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.