"I said, 'Well, let me get my feet wet first,'" he said.

When asked to watch Monday's audition, however, Malone decided to at least test the water — on his own dime, he let it be known.

"I've been talking to the Jazz, really, for the last couple months," he said. "They called, and (asked) would I be interested in coming up and seeing what I think. And I said, 'Why not?'

"This is the reason I came," Malone added. "I wasn't 'passing through.' ... I have ambitions of things that I would like to try. It's 'a step.'"

Where the road leads, though, is anyone's guess.

"I didn't know what I would feel once I got here," he said. "But I liked it a little bit. ... I like this, for no more reason than I like to see young kids that want to play."

Besides watching the big men, Malone — who did not play — offered advice to each.

"That's a guy I used to look up to, and try to take some things out of his game and into my game. And for him to watch us is a great experience," said Williams, who dined Sunday night with Malone. "He said, 'Don't try to put too much pressure on yourself. Whether you make shots or you miss shots, all you can do is show a lot of effort ... and whatever happens from there happens from there.'"

What happens with Malone, as so often is the case, remains to be seen.

Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's senior vice president of basketball operations, seemed to downplay The Mailman's presence Monday.

"We'd like to keep him involved in the program," he said.

"We asked if he'd have an opportunity to do that, and he was gracious enough to come out," O'Connor added. "We're happy to have his input, to be honest with you."

Such was also the case, O'Connor suggested, when retired point guard John Stockton helped scout a pre-draft camp in Chicago last year and when retired shooting guard Jeff Hornacek worked with swingman Andrei Kirilenko on his shot.

"We like to keep those guys involved as much as they can," O'Connor said. "But, you know, they have full-time lives."

Even Malone admits he isn't sure if he's interested in a 40-plus-hour basketball workweek.

"I know being a coach — assistant, head coach, whatever — that's 'the grind' all over again," he said. "Another level, you have a little more leeway.

"I don't know if it will be 'full-time,'" Malone added. "In some capacity, who know? I'm not saying I'm throwing my hat in the ring. But it would have to be the right situation for me. And it would have to be the right situation for a team."

Which team?

Not surprisingly, Malone was noncommittal.