The man who drafted Michael Jordan in 1984 NBA Draft is set to retire at the end of the season. Rod Thorn, the NBA’s President of Basketball Operations since 2013 will be moving out of office.
Following from Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski.
Thorn is highly regarded around the league, a figure who commands respect among executives, coaches and players.
Thorn, 73, returned to the league office in August 2013 to oversee the league’s daily operations under commissioner Adam Silver, an appointment that had been planned to be a two-year bridge to a longer-term successor, sources said. Kiki Vandeweghe, the NBA’s vice president of basketball operations, is a strong candidate to be promoted to take Thorn’s job, sources said.
Thorn had three stops as a general manager – with the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets and Philadelphia 76ers. He was the NBA’s Executive of the Year in 2001-02 for orchestrating the Nets’ dramatic turnaround that led to an NBA Finals run. Thorn might best remembered for drafting Michael Jordan to the Chicago Bulls with the third overall pick in the 1984 NBA draft.
From 1986 to 2000 Thorn was the NBA’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, serving as the league’s chief disciplinarian. In July 2013, the NBA announced that Rod Thorn would be named President of Basketball Operations after the former man who held that position, Stu Jackson, decided to step down.
