SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz are entering the NBA draft not knowing if they're in need of a power forward for the first time in nearly 20 years.

And on the verge of free agency, Karl Malone isn't giving the team any definitive answers.

"I don't know. There's a lot of thought that has to go into that," Malone told The Associated Press Wednesday. "It wasn't my decision to be a free agent."

Malone has not met with Jazz officials to discuss his future since the season ended April 30. He spoke at the retirement ceremony for former teammate John Stockton on June 7, but only said a few quick words privately to owner Larry Miller.

Miller has said he wanted to sit down with Malone one-on-one, but it hasn't happened. Malone said he's been busy since the season ended and he doesn't want personal feelings during negotiations to jeopardize the friendship -- although sometimes a rocky one -- he and Miller have developed over the last 18 years.

"I love the organization. You've got to realize," Malone said.

"These have been some of the best years of my life. I'm going into the Hall of Fame in a Jazz uniform and I'm going to retire in a Jazz uniform -- some kind of way."

That may mean rejoining the Jazz for a day after spending a couple of seasons elsewhere, or it could be after closing his career with the team that drafted him with the 13th pick in 1985.

Malone said that's up to agent Dwight Manley and the teams that want Malone.

Kevin O'Connor, Utah's vice president for basketball operations, said Wednesday that the Jazz have not given up on Malone and plan to try to bring him back, but can't negotiate with him until Tuesday.

"I'm not going to say any more about the Karl issue until we sit down with him,'' said O'Connor, who spent Wednesday sorting through possible draft picks. "We've got to sit down and talk -- absolutely."

Malone made $19.25 million last season and is going to have to take a huge pay cut, though he's financially secure and said money won't be the deciding factor.

Utah expects to be between about $18 million and $19 million under the salary cap next season and plans to be active in the free agent market. If the Jazz can get a couple of high-profile free agents that could improve the team's standing right away, Malone said it might be easier to re-sign him.

Malone, who turns 40 next month and is already committed to play in the 2004 Olympics, has a handful of seasons left and wants an NBA title. Utah, which has been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round three straight years, isn't about to win a championship without an overhaul.

"If I'm willing to take less money, (a championship is) one hell of a driving force," he said. "I'm working out harder now and earlier now than I ever have, and I'm not doing that just to be part of rebuilding."

Malone has mentioned the Lakers, Spurs and Mavericks as possibilities if he can't reach a deal with the Jazz.

"He's more excited than I've seen him in any other offseason," Manley said. "I think part of that is being a free agent and part of that is being selected for his third Olympic team."

Within a month, the Jazz will know whether this is just another spat with Malone or the last one. He's had confrontations with the team before, hinting at a desire to be traded or threatening to leave as a free agent. But the sides worked it out and Malone stayed.

Now, with the Jazz in rebuilding mode and owner Miller's patience wearing thin, a resolution may not be so easy. Miller has repeatedly said he wants Malone to finish his career and break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's scoring record with the Jazz, but won't sacrifice the team's rebuilding process to bring him back.

And Malone said he'd accept that, but he hasn't heard anybody tell him to leave.

"I really believe in my heart I think I'd be helping the Jazz out," he said. "If I'm here, they're still going to say, `OK, we've got Karl.' "