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The Sonics are indeed fielding trade calls on rebounding specialist Reggie Evans, according to NBA front-office sources, and there is no shortage of interest despite Evans' recent expulsion from Seattle's rotation by new coach Bob Hill.

Remember, though, that Evans -- like teammates Vladimir Radmanovic and Flip Murray -- signed a one-year tender for this season and thus has the authority to veto any deal.

The Sonics, furthermore, see Evans as one of their best trade assets, but his low salary ($1.1 million) makes it difficult to get anything meaningful in return.

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The Seattle SuperSonics are involved in numerous discussions around the NBA to trade power forward Reggie Evans, according to three sources.

Less than a week ago, Evans’ agent, Dan Fegan, told The News Tribune he had approached Sonics general manager Rick Sund and asked that Evans be traded if there was no role for him with coach Bob Hill now in control.

In an attempt to appease Evans, sources say, Sund has been talking with several teams to try to get something in return for the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward.

Sund declined to get into specifics, saying, “I have always told the players I would keep any trade discussions about them confidential.”

One source said he thinks Evans will be dealt within a week; another indicated that nothing is likely to happen until it gets closer to the Feb. 23 trading deadline.

Either way, it seems clear that the career of the league’s best rebounder per minute is over in Seattle. Evans was the only healthy player not to get off the bench in the Sonics’ loss to Dallas on Thursday night.

Two sources said Sund has been talking with Minnesota, where former Sonics associate head coach Dwane Casey has an eye on Evans. One source said a package could include Evans and Ronald Murray for newly acquired Marcus Banks, who came over in the trade that sent Wally Szczerbiak to Boston. However, another source said that trade is not likely to happen, even though the salaries match.

One of the difficulties in trading Evans is that he rejected a two-year, $4 million offer from the Sonics last summer and signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract that gives him the right to veto any trade. Fegan said last week that while Evans does want to be traded, he will exercise his veto rights if a trade does not make sense.

Evans’ salary is relatively small, which makes it tough for the Sonics to get a quality player in return. They are seeking a backup point guard, particularly after Ronald Murray has proven he is incapable of playing that position effectively on a consistent basis.

Evans started the first 30 games of the season under Bob Weiss, but when Hill took over as coach he benched Evans in favor of Vladimir Radmanovic.

Even when Radmanovic was unable to play against the Mavericks on Thursday because of a sprained ankle, Hill started Mikki Moore and did not play Evans, who is averaging 6.9 minutes and 7.4 rebounds a game.

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The Philadelphia 76ers traded center Steven Hunter to the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday for two second-round draft picks.

**snip**

Hunter, a 7-footer, is averaging 4.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 35 games with the 76ers this season. A first-round pick by Orlando in 2001, he played three seasons with the Magic and one with Phoenix before signing with Philadelphia as a free agent before this season.

"We're excited. We bring in another athlete, a 7-foot athlete, 24 years old who runs and jumps and does a lot of the things that we want here," Scott said. "I think he'll fit in extremely well."

The Hornets are giving up their 2006 and 2007 second-round picks and will also receive cash considerations from Philadelphia.

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The Bobcats are interested in a trade that swaps a shooting guard for a big man. Coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff told the Observer on Sunday he's had contact with the SuperSonics about unhappy forward Reggie Evans, but for now that's not going anywhere.

"We've had some conversations with them," Bickerstaff said. "Their demands are too high. Come (the Feb. 23 trade deadline), who knows?"

Evans has played in two of Seattle's past six games, and has reportedly asked for a trade. He signed a one-year tender offer (worth about $1 million), which allows him to veto any trade this season.

Evans reportedly turned down a two-year, $4 million offer from the Sonics, so he obviously expects to get paid this summer. Any team trading for him could easily lose him without compensation in a few months.

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A trade that would have sent Philadelphia 76ers center Steven Hunter to the New Orleans Hornets was rescinded Wednesday because of concerns over his physical condition.

The trade was originally announced last Wednesday and would have sent Hunter to the Hornets for second-round picks in the 2006 and 2007 draft. Instead, there were questions about Hunter's condition during a physical and the deal was in limbo.

The teams had extended the deadline several times so that New Orleans officials could analyze the results of Hunter's physical exam last Friday.

"Their doctor claimed something our doctor and another doctor did not view as significant," Sixers president Billy King said in a phone interview. "We were in the process of trying to get some assurances. We had some assurances, and it wasn't enough for them."

When asked whether he was angry and disappointed in New Orleans, King said, "I'll bite my tongue."

The 7-foot Hunter has averaged 4.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 35 games with the 76ers this season.

He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in 2002 and missed 39 games while recovering from surgery. Citing medical privacy, the Hornets haven't said whether that injury was holding up the completion of the trade.

King wouldn't reveal what the holdup was. But he said the condition was nothing that forced Hunter to miss a game or practice in the last two years.

"None whatsoever," King said. "I was shocked when they told me there was a problem."

The Sixers played Wednesday night in Charlotte, and Hunter wasn't expected to rejoin the team until Thursday.

"The initial stages will be odd, but his teammates and coaches will welcome him back with open arms like everyone else," King said.

Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said he hoped Hunter would adjust quickly to returning to Philadelphia.

"He's familiar with the surroundings, so it's not like he's coming to a new place," Cheeks said. "You have to endure it, take it in, feel it a little bit and then come back and give us your best."

Hunter was projected to help out a front line that lost Chris Andersen last month for violating the league's drug policy.

Hunter was a first-round pick by Orlando in 2001 and played three seasons with the Magic and one with Phoenix before signing with Philadelphia as a free agent. King said he wasn't necessarily going to try and trade Hunter again before the Feb. 23 deadline.

"We were doing the deal because it gave us (salary) flexibility, but at this point in time, we're just trying to get him back on the court," King said.

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