Stephen A. Smith: Sixers Emerge From No Man’s Land
When you’re saddled in the middle of no man’s land, you take whatever crumbs you can grab simply because you know that’s all you may get. You settle for mediocrity because you’re mediocre.
If you’re the 76ers, you may have settled for less; certainly many Sixers’ fans would say that’s exactly what they’ve been doing. That makes the decisions they’ve made this offseason that much more miraculous.
The Sixers are a team again, folks! In fact, upon further analysis of their management personnel, they may emerge as a contender much faster than anyone ever imagined, courtesy of a front office that officially rivals any in basketball.
It is one thing to have a solid basketball man like Ed Stefanski growing on the job as a general manager. It’s even more significant and impressive that they’ve acquired the services of a stellar basketball mind in former TNT analyst Doug Collins as their new head coach.
But then you add Rod Thorn into the mix as their new president, whose credentials are not open for debate or inquiry. There actually needs to be an investigation as to whether or not Chairman Ed Snider actually had anything to do with this selection, considering the uncharacteristic level of common sense displayed since the day the 2009-2010 season mercifully came to an end.
“Rod is one of the most respected basketball minds in the game today,” Snider issued, via press release last week, once Thorn accepted the job. “When we learned that he would not be re-signing with the Nets, we realized that this would be a terrific opportunity to bring one of the top executives in the NBA to the Sixers to work closely with Ed Stefanski.”
Normally, you’d scratch the last part. The moment you heard the line about working closely with Stefanski, it’s easy to be inclined to say, “what the hell do the Sixers need Stefanski for….if that’s the case?” But those inclinations would come from those who don’t understand how dynamic the duo is in deciphering B.S., in ridding themselves and everyone around them of it, and strategically rendering themselves relevant for more than a season or two.
Thorn is the man who brought Jason Kidd to New Jersey. He’s also the man who got rid of Stephon Marbury. Thorn is the man who acquired a young stud in point guard Devin Harris, and he did so by selling Mark Cuban a Kidd who was aging. And in between there was the drafting of Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson, the firing of Byron Scott, back-to-back trips to the NBA Finals, an abysmal 12-70 year last season – and always, always, always a basketball arena in East Rutherford, N.J., surrounded by swamp lands, ensuring that the only fans the Nets would truly ever play in front of were leftovers from Giants’ football games on an occasional Sunday afternoon.
East Rutherford was no place for a man like Thorn, the former disciplinarian czar for the NBA League Office, still highly respected by everyone there. Remember – he’s also responsible for drafting Michael Jordan with the Bulls before ever becoming Commissioner David Stern’s right-hand man.
Thorn always deserved better than what he had in New Jersey. The Nets always deserved less than what he gave. And now that the Sixers have a coach in Collins, and Thorn’s ultimate sidekick in Stefanski, the sky is limitless.
“The defining thread through all of this is that Philadelphia teams always had a passion and always played hard,” Thorn stated more than a week ago. “It’s not good enough to give a 75 percent effort. We expect and demand that our players play together, No. 1, and play hard every night.”
Thorn demanded it from Martin when the enigmatic forward had his moments of petulance. He demanded it from Kidd, each and every single time Kidd demanded a trade and never received his wishes until it was in the Nets’ best interest.
Thorn didn’t need to demand it from Jefferson because Jefferson was always willing to be a proverbial third wheel. But he’ll probably demand it from Andre Iguodala.
Expect changes if Thorn doesn’t get it. That’s the way the man operates. He’s not about to change his stripes with the Sixers on the cusp of doing something special, in a city starving for any level of productivity.
“One thing about Rod,” one NBA official told me. “He’s pretty damn good at making sure folks don’t spoil the party.”
There’s a party going on right now with the Sixers because, for the first time in years, they have direction. They know Iguodala, their star, is still second-tier status. That there isn’t a first-tier talent to speak of, at least not until we see what rookie Evan Turner becomes. That the acquisitions of Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni doesn’t equate to championship contention, particularly since Elton Brand’s athleticism has evaporated before our eyes.
“But it could,” Stefanski explained at the time of those moves, “if we get the other pieces that we need in place.”
If the old adage “it starts at the top” applies, the Sixers have it now. Thorn, Stefanski and Collins … in unison.
It means order has arrived. And with it, so has accountability.
The place where success truly begins. Or so we’ve been told.
You can check out more from Stephen A. Smith at www.stephena.com.
Contact Philly Sports Daily columnist Stephen A. Smith at sasmith@phillysportsdaily.com.
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