Frank Hughes of the News tribune reports that the Supersonics are looking into a contingency plan in the event that Rashard Lewis does not return. On Monday, the Sonics brought in free-agent forward Popeye Jones to interview him in case Lewis chooses to join the Dallas Mavericks. Jones has also talked with the Mavericks. It appears as if Jones will go to the team that doesn?t get Lewis.

"He has proven that he can rebound, and rebounding was one of our problem areas last season," Sonics general manager Rick Sund said.

The only way the Sonics can sign Jones is if Lewis leaves, which would free salary space. If Lewis goes to Dallas, then the Sonics could offer Jones a salary starting at $1.4 million - and it would keep the Sonics under the luxury tax threshold.

A source with knowledge of Jones' situation said that Jones, a nine-year veteran who has averaged 7.8 rebounds a game over his five-team career, is not interested in money as much as he is in the security of a multiyear deal. "A couple years ago we tried to bring him here," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "We still have an interest in him."

Also, the Sonics are speaking with free-agent swingman Bryon Russell, though it is less likely Russell would join the team because he will probably sign with Washington. Russell has not visited the Sonics, but has been courted by the Wizards, which is why Jones is available.

Frank Hughes of the News Tribune reports that the Sonics are shopping Rashard Lewis.

Lewis is waiting for the Sonics to increase their current contract offer of six years, $60 million. That $60 million could be as much as $75 million if Lewis makes the all-star team each year of the contract. He also has the option of signing with the Mavericks who have a three-year, $15 million contract on the table.

There is also the possibility of a sign-and-trade deal, which could get Lewis the contract he wants and also net the Sonics some value in return.

According to three league sources, the Sonics talked to the Houston Rockets about acquiring second-year forward Eddie Griffin in exchange for Lewis. It is believed free agent Walt Williams is the other player that would be involved in such a deal, which would require the Rockets to sign Williams and then trade both he and Griffin to the Sonics. However, sources say the Rockets turned down such a deal because they did not want to part with Griffin.

The Sonics also have talked to several other teams, including the Mavericks, about sign-and-trade scenarios but nothing has come close to being worked out.

Part of the problem the sides have encountered is that with a luxury tax and a season of economic uncertainty looming, few, if any, teams are willing to pay Lewis more than the $60 million the Sonics are offering -- and that is the basis of Lewis's desire for a sign-and-trade. Teams are so cost-conscious that the Sonics have not received many calls from anyone trying to unload bad contracts because other teams do not want to take on a large, long-term contract.

Percy Allen of the Seattle Times reports that Gary Payton has cancelled his celebrity basketball game. This may be another sign that the relationship between Payton and the Sonics is strained.

"Gary and his management decided to cancel the event, but we are planning upcoming fundraisers," said Stephanie Aardal, director of Payton?s foundation. "We look forward to next year's All-Star Classic."

Whether the game will be played here remains to be seen as Payton starts to take significant steps to distance himself from Seattle. He is considering whether to renew the lease of his KeyArena suite, valued between $80,000 and $150,000, as well as his 14 season tickets.

In the past, Payton has said he wanted to retire in Seattle, but his stance has dramatically changed over the past few months, perhaps believing that Sonics management may not share his view. In May, Payton thought he had a clear understanding of the direction of the Sonics. Since then the two sides seem to be drifting apart.

Before appearing in Johnson's charity game in Los Angeles two weeks ago, Payton said that he was unsure if a long-term commitment with the Sonics would occur. "I'm going to let my agents take care of that stuff," he said. Aaron Goodwin, one of Payton's agents, is adamant about signing an extension before the upcoming season and says he won't to return to Seattle once he becomes a free agent next year.

The cost-conscious Sonics, who are already over the salary cap, are willing to exceed the luxury tax threshold and pay a dollar-for-dollar penalty in order to re-sign free agent Rashard Lewis. But they would rather wait before making a long-term commitment to the 34-year-old Payton.

Marc Stein of the Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas will talk to Popeye Jones this week. "We are talking to Popeye," said Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. "We think he could help us."

While the Mavericks pursue Seattle free agent Rashard Lewis with their $4.5 million mid-level exception, they could offer Jones their $1.4 million exception. Cuban adds that the Jones talks are completely independent of the Lewis situation.

Cuban also said he plans to discuss the troubled Shawn Kemp with fellow Mavericks executives Don and Donnie Nelson before deciding whether to contact Kemp, who was waived Tuesday by Portland. Dallas has also targeted Utah's Bryon Russell as a fallback to Lewis and still expects to re-sign restricted free agent Eduardo Najera.

The Seattle SuperSonics today exercised their option on high flying guard Desmond Mason, the team's offical website is reporting.  Mason is now under contract through the 2003-04 season after which time the Sonics will hold the right of first refusal on any contract offers made by opposition teams.

"Due to the collective bargaining agreement, we knew we had until Oct. 31 to exercise our option on Desmond. We wanted to do it before training camp," said Sund. "Desmond is a big part of our future and we are extremely pleased to have him under contract for the next two years."

"I'm glad the Sonics are providing me the opportunity to continue my career in Seattle," said Mason. "It's a great city, with great fans and great team ownership. I really enjoy playing for Coach McMillan. I like his philosophy and the direction our team is going. I hope this extension is the beginning of a long career in Seattle."

"We're excited to have Desmond on the team for the next two seasons," said Sonics Head Coach Nate McMillan. "He's a young player who has shown tremendous potential and versatility."

Percy Allen of the Seattle Times reports that Rashard Lewis will take another step in the very long negotiation process when he returns to Seattle this week.

The logistics of the meeting have not been finalized, but the contract talks will take place in Seattle. That is a good sign for the Sonics, who initiated this latest gathering. Negotiations began slowly, and the Sonics eventually made their initial offer of a seven-year, $60 million deal that includes incentives that could push the total value up to $75 million.

Lewis said he was disappointed with the offer and has since visited the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets. Although both teams can only offer a three-year, $15 million deal, Lewis said he would sign with one of the Texas teams if the Sonics did not increase their offer.

Could the Chicago Bulls still be in the case for Rashard Lewis?  If you are a Bulls fan and read today's speculative article by Mike McGraw in the Daily Herald you can only hope.

McGraw writes that the recent revelations that Krause was trying to trade for Toni Kukoc prior to his dealing to Milwaukee indicates that GM Jerry Krause is in fact willing to accelerate the rebuilding process, so what better way of doing so than with the 6-10 Lewis?

Lewis has thus far been disappointed with the Supersonics' offer of $60 million over seven seasons, and he threatened to sign with the Mavericks for the mid-level exception if Seattle failed to add more guaranteed cash.  The Sonics offer was believed to have contained incentives that could add $15 million to that total, but still Lewis was unsatisfied.

Could the Bulls, who have been used and abused by free agents over past seasons, take advantage of the situation?  'Presumably, Lewis would prefer a more substantial deal than $15 million over three seasons from the Mavericks. And Seattle would seem to be better off dealing their second-best player rather than lose him for nothing,' writes McGraw.  Enter the Bulls.

If Lewis agreed to take $70 million over seven seasons from the Bulls then a Jamal Crawford, Marcus Fizer and Eddie Robinson to Seattle for Lewis and Brent Barry exchange may be possible.

Seattle would receive their low post threat they so desperately need after shipping out Vin Baker to Boston earlier this summer, and Jamal Crawford finally comes home to play with his mentor Gary Payton.  But would the Sonics agree to take on Robinson and the four years and $25.4 million remaining on his contract?

The Bulls would get another legitimate threat to team with Jalen Rose, Jay Williams, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry to solidify their starting lineup, and they can still add Matt Harpring and a veteran guard such as Tim Hardaway or Mookie Blaylock with their exception.

Frank Hughes of the News Tribune reports that the Sonics talked to the Mavericks about possible sign-and-trade scenarios involving Rashard Lewis. No agreement could be reached.

Sources say the talk ended when Seattle GM Rick Sund told Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson that he wanted a combination of two of the Mavericks' top three players - Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley and Steve Nash - in exchange for Lewis. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban had said repeatedly that he was willing to work out a sign-and-trade for Lewis, but Cuban was adamant that none of his core players would be included in any discussions.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Lewis is going to have to decide between the Sonics 7-year, $60 million offer with added incentives and the Mavericks 3-year, $15 million offer with the hope of a big payoff after the third year. Any sign-and-trade deal deal would be difficult because the Sonics and Mavericks either would have to get a third team involved or would have to include so many players that it would make it virtually impossible.

Percy Allen of the seattle Times reports that Rashard Lewis? chances of being traded to Dallas or Houston are not good. Not only have the Sonics said they do not want to trade him and would rather let him walk without compensation, but the NBA?s trade rules would make it difficult as well.

Lewis is disappointed with the Sonics offer of a 7-year contract worth $60 million with an additional $15 million in bonuses available. Unless the offer is increased, Lewis, who turned 23 yesterday, is pushing for a divorce and will cozy up with a Texas suitor, perhaps the Dallas Mavericks or the Houston Rockets.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban said he would have difficulty completing such a complicated exchange that would require both teams to swap additional players.

"We would be interested (but) it's just nearly impossible because Rashard would be a base-year player," Cuban said via e-mail. "When a player gets more than a 20 percent raise, then the (Sonics) can only take back (half) as much salary, but the team getting the player, in this case Rashard, must take the full amount.

"We have been going through lots of iterations trying to figure out how to make things work," Cuban added. "It's up to the Sonics to tell us they are willing to do it, and what players they would be willing to take back before anything can happen. We have calls into them, but have not heard back."

The Mavs would have considerable difficulty trading for Lewis because they've identified their high-salaried players (Michael Finley, Dirk Nowitzki and Raef LaFrentz) as their franchise cornerstones. Cuban believes his team is one player away from seriously challenging the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and it's unlikely that he'll dismantle the Mavs for a 6-10 forward who averaged 16.8 points and 7.0 rebounds last season.

Raiding the Rockets roster is more feasible because forward Maurice Taylor is scheduled to make $7.2 million next season and Kelvin Cato is due $6.7 million. Packaging one of them with another Houston player could make a deal with the Sonics possible.

Still, every contingency hinges upon what monetary figure will make Lewis happy. Initially, he wanted a maximum contract of $102 million, but backed away from those claims and was reportedly seeking a $90 million deal.

Percy Allen of the Seattle Times reports that the Dallas mavericks are ready to pounce. They are closely monitoring the negotiations between the Seattle Supersonics and free agent Rashard Lewis. If they can?t reach a deal, Cuban and the Mavericks will be there to accept Lewis with open arms.

Lewis was unhappy last month with the Sonics? offer of a 7-year, $60 million contract, which could reach $75 million if certain incentives are met. In comments made over the weekend, Lewis again voiced displeasure with the Sonics and insisted that they increase their offer.

Meanwhile in Dallas, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is keeping track of the negotiations. He applauded Lewis' business acumen while noting that the difference between the Sonics' offer and what the Mavs can give ($15 million over three years) isn't as great as it may seem.

"Rashard has a great grasp of the business and accounting aspect of the differences in the offerings of the Mavs and Sonics," Cuban said via e-mail yesterday. "Not only does he understand that there is less than $2 (million) in difference between the offers pre-tax, he has a complete grasp of the accounting elements of the deal.

"(He) realizes that after federal income tax and NBA escrow tax, there is a difference of less than $1 (million) in the first year and not more than that in the next two years."

Cuban is banking not only on Lewis' business sense but also on his own reputation as a free-spending billionaire owner with a track record of taking care of his star players. If Lewis signs a three-year deal with Dallas, he would be eligible for a maximum contract in the summer of 2005.