King content to wait

"We never put a timetable on this," Billy King told the Associated Press on Sunday. "The only timetable I'll put on this is to make the best decision for this franchise for the long haul. We've got to be very methodical as we go through this and do our due diligence. This is not something we're going to rush into."

"We've had some great dialogue," King added. "I think the teams out there that we're talking with know exactly what it will take to get it done. We'll keep talking. This is a process where you make a lot of conversation."

If only that meant a better deal but we are talking about Billy King here.

Meanwhile, here's the latest from the rumor mill:

The Tacoma New Tribune is reporting that Sonics general manager Rick Sund has called the Sixers to offer the Sonics’ assistance as a third team in case the Sixers need help in the trade.
That would mean Danny Fortson, who is in the final year of a contract that pays him $6.6 million this season, heading to Philly.

Mark Kiszla of The Denver Post reports that the Nuggets' original proposal contained two picks in the first round of the 2007 draft, 24-year-old forward Nene, plus the expiring contract of reserve Joe Smith and one more player for Philly to select from the Denver bench. A third team was sought to participate in the deal and take on Nene, so the Nuggets could send an additional veteran in the final year of an expensive contract to Philadelphia, which is intent on clearing the salary-cap space to launch a massive roster overhaul.

And with that in mind -- Denver coach George Karl is losing hope. "I spoke to [general manager] Mark [Warkentien] yesterday, and he said it seemed like it was dying down," Karl said Chris Sheridan of ESPN on Saturday night. "I didn't even bother calling him today.

The Inquirer's David Aldridge is also back at it but take anything he says with a grain of salt as Aldridge has been woefully off base since Day 1 of the Iverson saga. Now, D.A. says that the Minnesota Timberwolves haven't ruled out dealing rookie guard Randy Foye in a possible A.I. deal.