Watson to Seattle, Patterson to Denver in four-way trade

SEATTLE -- Earl Watson returned to the Seattle SuperSonics and forward Ruben Patterson was dealt from Portland to Denver on Thursday as part of a four-team, nine-player trade.

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The Sacramento Kings also were involved in the deal, which was confirmed after approval by the NBA and is subject to all players passing physicals.

Seattle sent forward Reggie Evans to Denver and center Vitaly Potapenko to Portland and received Watson, forward Bryon Russell and a second-round pick from the Nuggets. Portland sent Patterson and Charles Smith to the Nuggets and acquired Voshon Lenard from Denver and forward Brian Skinner from Sacramento.

Portland then sent Potapenko to the Kings along with Sergei Monia.

The deal of complementary players looking for new opportunities was made shortly before the Thursday afternoon trade deadline. Seattle received the backup point guard it sought, Denver picked up help for its ailing frontcourt, and Portland cleared salary cap room.

"Rarely is it just a simple deal anymore. We spent a lot of time and effort to put a deal together," Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said. "In the end, I think it's a deal that really helps everybody and satisfies what everyone wanted to do."

The trade was expected to be a three-team swap among Seattle, Portland and Denver, but Sacramento joined the mix on Thursday morning.

Watson was considered a trade possibility for months and Seattle was in need of a backup point guard. Shortly before the All-Star break, Seattle coach Bob Hill pleaded to the press for Sonics' management to acquire a backup to Luke Ridnour, who has become worn down at times while playing a career-high 34 minutes per game.

But teams were hesitant to take on Watson's five-year, $29 million deal he signed with the Nuggets before the start of this season. Seattle general manager Rick Sund said Watson's contract wasn't an issue because of his age and in turn were able to rid themselves of some disgruntled pieces.

"He's a competitor defensively and we can definitely use the help there," Sund said. "We really liked him as a rookie and didn't want to lose him. We're glad to have him back."

Watson was originally a second-round draft pick of the Sonics in 2001 out of UCLA. He played in Memphis for three seasons, averaging 7.7 points and 4.5 assists last year.