SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs knew from their own experience that it would be hard to pry Jason Kidd away from the New Jersey Nets, so team officials weren't surprised when their effort failed.

"It's very difficult to get the face of a franchise to leave the team he's playing for," general manager R.C. Buford told reporters late Friday afternoon. "We saw that with Tim."

Tim Duncan, the face of the Spurs, was up in the air about what to do in 2000, when he was a free agent and Orlando pulled out the stops to sign him.

So concerned that Duncan was Florida-bound, the Spurs asked center David Robinson to cut short a vacation in Hawaii to persuade him to remain in San Antonio. Duncan decided to stay put, and since then he's won two straight MVP awards, and his second NBA title.

So with Kidd committing to the Nets for $99 million over six years, who does San Antonio go after now?

How do the Spurs keep pace with top rival Los Angeles Lakers, who this week made deals with Gary Payton and Karl Malone?

Buford offered no names Friday, saying only that "we won't shy away from bringing in the best talent that we can."

Money is certainly no object.

San Antonio, which last month defeated New Jersey for the NBA championship, has an estimated $15 million to $16 million in salary-cap money to spend, most of made available by Robinson's retirement.

Buford said the Spurs were working on a number of free-agent possibilities, but that no successful negotiations have yet been concluded.

"We're putting time into a lot of free agents," he said. "(The bid for Kidd) was just part of the process."

But Kidd was clearly the preferred choice, and the Spurs offered him more than $90 million over six years to prove it.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich hosted a dinner for Kidd and his wife Joumana during a visit last weekend, and Duncan squired the couple around the city to show them the sights.

Kidd's agent, Jeff Schwartz, called Thursday night to tell the Spurs of the player's decision, Buford said.

San Antonio was said to be interested in Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, who would fill the team's need for another big man to play alongside Duncan. The Pacer forward planned a scouting trip to Texas, but it was later canceled after he decided to stay in Indianapolis.

P.J. Brown, a free-agent forward who played last season in New Orleans, reportedly visited San Antonio earlier this week, and the Spurs are also said to be interested in Minnesota free-agent center Rasho Nesterovic.

Tony Parker, the Spurs' 21-year-old starting point guard last season, was quoted extensively in Friday's San Antonio Express-News saying that he didn't want Kidd to come to the Alamo City, and that the team didn't need him.

With Kidd, Parker would likely have been moved to shooting guard, a position he told coaches that he didn't want to play.

Buford wouldn't comment on whether possible friction with Parker was mentioned as a reason why Kidd opted to remain a Net.