Payton may make statement with absence

Frank Hughes of the News Tribune writes that Gary Payton has the opportunity to send a message to the Seattle Supersonics and the rest of the league. The NBA season officially begins today, when players around the league meet with the media before training camp starts Tuesday morning. In Seattle it is unknown whether Payton will be there.

Payton’s agent, Aaron Goodwin said that All-Star guard was at his home in Las Vegas on Sunday and Goodwin was not certain if Payton was planning on reporting to camp today. "I know he is physically ready," Goodwin said. "But all this has taken a toll on Gary. When he is mentally ready he will be there. As I told Rick Sund (the Sonics general manager), as far as I know he is coming to camp. I didn't say when he was coming to camp, but he is coming to camp."

Goodwin insinuated that Payton could miss a few days of camp to make a statement to Sonics’ management. By staging a mini-holdout that is sure to gain national attention, Goodwin said Payton would be drawing attention to his situation while sending a message to other teams that he is a player willing to go elsewhere -- either via trade or in free agency next summer.

"Two years ago in Hawaii, they told Gary, let's see what happens after the season," Goodwin said. "Then the coach (Paul Westphal) was fired, the team was sold, and they said, 'Let's see what happens after this season.' Two years in a row he has done what they asked him to do and now they want him to wait until after this season. It's not like it just happened. Nothing just happened. Now they want to make it out as it is coming out of the blue."

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Oklahoma City

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Mavs to sign Jones today

The Dallas Mavericks will sign forward Popeye Jones to a one-year contract Friday, ESPN.com's Marc Stein reported Thursday night.

Jones, a nine-year veteran who played for the Washington Wizards last season, returns to the team that originally drafted him out of Murray State in 1993. Jones, who averaged 7.0 points and 7.3 rebounds for the Wizards last season, had his best season in Dallas in 1995-96, when he averaged 11.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in 68 games.

Dallas moved to sign Jones when Rashard Lewis re-signed with the Sonics, opting for the big-money contract Seattle could offer now instead of the Mavs' veteran exception.

RealGM note: The deal likely includes a player option for a second season. However, it is unknown if Jones will get part or all of the mid-level exception or thr $1.4 million dollar exception.

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Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City

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Lewis to stay in Seattle

The Associated Press reports that Rashard Lewis has made his decision. The Seattle SuperSonics re-signed the free agent forward to a seven-year contract Thursday. Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed but the Sonics have had a 7-year, $60 million offer on the table for a while. That deal included an additional $15 million in incentives. Te team reportedly gave him a deadline to sign or lose the offer.

Both sides appeared to be pleased with the signing.

''Seattle is where I started my NBA career and it is the city in which I wanted to continue it,'' Lewis said. ''Last year was very exciting and I have always felt that my future here is promising.''

''I am extremely happy to have Rashard back as part of this team,'' coach Nate McMillan said. ''He is a very coachable player and an important key to the Sonics future, and we are all eager to start training camp in two weeks.''

''We are very excited that Rashard is returning to the Sonics,'' general manager Rick Sund said. ''Re-signing him represents another important piece in a successful summer of shaping our roster.''

Corey Brock of the News Tribune confirms that the contract is an incentive-laden 7-year, $60 million deal. The incentives could push the value of the contract to $75 million and Lewis has an opt-out after the fifth season.

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Oklahoma City, Dallas Mavericks

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