Sixers bos Billy King revealed that he and his staff had a telephone conversation Thursday with Tiago Splitter, the 6-11 Brazilian forward who had been an early entry in the draft the previous 3 years and withdrew each time.

Splitter, 22, has spent the last four seasons with Tau Ceramica Vitoria in Spain's top division. He has never averaged more than 11.2 points in Spain's ACB League and never more than 10.7 in Euroleague competition. Still, his existing contract includes a significant buyout clause.

King also said in an e-mail response to the Philadelphia Daily News that there was no truth to a DraftExpress.net rumor that had the Sixers trading up from No. 21 to select 6-11 Colorado State forward/center Jason Smith.

If they were to move up from No. 12, King said it would be "to make our chances better to get certain players. If we have eight players we like, then we would try to get in the top eight."

"That's what we're trying to get to now - when do we get to a point where we're comfortable?" he asked. "We're comfortable with No. 12, but if we can get to 8, 5 or 6, it makes it better. It makes the chances of making a mistake maybe not as great."