Visions of Jason Kidd are nice and all. It would surely make for a terrific story if he ended up back where it all began, wearing a Mavericks jersey.

Back in reality, however, things won't be that easy when the Mavericks roll up their sleeves Tuesday and get to work on the business of recruiting one or two good men in the NBA's free-agent derby.

It sounds glitzy to bring up Kidd, New Jersey's point guard who is the No. 1 free agent on the market. The same goes for Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal.

But for the Mavericks, the bottom line is that their free-agent focus is going to be directed at Alonzo Mourning and Karl Malone.

While neither is Kidd nor O'Neal, make no mistake that Mourning and Malone are two big-time free agents ? the sort of players the Mavericks would have had no chance of getting a few years back.

"It's a lot different than it was here five years ago," says Donnie Nelson, their president of basketball operations. "Free agents avoided us like the plague.

The Mavericks have no interest in signing former Mavericks forward Roy Tarpley, said Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks' president of basketball operations.

Tarpley, 38, who was banned from the NBA in 1995 for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, has applied for reinstatement.

"I think where our team is right now, we're at such a different stage that we're really not looking to get older," Nelson said. "If anything, we'd like to have a little bit more youth and athleticism.

"We don't want Dirk [Nowitzki] to turn around in a couple of years and be surrounded with guys that are 35 and 40."

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.

Josh Howard was asked about Tim Duncan, the last Wake Forest player taken in the first round of the NBA draft until Howard on Thursday night.

The Mavericks' 29th overall choice said he's talked to Duncan on the phone a few times but hasn't met him yet. That will have to come on the court, he said.

"Don't worry," Mavericks coach Don Nelson piped up, "you won't be guarding him."

Sitting a few feet away, Del Harris couldn't resist amending that comment.

"With Nellie's system," Harris said, "you never know."

And if it happens, Howard would gladly accept the assignment. The unveiling of the 6-6 Howard at a news conference at American Airlines Center was spiced with humor, but also heavy on vignettes and insights into the newest Maverick.

Empty their checkbooks and strip away their holdings, and Dallas' two most visible sports owners wouldn't share much in common.

Sure enough, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban sat together Friday afternoon, epitomes of their disparate images: Jones, a blue-suited hybrid of spit-polished CEO and twangy football man; Cuban, a churning ball of new-day ideas in jeans and Nike high tops.

But a substantial gathering of the nation's sports editors discovered that the heavyweight owners shared plenty of common ground when it comes to vital media conduits.

Jones and Cuban were keynote panelists for the Associated Press Sports Editors Convention at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas.

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."

Teenagers and unpronounceable foreign projects were in vogue Thursday night during the NBA draft. But for the Mavericks, those lures weren't enough to alter their basic strategy of doing all they can to win big now.

With the chance to take a mature collegian who stands a chance to chip in to the cause next season, the Mavericks used the 29th selection in the draft on Wake Forest shooting guard Josh Howard.

While a bruiser in the paint is Job 1 for the Mavericks, getting an athletic perimeter player like Howard is their second priority.

"We're really excited to get him," said owner Mark Cuban, who was the Mavericks' war-room general dispatched to talk to media members. "We thought he was going to go at No. 21, if not sooner, so we were trying to work deals. We kept on hoping and hoping and he kept on falling. By the time it got down to 29, our phone was ringing off the hook with people trying to grab him."

said the Nuggets have given qualifying offers to restricted free agents Andersen and guard Jeff Trepaganier. However, restricted free agent Adam Harrington, who will play in a summer league for Dallas, was not given a qualifying offer, and becomes an unrestricted free agent Tuesday.

A qualifying offer is needed for the Nuggets to match any offer this summer for Andersen or Trepagnier. Both were given offers of $788,679, which is $150,000 more than the minimum salary of $638,679 for a third-year player.

Qualifying offers can be withdrawn later in the summer or a different salary can be arranged. While the Nuggets definitely want

Andersen, who averaged 5.2 points in 59 games, to be part of their future, Trepagnier, who averaged 5.6 points in eight games, is a long shot to make next season's roster.

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."