PHILADELPHIA - Jeff Van Gundy won't be coaching the 76ers.
Van Gundy, who already interviewed for the Cavaliers vacancy, spoke to Sixers general manager Billy King on Wednesday night.
"We mutually agreed it wasn't a good fit," Van Gundy said Thursday.
The Sixers have been looking for a coach since Hall of Famer Larry Brown resigned Monday after six seasons.
Van Gundy, who abruptly resigned last season as coach of the Knicks, remains under contract with the club until July 31.
Van Gundy is working as a TV analyst for TNT.
"I would say it's 50-50," as to whether he'll coach next season, Van Gundy said.
The Sixers already have been denied permission to speak to Portland coach Maurice Cheeks, a former 76ers assistant for four seasons under Brown and member of Philadelphia's 1983 championship team.
Cheeks has been the Blazers coach the past two years, accumulating a 99-65 record while overseeing a troubled team that had a spate of problems.
Cheeks, who still has a home in Philadelphia, has one year left on his contract, along with a team option.
Former coaches Mike Dunleavy and Mike Fratello are Sixers possibilities. University of Memphis coach John Calipari is a long shot. Calipari, an assistant under Brown for one season, has a contract through the 2006-07 season.
SONICS: Center Calvin Booth had surgery to repair a torn lateral meniscus on his left knee and remove a cyst.
Booth is expected to recover before the start of training camp in October.
"We're happy the surgery went well and that the damage was repaired," general manager Rick Sund said. "We look forward to seeing him back on the court in the fall."
SUNS: Point guard Stephon Marbury had surgery to remove bone spurs from both ankles.
He had similar operations last May, and team doctors told him during training camp he needed more surgery. He put off the operation because it would have meant missing much of last season.
Marbury averaged 22.3 points and 8.1 assists last season, the only player to rank in the top 12 in those categories. He was the first Phoenix player to average 20 points in consecutive seasons since Charles Barkley in 1994-95 and 1995-96.
WIZARDS: The team approached Brown about becoming president of basketball operations and coach. Brown, however, has so far declined to entertain overtures because Doug Collins remains under contract as the team's coach, the Washington Post reported.
"Washington Sports and Entertainment and (chairman) Abe Pollin are not discussing the interviewing process or the candidates we are speaking to," team president Susan O'Malley said.
