What was formerly known as the Three-Edded Monster appears to have lost it's last hEaD. With Ed Snider giving up control of the team to Josh Harris (pending everything) and Eddie Jordan forced to go try the Princeton Offense at his local YMCA, Stefanski was the last Ed remaining. But now all reports have him scedaddling for any number of teams, the likeliest of which being the Toronto Raptors.
Ever since Rod Thorn stepped in as Sixers President last August, Stefanski's been on the Mount Vesuvius of Hot Seats. It seemed that he essentially ceased to matter in any facet of the organization, from player management (Collins) to press handling (Thorn) and draft preparations (DiLeo). So it's no surprise that, with all of this in mind as well as the new ownership coming in, Ed's good name has been linked to many jobs elsewhere. What is somewhat surprising is that other teams are giving him a shot, despite the abysmal job he did in Philly.
Read on for more.
UPDATE: Part two of my interview with Adam is now up. Find that here. Head on over to Raptors HQ to lament with some Canadians.
I recently spoke on the phone with Adam Francis, our SB Nation Canadian Liaison to all things Basketball and Bacon, as well as EVP of our sister Toronto site, Raptors HQ, about the merits of one Eddie "The Shot" Stefanski as General Manager. I'd imagine you guys can guess how the interview went, but here's a few kibbles n' bits to lure you over there to read the full transcript of part one. Part Two (!) hits the interwebs tomorrow with more jokes, I promise.
To me the biggest thing when you’re trying to build a team, is "when are we going to contend for a championship." Is it five years? Ok, then it’s five years, let’s plan towards that. But Ed was always a bit like "we’re going to win some games, and then see what happens." This was always obvious around trade deadline time, or the off-season when the team was trying to get better. Maybe the team should trade Andre Iguodala, or try and move Elton Brand’s contract, or really anything, and with Ed, it always came back to "we’re going to make trades that make basketball sense." That was his favourite term, he’d use it all the time, and it became a running joke on the site.
Raptors HQ also spoke to the worldly Ben Golliver of Blazers Edge and every other reputable basketball site on the planet about the possibility of Kevin Pritchard heading to Canadianier pastures after spending a few good years waiting for Greg Oden to stay healthy in Portland. Ben was far kinder to Pritchard than I was to Stefanski. Read that here.
Whether Ed signs on to be the Toronto GM or they go in a different direction, it's pretty clear that he won't be in a Sixers uniform press box any time next season half-season. I'm hoping he goes with the Raps just so he can become another step closer to the Atlantic Division Cycle. Only the Knicks and Celtics to go, Stef!
What are you going to miss most about Stefanski? The catchphrases? The exaggerated Philly accent? The shape of his head?