Normally at this time of year, Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller is able to chill. Not anymore. The NBA free agent market opens Tuesday, and for the first time in Miller's long tenure in Utah, which began in April 1985, the Jazz figure to be players. Teams are allowed to contact free agents Tuesday, but no signings can take place until July 16. But you know how that goes. Nod. Wink. Done deal. The Jazz, Nuggets, and Spurs all should have well in excess of $10 million to spend on a free agent pool that includes Jason Kidd, Jermaine O'Neal, Michael Olowokandi, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Juwan Howard, P.J. Brown, Brad Miller, and Alonzo Mourning. The Spurs already have Kidd lined up for a visit.

The Celtics are expected to sit on the sidelines and wait until later in the summer to see who's still available for minimum contracts. Utah's actions hinge in part on what Malone does. Miller is on record that he won't dramatically overpay the Mailman, so as not to torpedo the team's free agency plans. Malone has been vague about his intentions, other than that he doesn't plan to retire like running mate John Stockton.

''I think Karl wants to stay,'' Miller said in a recent interview. ''He has a beautiful home in the foothills. He is established in the community. Sure, he goes off every once in a while. But he usually ends up doing what's right and makes a level-headed decision. But if he wants a shot at a ring, that won't shock me, either. I think it would be a difficult adjustment for him. He's a homebody.''

Malone is believed to have some interest in the Western Conference teams with a legitimate title opportunity: the Spurs, Mavericks, and Lakers. But he also is interested in passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to become the NBA's all-time leading scorer, and to do so, he needs to score a lot of points in the next two years. Said Miller, ''If he went to Dallas, or if he went to San Antonio, I don't think he'd get enough chances. If he goes to LA, how is he going to get 20 touches a game? I don't think it's a slam dunk. He has a difficult decision to make. But we owe it to him to let him do whatever his heart tells him to do and then try to facilitate that the best way we can.''

The Jazz are believed to be targeting Clipper restricted free agent Andre Miller. Under NBA rules, once a team extends an offer to a restricted free agent like Miller, his team has 15 days to match. Utah's offer theoretically would be high enough so that legendary skinflint Donald Sterling, the Clippers owner, would let Miller go. It's not as if Miller dramatically changed the landscape in LA in his one season there anyway. Plus, he played collegiately up the street from the Delta Center at the University of Utah, so it's a natural fit.