DID you hear New Jersey is offering to sign and trade Jason Kidd for Tony Parker?" I asked Tim Duncan while walking him to the team bus following Game 3 of The NBA Finals whose highlight, so far, is Dikembe Mutombo turning 90 before the Nets did.

"Are you serious?" Duncan responded in all seriousness.

"No, only joking," I confessed.

"That's pretty funny. You had me going there for a second. Hey, I don't want to lose my man, Tony."

That's how anti-pubescent Parker frequently has looked in his magnum match-up against the league's legendary cut-throat. While I'm still convinced Kidd is the most coveted rising free agent in the Spurs' directory, you've got to wonder why they'd feel the need to recruit an established playmaker when Parker appears to be out-distancing his comp in terms of compiling positive championship-round experience.