Ed Stefanski Hired as Senior Advisor

[Drwho17]

Prediction, Stefanski does exhaustive search and recommends Stefanski as the best choice for GM moving forward.

[Drwho17]

Ya he's just a "senior advisor". The guy is just somebody Gores will lean on to make the right hire for our GM. Then the GM will build this team and hire our coach. Deep breaths we're gonna get through this fellas hehehe

Senior advisor on a 3-year deal, that's kind of the worrisome part for me.

[ImHeisenberg]

Who knows what his role is really going to be? It's a made up position, but it's for 3 years, right? It's obviously going to be more than just hiring a gm and then sitting around for the next 3 years twiddling his thumbs.

Hopefully we just get out of the situation where everyone in the organization is one of "his guys" - no matter who the "his" is referring to. We need to be bringing in good, young bastetball minds, not just guys he used to work with at some other NBA stop. It's really hard to build anything long term if everyone is more loyal to the boss than they are to the franchise.

Sounds like he's either going to be Gores' eyes, ears and voice for the Pistons. Or, they plan to slide him into a traditional decision maker role of some sort. Either way, he's not a guy you want a voice up top if you want a winning organization.

[coordinator0]

Read on Twitter

The thing is, what do those other guys actually do for their teams. Ed is the youngest of the bunch but at 64 (is that old? seems old for this context) he's still not going to be assuming full/most of the control of the front office. I really think things are being overblown here. Aside from the Dwane Casey possibility. That's concerning... although Gores would probably be pushing for him regardless of who's in the front office.

[ImHeisenberg]

I really think things are being overblown here. Aside from the Dwane Casey possibility. That's concerning... although Gores would probably be pushing for him regardless of who's in the front office.

It's just a history of bad, short sighted decision making consistently since Gores assumed control of the team. At this point, nobody should have any confidence in him as an owner. Hiring Stefanski, a guy who's history is the very definition of mediocre maintains par for course.

[TC-Flint]

I like the hiring of Stefanski, despite the moaners. Executives were not beating the Pistons door down. Stefanski wanted to come here and has a good resume. The key is in who the general manager and coach are.

[Crymson]

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Doug Collins has got a year of management experience. Nobody knows how much Colangelo was responsible for in Philly. And the notion that Stefanski is of a quality anywhere even remotely close to that of Jerry West is thoroughly ludicrous.

[ElectricMayhem]

The Colangelos seem to be working out in Philly. They've really salvaged that team after Hinkie burned it all to the ground. Oh, and the Ringer story is bunk and big collars are fashionable.

[Crymson]

I like the hiring of Stefanski, despite the moaners. Executives were not beating the Pistons door down. Stefanski wanted to come here and has a good resume. The key is in who the general manager and coach are.

He isn't an executive. He's got a job with no set responsibilities and probably a hefty paycheck. Finding people to occupy cushy advisory positions isn't particularly difficult.

He doesn't have a good resume. In the main, his free-agent signings have been questionable, his trades iffy, and his drafting very poor. At best, his performance has hovered at the mediocre. Not a good choice for an organization for which mediocrity has become a byword.

[ChipButty]

I honestly cannot say I knew who he was before we hired him. I cannot understand how anybody can have a strong opinion either way. One positive, is that his first move as GM for both the Nets and 76ers was to trade an established player for a 1st round pick.

I think he made some good decisions at Philly:

Trading Korver for a 1st
Resigning 24 year old Iggy
Resigning 21 year old Lou Williams
Signing Brand in FA
Drafting Holiday with #17
Trading for Jodie Meeks in his rookie year
Drafting Vucevic with #16

That's a solid list. They had a good young team. I like that the Stefanski hire gives us the ability to hire a less experienced GM. Overall, I see the glass as half full and I'm OK with the hire. I'm sure he's learned a lot over the past few years and I'd definitely prefer he shape the organization than Gores.

[Canadafan]

^^^^so true! Just please hire Billups over Tay. Purely for the nostalgic feel

[hoophabit]

https://www.basketball-reference.com/executives/stefaed99x.html
2004 is a bit before 2011

I misread his Wikipedia entry. Nonetheless, that's 14 years. Still less than Billy King! Woohoo!

Furthermore, that list of transactions shows him for what he is: a poor trader and, with the exception of his selection of Holiday, an awful drafter---and an overall poor team builder. Given his poor management track record, I truly don't understand what qualifies him to extract this organization from its decade of grinding mediocrity.

and Stefanski was a late round draft pick in 1976.

And this is relevant how?

Additionally, I said nothing about "management level."

Isn't that the only relevant experience here?

"The notion that the pros automatically is a vacuous and unsubstantial sports claim." Um, what?

I was in a rush and forgot the "know best." I think the point was nonetheless obvious.

I'm not describing this or Van Gundy's hirings as "unassailable." Assail to your heart's content. I was simply remarking upon a seemingly widespread level of certainty by some on the board that is generally unjustifiable in the real world.

Um, OK.

I think I'd prefer soapbox if you must use a dismissive in regard to my observations.

You're probably not the right guy to be throwing stones on the topic of dismissiveness.

My point is obvious and uncomplicated.

Your point is academic and meaningless. Basic logic suggests that the franchise will eventually rebound. Whether it happens more quickly than any given individual thinks would depend on exactly what that individual predicts. Basic logic also suggests that, given the team's current predicament, that improvement won't happen in the immediate future. It's got a shallow, poorly-assembled roster full of bad contracts, and it's got one of the worst owners in the NBA. Ten years is an exceptionally long period of mediocrity in professional sports, and the decisions made in the recent regular season only put the team further in the hole. Said owner has played a very substantial role in seven of those failed seasons, and certainly in the pivotal events of the most recent one.

My suggesting that a little humility is a good thing really sets you off doesn't it?

"Academic and meaningless?" I thought you didn't understand my point?

While galling, ten years of futility in professional sports is hardly remarkable. However, the Blake trade is certainly questionable and risky.

[TC-Flint]

I like the hiring of Stefanski, despite the moaners. Executives were not beating the Pistons door down. Stefanski wanted to come here and has a good resume. The key is in who the general manager and coach are.

He isn't an executive. He's got a job with no set responsibilities and probably a hefty paycheck. Finding people to occupy cushy advisory positions isn't particularly difficult.

He doesn't have a good resume. In the main, his free-agent signings have been questionable, his trades iffy, and his drafting very poor. At best, his performance has hovered at the mediocre. Not a good choice for an organization for which mediocrity has become a byword.

No responsibility? Is that what you are calling the hiring of a GM and Coach? Very good choice for this organization. They have won wherever Stefanski had been. How can you label it meritocracy when a GM and Coach has not been named? You are just another Piston fan who always sees the bottle as half empty. You ne3d a new team to follow!

[MrBigShot]

Tfw you hire someone to hire someone, who will then hire someone.

[Crymson]

I honestly cannot say I knew who he was before we hired him. I cannot understand how anybody can have a strong opinion either way. One positive, is that his first move as GM for both the Nets and 76ers was to trade an established player for a 1st round pick.

Picks which he subsequently wasted, because he was a terrible drafter. The three first-round picks he got in exchange for Kenyon Martin turned into Joey Graham, Renaldo Balkman, and Marcus Williams. Don't recognize any of them? Not surprising. Every one of them averaged less than six points per game, and Balkman was the ironman of the three with eight NBA seasons. The other two lasted six and four seasons, respectively.

He spent the draft pick obtained from the Korver trade on Trevor Booker. Booker is no slouch, but that is a bad return, and the 76ers didn't even get him until three years later.

Trading Korver for a 1st

Korver went on to become one of the league's best three-point shooters. The 76ers had only one good three-point shooter on the roster the following season, and a bunch of bad ones. The pick the 76ers received was for a draft three years in the future, and Stefanski used it on Trevor Booker. This was a bad trade in every fashion, beyond the cap relief.

Resigning 24 year old Iggy

Iguodala had been drafted by a previous GM, had just finished his rookie deal, was a restricted free agent, and was the best player on the team. Re-signing him was entirely a no-brainer.

Resigning 21 year old Lou Williams

Williams was in the exact same contract circumstances as Iguodala, and he came relatively cheap. As with Iguodala, re-signing him was a matter of course and not at all an impressive management move.

Signing Brand in FA

Brand was a mid-tier center at that stage of his career. Not an impressive signing.

Trading for Jodie Meeks in his rookie year

This was a good trade... and, incidentally, the only good trade he ever made with either team.

Drafting Holiday with #17
Drafting Vucevic with #16

These are the two draft picks he nailed amidst a plethora of disposable role players and busts.

That's a solid list.

It's a mediocre list by any measure, and it becomes worse than that in the context of all the other moves he made.

They had a good young team.

Which he played little part in building.

I like that the Stefanski hire gives us the ability to hire a less experienced GM.

Given his lack of success in management, I don't see how this would be the case. He was mediocre at roster management and outright bad at drafting with the Nets and the Sixers.

[ChipButty]

He spent the draft pick obtained from the Korver trade on Trevor Booker. Booker is no slouch, but that is a bad return, and the 76ers didn't even get him until three years later.

Trading Korver for a 1st

Korver went on to become one of the league's best three-point shooters. The 76ers had only one good three-point shooter on the roster the following season, and a bunch of bad ones. The pick the 76ers received was for a draft three years in the future, and Stefanski used it on Trevor Booker. This was a bad trade in every fashion, beyond the cap relief.

Korver was already a great shooter and Stefanski did not draft Booker. If you are going to spend time researching facts to try and disagree with every single thing somebody posts, at least get your "facts" straight. The pick was traded away as part of a salary dump to free up cap space for free agents.

Stefanski did sign Kareem Rush and Royal Ivey (who he later used to aquire Jodie Meeks). It's not like he was oblivious to the power of the 3 point shot.

Williams was in the exact same contract circumstances as Iguodala, and he came relatively cheap. As with Iguodala, re-signing him was a matter of course and not at all an impressive management move.

I love how, as somebody who is supposed to be a fan of a team that let RFA like Monroe and KCP walk for nothing, you completely dismiss the resigning of 2 young players. These were both excellent contracts.

Trading for Jodie Meeks in his rookie year

This was a good trade... and, incidentally, the only good trade he ever made with either team.

Whoa. He finally did something good!

Drafting Holiday with #17
Drafting Vucevic with #16

These are the two draft picks he nailed amidst a plethora of disposable role players and busts.

Nonsense. He only made 5 picks whilst GM of the 76ers.

Marreese Speights #16
Jrue Holiday #17
Evan Turner #2
Lavoy Allen #50
Nikola Vucevic #16

His non-lottey picks for the 76ers were excellent. Picking Turner #2 was a bust, but that was a very difficult draft to negotiate with wings like Turner, Wesley Johnson, and Aminu being rated higher than Haywood and George. Overall his drafting whilst GM of the 76ers was solid. Plus, he's had 7 years to think about and learn from any mistakes. Or, do you think it's impossible for people to learn from their mistakes and get better at their job?

[Canadafan]

Watched an Open Court show with Stefanski amongst other GM's. Was pretty impressed with him. Seems to have great relationships with the other GM's on the panel. Check it out if you get a chance.
Interesting how they talked about how many discussions are had in regards to trades. Glad we got him and Casey to be honest

[vege]

Watch on YouTube

[WuTang_OG]

Is Ed Stefanski the "final decision maker" now?

Is your GM search done?

[Snakebites]

Is Ed Stefanski the "final decision maker" now?

Is your GM search done?

Yes.