Philadelphia Rebound Part II of III: Is Stefanski the Chosen One?
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by CRS-ONE
When Comcast Spectator chairman Ed Snider announced that Ed Stefanski was the new general manager of the Sixers, there was something odd.
No one was talking about what a good job Stefanski did with his previous employer, the New Jersey Nets, and how that would translate to his new position with the Sixers. He was still on good terms with the Nets, and willingly left them for the new job.
Instead they were talking about how much he loves Philadelphia. They mentioned that even though he worked in North Jersey, he still lived in Chester County in Pennsylvania.
They mentioned how he went to college at the University of Pennsylvania and played on their basketball team for three years, which won two Ivy League championships and made NCAA tournament appearances.
They also brought up how in the 1980s he coached his high school’s basketball team and lead Monsignor Bonner High School to win the Philadelphia Catholic Championship league title.
We understand that Stefanski is a Philly guy. Ironically, this is the same way they introduced short-lived coach Jim O’Brien, who wound up staying with the team for just a season a few years back.
The problem was that this introduction was all too saccharine sweet and at times, nauseating.
What Snider failed to do in this press conference was convince people that Stefanski was to instill a sense of confidence to everyone about his new employee. After this love fest, there were more questions that weren’t answered.
Stefanski began his career in the NBA in 1996-1997 season with the Nets. He worked various positions in the organization, including broadcast commentator, vice president of basketball operations and director of scouting.
His scouting input helped build the Nets team that went to the NBA finals in 2002 and 2003.
In 2000, he oversaw the Nets’ first round, first pick that brought forward Kenyon Martin. That was a weak overall draft class and he made the right decision.
Stefanski also played a role in a sign-and-trade agreement that sent Martin to the Denver Nuggets for future draft picks. Martin went on to have microfracture surgery and be a shell of his former self.
He also had the foresight to trade 2001 draft pick Eddie Griffin to the Houston Rockets for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. Jefferson and Collins became key players for the Nets; Jefferson leads them in scoring this season.
Griffin wound up having all kinds of personal problems including alcoholism, domestic violence and public lewdness that prohibited his career. He died this summer after driving his car into an oncoming train; his blood alcohol content was three times the legal maximum in Texas.
Stefanski was also instrumental in putting together the trade that brought Vince Carter to the Nets, and is also a fair scout with European players. His best find overseas was Nenad Krstic.
Looking at it this way, his resume is a bit more impressive than they gave him credit for. The one thing that Stefanski will have to remember is that he no longer has Nets president Rod Thorne to support and protect him. He’s on his own now, and if he fails, Philadelphia will eat him alive.
This is part two in a three part series about the state of the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers. Yesterday’s article was about prior general manager Billy King and Friday's article will be about the future.
