Spurs showing interest in Jazz's Collins

The San Antonio Spurs have emerged as a potential suitor for Jazz free-agent center Jarron Collins.

The Jazz have said they want to re-sign Collins, who has spent his entire five-year NBA career in Utah.

The team, however, also has indicated it will not overpay for Collins, who made $1.7 million while averaging 5.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.

Collins, meanwhile, is testing the league's recently opened free-agency market — and apparently drawing some interest from San Antonio, where the local paper calls the Stanford product "the top NBA free-agent center left on the market."

According to a report posted Thursday on the San Antonio Express-News' Web site, Collins' agent, Bob Myers, called the Spurs "an attractive option."

Myers also said his client is assessing all options — one of which evidently includes re-signing with the Jazz.

The Spurs probably will not overpay for Collins, either.

But they are searching for a center to play alongside star Tim Duncan after Nazr Mohammed recently agreed to sign as a free agent with Detroit and Rasho Nesterovic was traded to Toronto.

Besides Mohammed, centers Ben Wallace (who agreed to leave Detroit for Chicago) and Joel Przybilla (who orally committed to re-sign with Portland) also are off the market.

GOOD CLUE: If there are any lingering doubts as to the veracity of reports that the Jazz agreed Wednesday to acquire guard Derek Fisher from Golden State for guards Keith McLeod, Devin Brown and Andre Owens, one need look only to the Jazz's own Web site.

League rules prevent the Jazz from commenting on the deal, team officials say.

That's because a current leaguewide moratorium on trades, among other issues, prevents the deal from being made official until next Wednesday at the earliest.

The Jazz, do however, acknowledge the swap on their Web site with a large picture of Fisher, a banner that reads "Jazz Going Fishing?" and copy that attributes news of the trade to "media reports."

TELLING SIGN: Hints that Brown would be traded this offseason were being bandied about by the Jazz as late as last April.