Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

[Dice]

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/n...ory?id=5329405

Strange???

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

Couldn't have had worse timing I don't think for that. I'm going to say Kevin Pritchard gets the job having just been fired from Portland.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

Not going to be Pritchard from what I've read on another Nets Forum meaning they might have someone lined up already.

There was a rumor around the time when Prokhorov bought the team that Andrei Vatutin(guy who's responsible for making CSKA Moscow one of, if not the best Basketball Club in all of Europe, in which Prokhorov used to own)would possibly be a replacement in case Thorn would step down or would not come back for some reason. God I hope he's not the replacement...

EDIT: Or even worse...Isaiah Thomas.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

I'm not a Nets fan (obviously) but I don't hate them either and I hope for your sake and the entire fanbase's sake that it ain't Zeke lol. I like the guy, but he shouldn't be anywhere near a front office again. They need to get the rumors worked up though or something, it's not going to be a good look having Thorn trying to pull in free agents with uncertainty in the front office. Knowing what kind of front office is in place is every bit as important as the players already on the roster and cap space.

[Vince]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/Headlines.aspx?sport=NBA&hl=137144

God, I can only hope...

GET THE **** OUT

[GaryT531]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

I am disappointed. Rod has done an excellent job for the Nets, and I am confident that he would have once again re-built this team into a contender. I did not see this coming. Pritchard and Colangelo are not better than Thorn. At this point I would have to guess that the Russian will bring one of his people over.

[Vince]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

Well, I re-read the article I just posted and realized it was referring to Jerry Colangelo and not Bryan...

Major FAIL on my part.

[J-Clutch1]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

Yeah. Jerry's the leading candidate.

I don't know why some report that Rod was unhappy with offers. Rod just wanted to spend time with his family at his age.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

The initial report was that Prokhorov was willing to give Thorn a raise basically but he still turned it down

What's the deal on Jerry Colangelo? Is dude legit when it comes to building a team?

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

The initial report was that Prokhorov was willing to give Thorn a raise basically but he still turned it down

What's the deal on Jerry Colangelo? Is dude legit when it comes to building a team?

If it's the Jerry Colangelo I'm thinking of then yes. He was the Suns first GM, then owner for a while, responsible for bringing Chuck to the Suns. He's also the director of USA Basketball, responsible for assembling the team that won it in Bejing.

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

.

Rod Thorn, who took the Nets from oblivion to the NBA Finals and back again, will step down as President of Basketball Operations on July 15, according to multiple reports.
Al Iannazzone reports that Jerry Colangelo, the former owner of the Suns and president of USA Basketball, is the leading candidate to replace Thorn and will be offered a three-year contract worth $12-15 million by Mikhail Prokhorov. Jerry West's name has also been mentioned.
Most reports are that the decision to retire is Thorn's alone and that it has nothing to do with Prokhorov, who had offered Thorn a lucrative package to stay in the job--$8 million over two years, according to one Nets insider. Thorn's family has been pressuring him to step down. He recently turned 69.
"They've given Rod everything he could want," a league executive said of the Russian ownership. "This is entirely his decision."
Mitch Lawrence of the Daily News has a different story. He reports that Thorn is either unhappy with the team's new hierarchy or with the contract he was offered. Thorn's current contract, which expires Wednesday, pays him $5.5 million.
Team insiders said the negotiations between Thorn and Prokhorov have been ongoing for several months, with Thorn declining to commit to staying on despite Prokhorov's entreaties. The two met most recently on Wednesday when Prokhorov stopped in East Rutherford on his way to Washington for the summit between President Obama and Russian President Medvedev.
Dave D'Alessandro can't see Thorn, who will help hire his replacement, endorsing Colangelo, because Thorn wasn't happy how the managing director of USA Basketball answered questions about the Nets job when his name first came up around the All-Star break. In fact, according to D'Alessandro, Thorn chewed Colangelo out about it over the phone.
If Colangelo is not the replacement, there apparently are a lot of other candidates. D'Alessandro identifies Steve Kerr, Danny Ferry, Bobby Marks and Toronto's Maurizio Gherardini. In a report naming the Nets as one of the first teams to visit LeBron James on July 1, Adrian Wojnarowski adds currently employed GMs Sam Presti, Jeff Bower and R.C. Buford. Meanwhile, Marc Stein says that West will get a call.
Andrei Vatutin, the president of CSKA Moscow and a candidate for an assistant GM job, appears to be out of the picture. He will head up a new Russian basketball league.

[King_B_Mack]

Re: Rod Thorn to step down as Nets President

Yep, that's the Jerry. That could be a big move for NJ if they get Colangelo on board. With his USA basketball connection it could lure LeBron and Bosh to want to be where he is. If they don't go that route and go the Kerr route, that could do something for Amar'e coming there. Not sure how good his relationship is with Nash though.