It was almost two years ago to the day, during a lull in negotiations with David Robinson, when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich called the representatives of Chris Webber. Popovich wanted to know if the free-agent forward had any interest in changing his address.

Webber had played under Popovich when Popovich was an assistant coach at Golden State. He liked Popovich. He liked what Popovich had done with the Spurs.

He never called Popovich back.

"I didn't want to talk to him because I knew him too well," Webber said. "I knew how convincing he could be, and I knew he would make it very difficult for me to decide whether to go back to Sacramento."

Popovich won't be sitting by the phone this week when the NBA's top free agents come calling. New Jersey point guard Jason Kidd will be the first to hear the Spurs' sales pitch when he arrives today with his family. Indiana forward Jermaine O'Neal arrives Wednesday.

Spurs officials will use the visits not only to sell each player on the franchise, but also to gauge whether each is legitimately interested in signing with the team. The Spurs have spent the past week speaking with the representatives of several of the league's other prominent free agents.

Though Utah forward Karl Malone reportedly is ready to commit to the Los Angeles Lakers if Milwaukee point guard Gary Payton does the same, several players appear willing to wait until Kidd and O'Neal make their decisions. The Spurs, who are expected to have close to $16 million in salary-cap room, are one of only a handful of teams with significant money to spend.

Malone, Minnesota center Rasho Nesterovic, New Orleans forward P.J. Brown, Miami center Alonzo Mourning and Clippers center Michael Olowokandi all have attracted interest from the Spurs. Working out a sign-and-trade deal for Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand, who is a restricted free agent, appears less likely.

For the next five days, the Spurs will focus much of their interest on courting Kidd and O'Neal. Though team officials have yet to even publicly confirm the players will be in town, it's no secret they have spent close to two years preparing for the visits.