News about the SuperSonics' plans to trade Shawn Marion spread quickly.
This was not a matter of a breach of secrecy, but rather the trade negotiations had dragged on for too long.
Starting from early February until just before the All-Star weekend, the deal was still not finalized. Presti internally only mentioned that the details were not settled, and later it was revealed that the Miami Heat wanted the SuperSonics to include fourth-year small forward Josh Childress in the deal.
The main reason was that Riley wasn't in a hurry.
Whether the trade happened or not, since Wade was out for the season and the squad that had previously contended for the championship had completely aged, the Heat's aim for the season was to tank for the top draft pick—so the worse their record, the better.
Therefore, they had all the time in the world.
On the other hand, the SuperSonics couldn't afford to drag it out any longer.