Our first applicant:

After the Kings drafted Hedo Turkoglu 16th overall, [Jason] Levien, who was representing Turkoglu at the time while working for the Williams & Connolly agency, accompanied [Geoff] Petrie and team attorney Matina Kolokotronis to Istanbul to resolve contractual hurdles that threatened to keep Turkoglu overseas.

The process involved a buyout of Turkoglu's contract with Turkish team Efes Pilsen and the requirement that the International Basketball Federation clear Turkoglu to join the Kings. Petrie, as he made clear at the time, was impressed.

"Everything worked out well," Petrie told The Bee on Aug. 3, 2000, after returning from the trip. "The lawyers did an excellent job of working through a lot of different issues that came up."

Lest we forget potentially the most important midseason addition to the club.