76ers to name Tony DiLeo as new general manager
According to a league source, assistant general manager Tony DiLeo will be promoted to take over the day-to-day operations from president Rod Thorn, whose contract is to expire after this coming season. As agreed upon a few years ago, Thorn will stay on in an advisory position for the team. A release of the announcement could be sent out by the team as early as today and a press conference could take place early next week.
76ers to name Tony DiLeo as new general manager
Bob Cooney
According to a league source, assistant general manager Tony DiLeo will be promoted to take over the day-to-day operations from president Rod Thorn, whose contract is to expire after this coming season. As agreed upon a few years ago, Thorn will stay on in an advisory position for the team. A release of the announcement could be sent out by the team as early as today and a press conference could take place early next week.
While the Sixers interviewed others to replace Thorn, including Jeff Bower and Tom Penn, the league source said that they kept coming back to DiLeo, who has been with the team since the 1990-91 season. He was the interim head coach in 2008, taking over for fired Maurice Cheeks early in the season. The next season DiLeo returned to the front office as senior vice president and assistant general manager.
The source also said that majority owner Josh Harris and DiLeo are looking to add to the front office, most probably in an analytics role.
DiLeo has been a key figure in the team's scouting and this past draft landed them Maurice Harkless and Arnett Moultrie. Harkless was traded to Orlando in a four-team trade that ultimately landed Andrew Bynum with the Sixers. Harkless was a key figure in getting the deal done.
The Sixers and coach Doug Collins enter this season with a revamped lineup that includes the additions of Bynum, Jason Richardson, Dorell Wright, Nick Young and Kwame Brown, while Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Lou Williams have moved on.
The Sixers open training camp on October 2 and player their first preseason game against the Magic in Orlando on October 11.
Wow quite a promotion , he has to know he's not the sixers first choice , good luck Tony !! Keep the team going in the right direction ...— ingy9- What a joke— Jay Grace 69
- i like it. he's a good, knowledgeable man. promoting from within isn't always right, but it also isn't always wrong, which is the thinking that seems to dominate most of corporate america these days.— Krusty
- Promoting from within is great... if you have the right person for the job. DiLeo has been with the team since 1990. If he was deserving of a top job, don't you think he would've been interviewed by some other team at least once in the past 22 years?
"While the Sixers interviewed others to replace Thorn, including Jeff Bower and Tom Penn, the league source said that they kept coming back to DiLeo, who has been with the team since the 1990-91 season." Exactly. They kept coming back because DiLeo was the only one who would take the job who would also be okay with answering to Collins. But don't worry, the waterboys in the media here won't take long to repeat the party line, which is DiLeo was their guy all along. Which is BS. psmitty pretty much nailed it below.
Last thing: if Doug wants to be GM, then kick him upstairs and hire another coach. If he still wants to coach, he doesn't get to be or pick the GM. GM/Coaches don't work. Someone please tweet Aron and tell him this is madness!— oyoyer - YES! no, that's not how I feel about the move - that's what he was hired to say.— phils_tnj1
- lol , "here's your coffee and the list of those players you asked about mr collins"— psmitty73
- There was nobody better outside of the organization? Really?— Gregory1
- @Gregory1: This does not have the feel of a move that involves finding the best GM. It seems more like a move of finding a GM who knows the team well and is willing to play a secondary role to Collins when it comes to building a team.— OutofTownPhillyFan
- Outsiders know best. Unbiased eyes.
- Tony Deleo will DO a GREAT JOB ...johnnyu— john ullman
- You sure this guy isnt a blind owner? How can he stick around so long on a bad team? He has to be at fault somewhere along the line. But he just keeps going and going. He is better than the energizer bunny.
— Pat c - It seems like most NBA teams now have a dominate coach or GM. Not too often do they have both. It seems like most teams have one guy calling the shots.— hawk18
- Well, I'm glad it wasn't one of those analytics guys, and I think there were probably worse picks. While I still hope they could add a good strong basketball mind from another championship organization, the fact that Thorn will be staying on as a consultant, and the giant steps the team seems to have made over the last 12 months with this group, perhaps they've earned a shot at getting them to the next level. Maybe we have an ownership group that demands success and a management team that responds to that pressure.— pfes
- Amazing how does one keep getting promoted from having only 7 winning seasons of the 23 he has been here? I simply can't take this move! Collins first 2 moves could have been catastrophic complete joke now we have someone who has no backbone and will do nothing but kisss DC's behind!— Sam 52
- Good to see you are still here, Bob... it was almost a month between your updates. I was starting to worry that you had taken the early retirement package!— llkewlbean
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
