MIAMI — In the lead-in to Game 1 of the N.B.A. finals Thursday night, which Tony Parker helped steal from the Miami Heat, 92-88, much was made of how he became the driving force of the San Antonio Spurs, the little engine that could replace Tim Duncan in that role.

A decade ago, in a muscular and moneyed move that belied their reputation as the most prudent and prescient of small-market franchises, the Spurs did everything they could to replace Parker with the league’s premier point guard, Jason Kidd.

So when Parker followed Coach Gregg Popovich to the podium during Wednesday’s news conferences after Popovich spoke of the best free-agent signing he never made, Parker told him, “I heard the bad things you were saying about me.”

Not one to let sarcasm go unrequited, Popovich said: “You’re lucky. Kidd could be sitting there.”

Where would the Spurs be today had they persuaded Kidd to trade the view of the New York City skyline from Bergen County, N.J., for the towering sight of Duncan on the low block in San Antonio? How would the decade have played out had Kidd grown old and leg weary as he was at 40 with the Knicks in the playoffs before announcing his retirement this week?