Gary Payton will be back in town Tuesday, Karl Malone about the same time. Presumably, they"ll have contracts to consider, a few hours to find a place with an ocean view, maybe get over to the ESPY"s.

In the meantime, days after Payton and Malone announced with some conviction they intended to play next season for the Los Angeles Lakers, their agents have received numerous telephone calls from Western Conference general managers, hoping to lure the players away from their commitments to cut-rate deals in Los Angeles.

"Absolutely," Aaron Goodwin, Payton"s agent, said Saturday. "From everywhere."