterfront. They wisely want to do everything different than their predecessor.

And that includes spend money — and let fans know they are willing to spend it. That they are willing to go after the best players available.

So even if you have no real shot at Howard or Iguodala, you go in the room and pitch to them how good things are and how they fit in. The fans appreciate it. Future free agents (and their agents) take notice. And you put yourself on a different track.

We’ll see how all this plays out — short-term success could swing on a turn of Stephen Curry’s ankle.

But what they are showing from ownership on down is the kind of long-term change Warriors fans should be excited about.