There was a meeting yesterday involving Atlanta Hawks restricted free agent Josh Smith, his representatives and the 76ers.

There was the obligatory tour of the Wachovia Center and the Sixers' locker-room facilities.

There was the jersey with Smith's name on the back - No. 5, placed in the locker stall next to Andre Iguodala's - and Smith's likeness on the arena screen.

There was a moment with Mayor Nutter.

And dinner.

And an agreement for Smith and his traveling party to stay in town overnight.

Where all of this will lead remains to be seen, but at least the Sixers were in full courting mode, a day after Smith and his representatives met with the Hawks.

"It was a good day," said Brian Dyke, one of Smith's agents. "We were very impressed with the organization. As a whole, we were very impressed with everything, including the detail they put into the visit. Meeting the mayor . . . that just wasn't wave and say hello. He spent some quality time with Josh."

Asked whether the Sixers had put an offer on the table, Dyke said, "We're not getting into anything like that right now." He also said, "We have some other stuff to do [today]," but declined to be specific.

"Josh was kind of surprised just getting off the plane, with people calling his name," Dyke said. "Walking around the city, they were yelling to him, saying they want him here. It was, like, from the time we got here, there was a buzz in the city. I think the best thing to say is, he really enjoyed his time here."

If the Sixers were to make an offer starting at $11.5 million, they could turn that into a 5-year package worth $67 million. At that point, the Hawks would have 7 days to match.

Unrestricted free agent Elton Brand seemed likely to re-sign with the Los Angeles Clippers, despite what was being reported as a 5-year $100 million offer from the Golden State Warriors. But if the Warriors were to come up empty, they conceivably could turn their attention to Smith or even Iguodala.

Rob Pelinka, Iguodala's agent, indicated that there had been interest shown in his client other than by the Sixers, but declined to be specific; he did say he expected to meet with Sixers president/general manager Eddie Stefanski within the next week to 10 days.

Stefanski has said all along that his plan includes re-signing Iguodala and Lou Williams, the Sixers' two restricted free agents. Those developments, though, would come after a move to add an impact player to the roster, whether in free agency or in trade.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Hawks backup forward Josh Childress, also a restricted free agent, was expected to visit the Sixers on Monday.

Childress, who came exclusively off the bench in 76 games last season, would fill a secondary need.

Jim Tanner, Childress' agent, told the Journal-Constitution: "We're extremely pleased with the broad and enthusiastic interest in Josh from a number of teams around the league. We're in the process of setting up meetings in several places. But I don't think it's any secret that Josh wants to find the best fit, be it in Atlanta or elsewhere."

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