Billy King, the new president of the 76ers, was out of the office yesterday, and several NBA sources said he spent the day with Kentucky coach Tubby Smith.

The sources said King was trying to convince him to take the Sixers' head coaching job a day after Smith referred to that job as a "headache."

After hours of negotiating, it appeared that a deal to make Smith the next Sixers coach was close to getting done.

Smith, who won a national title with Kentucky in 1998 and was an assistant coach on the Olympic team, has been friendly with King for years.

An announcement could come as early as today.