There was a note the other day on Yahoo! Sports saying that an anonymous general manager in the NBA said that the 76ers called Golden State to see whether there was any interest in center Samuel Dalembert.

Well, they did.

Months ago.

A source familiar with the Sixers' situation said there was a call made during the summer, and that the Warriors had no interest. (For what it's worth, the source also said the Sixers have no interest in acquiring unhappy Stephen Jackson.)

But let's be real here. The Sixers are perfectly aware of the degree of difficulty in trying to move Dalembert. The source said that, to this point, president/general manager Ed Stefanski has, over time, gone 0-for-29 around the league.

Two huge reasons: Even if Dalembert is playing well and is attractive to a team performance-wise, there's the matter of his contract. He is owed $12 million-plus this season and $13 million-plus next season. And . . . a team acquiring him must pay a 15 percent trade kicker, with the money due within 30 days.

That's a lot for a team to swallow, particularly in tough economic times.

Sounds to me as if Dalembert--and he has been ''Happy Sam'' through the first five games of the season--is staying.

It's been an extreme schedule thus far for the Sixers, and it continues tonight as the winless New Jersey Nets (0-5) visit the Wachovia Center.

In their two losses this season, the Sixers have been blown out at Orlando and at home this past Tuesday by the Celtics. Those two teams are a combined 10-1 and appear to be among the elites in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers' two wins this season have come against the New York Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks, who are a combined 2-6.

The Nets will be very shorthanded tonight as they probably will dress just nine players as Yi Jianlian will be out 2 to 4 weeks with a sprained MCL, Devin Harris is out for about the same time with a groin pull and Jarvis Hayes, Keyon Dooling and Tony Battie are also out with various injuries. Add to that second year swingman Chris Douglas-Robers is battling the flu and might also be out tonight.

A loss tonight would give the Nets their worst start in team history. They started 0-5 once before, in the 1996-97 season under John Calipari.

The Sixers will welcome a shorthanded and struggling team in an effort to erase the memory of the Celtics loss in which Boston drained 14-of-20 three pointers and shot close to 57 percent from the floor.

Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and 76ers forward Elton Brand were engaged in a seemingly serious conversation late Tuesday night in a hallway of the Wachovia Center.

Rivers trying to pump up Brand, who's coming back from achilles tendon and shoulder injuries?

Brand looking for tips to help improve his game?

Something more mysterious?

None of the above.

Asked about the conversation after practice today, Brand laughed and said "Duke.''

As it turns out, Rivers was looking for some insight about Brand's school, which has expressed some insight in Rivers' son, Austin, now playing at Winter Park (Fla.) High. The word is, Austin Rivers had made an early commitment to Florida, but is having second thoughts.

Steve Pagliuca, one of the Celtics' owners, was a Duke walk-on, as was his son

Elton Brand grew up in upstate New York and played the majority of his NBA career in Los Angeles. He didn't arrive in Philadelphia until last season. So where, as the Phillies prepare to face the Yankees, does he place his World Series allegiance?

''Phillies, absolutely,'' the 76ers' power forward said after practice today at Philadelphia College Of Osteopathic Medicine, completing preparations for tonight's NBA regular-season opener in Orlando.

Not that it was always that way.

''Actually, my grandfather was a (Toronto) Blue Jays fan,'' Brtand said, laughing. ''I think that was when they played the Phillies in the World Series, too, so I was watching the Blue Jays. I don't know why, but he didn't like the Yankees or the Mets. He never had an allegiance to the New York teams.''

Brand admitted becoming a convert as he watched the Phillies in their run to last season's championship.

''I watched that run, and this year's run again, and I'm rooting for them, for sure,'' he said. ''It's amazing, because there's a good vibe around the city that makes you want to be a part of it. It's definitely inspirational.''

PHIL JASNER

Sixers' record: 38-44.

Andre Iguodala’s scoring: 22.3.

Lou Williams’ assists: 5.7.

East final four: Cleveland, Orlando, Boston, Atlanta.

West final four: L.A. Lakers, San Antonio, Portland, Utah.

NBA Finals: Lakers over Cavaliers.

Coach of the Year: Mike Woodson.

MVP: LeBron James.

Rookie of the Year: Jonny Flynn.

BOB COONEY

Sixers' record: 42-40

Igoudala’s scoring avg.: 17.7

Lou Williams’ assists avg.: 4.3
 

East final four: Orlando, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago

West final four: LA Lakers, San Antonio, Denver, Dallas

NBA Finals: Lakers over Cleveland

League MVP: LeBron James

Coach of the Year: George Karl

Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin

DICK JERARDI

Sixers' record 41-41

Igoudala's scoring avg. 17

Williams' assists avg. 5

East final four Magic, Celtics, Cavs, Bulls

West final four Lakers, Spurs, Nuggets, Blazers

NBA Finals: Winner over loser Magic over Lakers

League MVP: Dwight Howard

Coach of the Year Stan Van Gundy

Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin

The Sixers finished the preseason with a 5-3 record, and, according to new coach Eddie Jordan, have been able to grasp his new offensive and defensive styles at a very good pace.

The team and the coach both know that the process is a long one, but are very happy with the results thus far. The first test will come Wednesday night in the season opener at Orlando.

Jordan will trot out a starting lineup of Williams and Iguodala at guards, Sam Dalembert at center and Thaddeus Young and Brand at the forwards. His rotation off the bench will consist of Marreese Speights, Jason Kapono, Willie Green, Jason Smith, Royal Ivey and Carney, with Holiday and Brezec fighting for time.

“It was a successful preseason because we came out healthy, we won, and we improved tremendously,” said Jordan. “When you look at the way we played in the preseason, I want to be a lot more consistent. Number one, I want to cut our turnovers down. Mostly that was fastbreaks. We could have converted a lot more fastbreaks. And then I wanted our defense to be solid and turn people over.”
 

NBA coaches and general managers are fond of talking about the importance of protecting their assets. That's why invoking a third-year option on Marreese Speights and fourth-year options on Thaddeus Young and Jason Smith for 2010-11 were basically no-brainers.

Still, the one who should be the most grateful is Smith, the backup forward-center who missed all of last season after undergoing knee surgery.

''He's been with us through his whole rehab and was cleared to play in July,'' Sixers president/general manager Ed Stefanski said. ''He's played through the preseason and his level of energy has been off the charts. We've been told by the doctors that he'll get stronger as the season goes on. And he has a nice skill, in that he's a 'big' who can come in and make shots.''

Before Smith got hurt two summers ago, part of the plan was to use him as a change-up center because of his ability to score from the perimeter. We'll find out what new coach Eddie Jordan's plan is as we go along.

By the way, about the money . . .

Charts obtained by the Daily News show these numbers for 2010-11: Speights, $1,773,960; Young, $2,901,241; Smith, $2,187,913

There was a theory circulating that, if the 76ers were going to carry a 14th man, Dionte Christmas might fit the bill.

The theory suggested that a 14th guy should have a special skill, and Chrstmas is a good shooter, something the Sixers have lacked in recent seasons.

Nice theory. Didn't work. The Sixers waived Christmas, the undrafted rookie from Temple, and forward Brandon Bowman, leaving them with 13 players. Teams can carry as many as 15 players, with 12 eligible to play in any given game. And the Sixers had already improved their shooting by trading for Jason Kapono and, to some degree, by trading for Rodney Carney.

But if Chrstmas was crushed by the news, he hasn't shown that to Andre Buck, his agent.

''I told his father that Dionte's the best I've ever seen at handling a situation like this, in terms of the process,'' Buck said. "It's tough, because it's not a friendly process; there are always guys out there that teams are looking at. And there are guys who were in the NBA last season that are looking around.

''We're not sure yet about what we're going to do. The 'D' League is an option, and if the right offer were to come from Europe, that would be an option, too. We plan to be patient, to take a few days.

''All the feedback I've gotten says Dionte is more than good enough, but more teams are carrying fewer players, and teams don't always want to carry an (extra) rookie who might not contribute right away. All of those factors come in to play.

''But as I said, he's really handling this well. In that respect, he makes my job easy.''

In case you're looking for something to watch between the end of the Eagles-Oakland Raiders game (no disrespect to the Eagles' post-game show on Comcast SportsNet) and the start of Game 3 between the Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers . . .

There's always the 76ers. Their preseason game against the Phoenix Suns at 7 from Monterey, Mexico is being broadcast by NBA-TV, albeit in Spanish.

The Sixers are 4-1 in the preseason after Friday night's 115-113 loss to the Suns in Phoenix. Tonight's game will feature Spanish-speaking announcers and graphis in Spanish, part of an NBA marketing initiative to personalize the game for Hispanic fans.

The Sixers, who won their first four preseason games for just the fifth time since 1963, came from 18 points down in the fourth quarter Friday to challenge the Suns. They were undone, in part, by Suns guard Dan Dickau going 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final five minutes.

The good news was, Marreese Speights scored 32 points on 12-for-18 shooting, swept 12 rebounds and blocked two shots, and rookie guard Jrue Holiday had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 30 minutes before fouling out. The bad news was, Elton Brand (1-for-7), Samuel Dalembert and Andre Iguodala combined to shoot 1-for-15.