Adrian Wojnarowski is
reporting on Twitter the Sixers have signed Rod Thorn to take over as president of basketball operations. Ed Stefanski will shed that title, but somehow cling to his role as the team's general manager.
Thorn is well-respected in NBA circles, he was the architect behind the Nets team that went to back-to-back finals (and got smoked). He was also the man asleep at the wheel when the Nets almost set the record for fewest wins in a season last year.
Stefanski cut his teeth under Thorn in New Jersey, so this is a reunion, and it's another move to recreate the "glory" days of the New Jersey Nets about 90 miles southwest. The last such move was the hiring of Eddie Jordan.
In all honesty, I don't think this move is going to change a whole lot. Maybe Thorn will be able to put the kibosh on the next bad trade Stefanski tries to make. The thing I find curious is the team's apparent willingness to spend tons of cash on coaches and front office personnel, while they're making stupid trades and signing the likes of Tony Battie in a desperate attempt to avoid paying the luxury tax.
Welcome aboard, Rod. It's probably going to be a bumpy ride.
UPDATE: Here's an
update from Twitter. It looks like Thorn will be in charge of personnel moves, Stefanski the draft and scouting. So basically, DiLeo keeps doing the draft and Stefanski collects a paycheck for nothing. Stefanski is back to being Thorn's lackey, if this is true.
i'm mostly on board with this, even if it's just me wanting to see something -- ANYTHING -- happen this offseason.
You don't come off a 27-win season and just trade Dalembert, Carney, and Eddie Jordan for Collins, Hawes, Nocioni, Battie, and Turner.
Maybe Thorn can come up with some sort of plan, because Stefanski is obviously lacking one.
"Thorn will move into the organization overgeneral manager Ed Stefanski."
So Stefanski has been demoted, and his power is dramatically less with Thorn and Collins in the true positions of power.
I wonder where this leaves DiLeo. there are now a whole lot of chefs in the kitchen.
BTW, nice rug, Mr Prez.
The way I'm reading it is, Stefanski will still be in charge of the draft, meaning DiLeo will still be in charge of the draft and Stefanski will continue to sit around twiddling his thumbs during the draft.
I can live with that.
This is kind of an out of the blue thing isn't it? I wonder what led to this happened.