Nunyo Demasio of the Seattle Times reports: Vin Baker came to Seattle yesterday to have his right knee examined by Sonics team doctors.

The 6-foot-11 power forward had the examination yesterday, but results were not available. He also met briefly with management for the first time since July 16, when he spent the day at the Long Island, N.Y., home of team owner Howard Schultz.

Late last season, Baker sprained his right knee, which caused recurring pain and forced him to miss a few games. After a MRI exam in April, Sonics doctors Richard Zorn and Jeffrey Cary recommended exploratory surgery during the summer.

But after three months, the Sonics wanted to see if surgery is still necessary.

An examination by team doctors is sometimes a precursor to a trade.

But according to a Sonics source, the club requested that Baker visit mainly because team doctors hadn't checked out his knee this summer.