NBA Betting Odds

The Philadelphia 76ers has hired Rod Thorn as their new team president, says a person familiar with the deal.

Because the deal is not expected to be announced until Thursday, the person spoke on the condition of anonymity.

On Wednesday night, the person said that team president Ed Stefanski will stay on as general manager. Since Stefanski replaced Billy King in December 2007, he had held both roles.

Last month, King replaced Thorn as New Jersey’s, GM.

For 10 years before leaving in early July, Thorn was president and general manager of the New Jersey Nets. Thorn and Stefanski helped lead the franchise to consecutive trips to the NBA Finals and they worked together. Both the times, the Nets lost.

Since 2000, he had been in charge for the Nets and hired Avery Johnson as coach before resigning. In 2001, Thorn helped turn the Nets into a contender when he engineered a trade to bring Jason Kidd to New Jersey.

Thorn was the NBA’s executive vice president of basketball operations from 1986 to 2000, before joining the Nets.

This summer, this is the latest big move for the Sixers after they missed the playoffs last year. After one season, they fired Coach Eddie Jordan and replaced him with Doug Collins. Then they drafted Ohio State guard Evan Turner with the No. 2 overall pick and traded disgruntled center Samuel Dalembert.

In finishing 27-55, after the season the Sixers took an “unacceptable” step backward and missed the playoffs for the first time in three seasons, said Stefanski.

Stefanski’s job now has one less role to worry about and he was never really guaranteed by ownership.

Coming off of a historically bad season are the New Jersey Nets. After this season, they need whatever they can get to bounce back from their struggles. A Russian billionaire, their new owner, also seems dedicated to making the changes necessary to bring the Nets towards the top of the league.

The Nets, current online sportsbook favorites, have two major pieces of the puzzle fit into their team. At the point guard and center positions are those team pieces. Their point guard, Devin Harris, is an All-Star caliber player but he did not come through last season. He did not show the ability to break down defenses like he had in years past. It is difficult to see if his talent level is slipping or if this was because of a poor game plan. Brook Lopez was a force underneath for the Nets. In a game last year, he averaged nearly 18 points and 9 rebounds.

By the addition of Evan Turner if the Philadelphia 76ers allow him to slip, these two players could greatly benefit. If not, for the New Jersey Nets at the 3rd spot, it seems that Derrick Favors, the power forward out of Georgia Tech.

As Philadelphia 76ers are rumored to favor in many ways, the Nets have got to be crossing their fingers. If they can get Evan Turner at the 3rd pick and some experts consider this to be a “two player draft”, they will be the big winners of the draft.