BILLY KING left the Sixers with the same class he displayed for a decade as a team executive.
King, who was hired in 1997 as vice president of basketball operations and rose to become team president, was blindsided in December 2007 when the Sixers fired him and replaced him with Ed Stefanski.
King had been allowed to direct the most important draft for the Sixers in a decade. He had been allowed to formulate and implement a rebuilding plan for life after a decade of Allen Iverson.
But if King was bitter, he never let it show.
The smart professional doesn't burn bridges. He doesn't do things that might cost him future opportunities.
For 2 1/2 seasons, King waited for a chance to get back in the game. He did guest appearances on talk radio and television shows for the NBA Network - anything to keep his name out there.
It finally happened for King yesterday, when he was hired by the New Jersey Nets to replace the retiring Rod Thorn as general manager.
"I'm happy to be back," King told me not long after news about his hiring broke. "I feel blessed to be joining the Nets."
By the end, King had become a polarizing figure for Sixers fans. Some remember him only as the president who held on to Iverson a season or two too long and gave center Samuel Dalembert a ridiculous contract that was a millstone on the team's salary cap until he was finally shipped to Sacramento last month.
But the other truth was that King did a pretty good job of clearing up much of the salary-cap hell the Sixers created while trying to extend the Iverson era.
When he was fired, King had positioned the Sixers to be able to take significant cap space into the free-agent class of 2008. Now, a lot of fans question how that money could have been used to give forward Elton Brand a contract worth $79.8 million and Andre Iguodala one worth another $80 million, but King had nothing to do with either.
Honestly, I wondered whether King ever would get another shot. His resumé with the Sixers featured some highs and lows.
Still, the NBA can forget about you quickly, and, after nearly 3 years, you had to wonder whether King fell into a black hole.
But King apparently hit a grand slam in his interview with new Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov - especially if it's true the decision came down to him and former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry.
