Ferry in Atlanta, Thorn still head honcho

Looks like all the talk about Rod Thorn being a lame duck was a bit premature.

When asked over a week ago what his role would be in the upcoming draft – right after it was reported that Danny Ferry was the leading candidate to take over his job as Sixers president, Rod Thorn had this to say to The Inquirer regarding Thursday's upcoming talent grab.

"Oh, yeah," Thorn said. "We will do it the same way we did last year. I'm busy with that now, and it will be exactly the same way."

On Monday afternoon, Ferry signed a six-year deal to become the Atlanta Hawks general manager for the next six seasons, meaning that Thorn, who still has a year left on his contract, continues to be the head man in the organization until further notice.

According to a source reached on Monday, Thorn, who still has a full year remaining on his contract with the Sixers, will continue in this capacity while a search for his successor continues.

"Can't imagine that right now they would just turn over the draft and what they are going to do in the short amount of time that they have now," the source said.

According to the source, the Sixers are formulating a succession plan for Thorn. When a replacement is eventually identified, Thorn will remain with the team as an advisor.

When asked about the situation in Atlanta, where Ferry replaced former general manager Rick Sund, the source said, "Two totally different situations. Sund's contract expires at the end of the month. Rod's doesn't."

Thorn will most likely be at Philadelphia College of Medicine on Tuesday as the team works out Illinois center Meyers Leonard.