The NBA, after speaking to Spurs officials Friday, decided there was no tampering connected to Jason Kidd's plan to visit San Antonio.

After the Nets star's plan to visit San Antonio on July6 and 7 was disclosed Thursday, some people wondered how he arrived at those dates. Spurs GM R.C. Buford told a San Antonio reporter that was the first he had heard of such a visit.

No team may negotiate with Kidd or his agent, Jeff Schwartz, before Tuesday, when free agents become free to talk to anyone.

"We spoke to the Spurs to make sure nobody was to (make contact) in an inappropriate manner," a league spokesman said.

Claims that Jason Kidd will visit San Antonio July 6-7 as part of his free agency experience yesterday triggered a chain of questions and denials regarding potential illegal contact before the July 1 negotiating period.

Privately, the Nets must wonder how the fixed dates were determined without contact between the Spurs and Kidd. Teams may negotiate starting Tuesday and then sign free agents July 16. Prior contact is forbidden.

"We have spoken to the Spurs and they have assured us that they have not and will not have any contact with free agents until July 1," a league spokesman said yesterday.

And Kidd's agent Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management, reiterated what he said Thursday night when the report aired on ESPN that Kidd intended to visit on those days, eventually sign on July 16 and also had interest in Dallas, Denver plus the Nets. Schwartz indicated that no dates have been set and there has been no illegal contact.

But you can't blame the Nets for being a little touchy. The Spurs were less than tickled in 2000 when there were reports, prior to the negotiating date, that both Tim Duncan and Grant Hill would visit Orlando on the same weekend.

Jason Kidd will visit San Antonio, probably on July 6 and 7, and he hopes to make his decision on where he'll sign by July 16, the earliest a free agent can sign a contract.

Kidd's agent, Jeff Schwartz, said those dates were not set in stone. But late last night, Schwartz confirmed an ESPN report that Kidd planned to visit San Antonio and sign relatively quickly. Schwartz also said that Kidd would probably talk with the Nets for the first time on July 1.

"We're going to speak to the Nets as soon as it is allowable under the rules, but Jason wants to visit a few other cities and see what else is out there," Schwartz told a pool reporter. "Once he has accumulated all the information, he will make his decision."

Schwartz said Kidd has narrowed his list of potential teams to four: San Antonio, because he could play with Tim Duncan; Dallas, especially if the Mavericks got Alonzo Mourning; the Nuggets, for no reason anyone can seem to fathom; and, of course, the Nets.

Kidd was unavailable for comment last night.

Nets president Rod Thorn seemed a little surprised by the news, admitting he did not expect Kidd to visit San Antonio because he had been there before as a player. Still, Thorn said the news did not upset him.

"He's a free agent," Thorn said. "He can do what he wants to do. He sets the schedule. He and his agent set the schedule."

Free agent negotiating can get under way on July 1. Signings can start on July 16, but the posturing has already begun.

Jason Kidd, whose free agency could make or break the Nets plans, will visit other cities including San Antonio and possibly Dallas and Denver. Kidd's intentions were announced last night in a televised report which said he will make his decision by July 16 after visiting the Spurs on July 6-7.

"I assumed he was going to visit San Antonio. Denver doesn't act like it plays into what he's looking for but obviously they have a lot of money so we shall see. Dallas, the only way is some sort of sign and trade and that's very far fetched," said team president Rod Thorn.

Jason Kidd will visit San Antonio, probably on July 6 and 7, and he hopes to make his decision on where he'll sign by July 16, the earliest a free agent can sign a contract.

Kidd's agent, Jeff Schwartz, said those dates were not set in stone. But late last night, Schwartz confirmed an ESPN report that Kidd planned to visit San Antonio and sign relatively quickly. Schwartz also said that Kidd would probably talk with the Nets for the first time on July 1.

"We're going to speak to the Nets as soon as it is allowable under the rules, but Jason wants to visit a few other cities and see what else is out there," Schwartz told a pool reporter. "Once he has accumulated all the information, he will make his decision."

Schwartz said Kidd has narrowed his list of potential teams to four: San Antonio, because he could play with Tim Duncan; Dallas, especially if the Mavericks got Alonzo Mourning; the Nuggets, for no reason anyone can seem to fathom; and, of course, the Nets.

Kidd was unavailable for comment last night.

Nets president Rod Thorn seemed a little surprised by the news, admitting he did not expect Kidd to visit San Antonio because he had been there before as a player. Still, Thorn said the news did not upset him.

"He's a free agent," Thorn said. "He can do what he wants to do. He sets the schedule. He and his agent set the schedule."

With $14 million in salary-cap room and just five players under contract, the Spurs' offseason work figures to extend well beyond tonight's NBA Draft.

Unless, of course, they can somehow parlay their No. 28 pick into a starting center, a starting shooting guard, a backup point guard, a backup center and a few more role players.

"You're almost never going to draft anybody of immediate significance at 28th," Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. "We even had to wait four games for Tony (Parker) to start."

Parker slipped to the Spurs at the bottom of the first round two years ago, quickly developed into one of the league's best young point guards then helped guide the team to this season's championship. But the odds of history repeating itself, Buford said, "aren't very high."

Though the Spurs will probably have an easier time finding someone to replace David Robinson in the starting lineup when the free-agent market opens Tuesday, they still hope to use their only draft pick ? they traded their second-round selection to Detroit for Mengke Bateer ? to pick up another prospect, regardless of whether he can immediately contribute.

The Spurs stood in the center of the Alamodome on Wednesday night, listening to the roar of nearly 60,000 fans, soaking up the final minutes of their championship celebration, some even filming the scene with their own video cameras.

They wanted a reminder not only of the night, but also of each other. For many, it was the last time they would share the floor together.

Of the 13 players who helped win the franchise's second championship, only a little more than half may help defend it.

David Robinson has already settled into his first week of retirement. Steve Kerr and Danny Ferry are debating whether to also end their careers. Stephen Jackson, the team's talented young starting shooting guard, will become a free agent next week. So will Speedy Claxton, whose steady play helped win the last two games of the NBA Finals.

For the next two months, Spurs general manager R.C. Buford and coach Gregg Popovich will try to reshape the team using the same recruiting and scouting skills, fiscal wariness ? and, yes, good fortune ? they used to build the 2003 champions. This time, they will also have $14 million to $16 million in salary-cap room to make improvements when the league's free-agent market opens July 1.

No matter where Jason Kidd shows up these days, he becomes instant news ? even if there is little or no tangible evidence that the news possesses any foundation.

So when Kidd was at a New York practice range hitting golf balls to publicize a charity tournament and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was serving as his tight-lipped caddie, the rumor mill began grinding out speculation.

Though NBA free agents cannot begin negotiations until July 1, it hasn't kept executives around the league from mapping out their strategies for chasing the free-agent-to-be once the bidding war begins.

Conjecture linking Kidd to the Mavericks was to be expected. Kidd has made it clear that he wants the best chance to win a championship. Teams that went deep into the playoffs this year have to be considered possible destinations for the point guard who led New Jersey to the last two NBA Finals, only to be denied a championship.

Realistically, however, the Mavericks' chances of acquiring Kidd's services rate somewhere below San Antonio's and the Nets'. The Spurs, who are more than $14-million under the salary cap, have plenty of cash to pay Kidd and would not have to compensate the Nets.

The strategy has not been mapped out in full. But Jason Kidd admitted yesterday he has a list of questions that need answers before he decides whether to leaves the Nets through free agency.

For starters, Kidd wants to know plans for teammates Kenyon Martin and Lucious Harris. Martin is eligible for a contract extension Aug. 1, while Harris, like Kidd, becomes a free agent July 1.

"It's going to be a little more complex and maybe confusing at times, but we'll see what happens," said Kidd, appearing at a charity event yesterday at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban also was on hand to promote the American Century Championship, a charity golf tournament to raise funds for the Fallen Patriot Fund, which aids families of soldiers killed in Iraq.

"What will they do with K-Mart? K-Mart, they can re-do his deal in August. Lucious is [a free agent]. So I have to get some answers and hopefully they're the right answers. ... K-Mart has played extremely well. ... Lucious, I thought, has done a wonderful job. He's played, he's done everything they've asked."

Jason Kidd cannot begin contract talks with the Nets or other suitors until July 1, but he indicated yesterday that the Nets' plans for the rest of the team would be a factor in his choice of an employer for next season.

Kidd said he would begin making plans with his agent, Jeff Schwartz, who was expected to arrive in New Jersey last night. But his first questions concern the team's plans for Kenyon Martin, who is up for a contract extension, and Lucious Harris, who is a free agent.

''What will they do with K-Mart?'' Kidd said. ''Where are they going, the Nets? I don't want to say 'they,' but where are the Nets going? K-Mart, they can redo his deal in August. Lucious is out. So I have to get some answers and hopefully, they're the right answers.''

Rod Thorn, the Nets' president and general manager, said, ''We will address issues as they come and attempt to do the right thing.''

Kidd has maintained that his decision will be based on where he has the best chance of winning a championship. That has only fueled speculation that he will wind up with the San Antonio Spurs, who beat the Nets in the N.B.A. finals.