Will Ed Stefanski Be Any Better Than Colangelo as Toronto Raptors GM?

This week Yahoo! Sports has reported that the Toronto Raptors are in serious talks with Ed Stefanski, the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers and one of the lead candidates for Toronto's general manager vacancy.

This offseason the Raptors re-signed Bryan Colangelo to a short two-year contract extension, and a number of front-office changes have been made since. Some suggest Colangelo's recent search for a new GM was a condition set by the owners.

Bryan Colangelo will still be the one "calling the shots" as the team president, but he will be stepping down as the team's general manager. Some say Colangelo is only forfeiting his general manager title so that the job could attract some of the more established league executives.

Ed Stefanski was brought in to Philadelphia in 2007 after being preceded by New Jersey GM Billy King. Stefanski's job security as GM in Philly isn't very high as the team was recently sold to a New York investment group that will likely bring in new blood to help the team move in the direction they want it to.

Stefanski's hiring could be a definite plus simply because two minds are better than one, but will the Raptors get a better GM by hiring Stefanski?

Here we will judge some of Stefanski's major moves as a GM in Philly and see whether adding him to Toronto's front office will be a smart move or not.

Trading Korver

Move:

Stefanski's first move as the 76ers general manager was to trade forward Kyle Kover for Gordon Giricek and a conditional first-round pick from Utah.

Kyle Korver had just enjoyed a breakout season in his fourth year, averaging a career-high 14.4 points on 43 percent shooting from downtown, but Stefanski traded Korver for an expiring contract and a conditional first-round pick which was never used by Philadelphia.

The move was made to free up cap space through Giricek's expiring contract, and was supposed to help the rebuilding effort.

Grade: D+

The move wasn't so bad on paper, but the Sixers were a playoff team that could have used Korver's outside shooting in their first-round match up against the Pistons. The series went all the way to six games, and you'd wonder why Philadelphia couldn't just wait until the offseason to move Korver.

Signing Williams

Move:

In his first offseason, Ed Stefanski re-signed the 21-year-old Louis Williams to a five-year $25 million contract.

Williams had just broken out in his third season, nearly tripling his scoring average from the year before after scoring 11.3 points per game in only 23 minutes. Williams provided outside scoring help and was an important part of Philly's first playoff run in three years.

Grade: B+

The Sixers did what any other team would, but the move was a good one nonetheless.

Williams improved his scoring averages in every year since signing the extension, except for last season where he averaged 13.7 points despite seeing his playing time shrink.

It's safe to say Williams is one of the better valued players in the league, and he still has plenty of room to grow.

Signing Iggy

Move:

After enjoying a career season in 2008-2008, Andre Iguodala received a fat new contract worth $80 million spanning over six seasons.

Iguodala averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals. The 24-year-old was expected to be the franchise player in Philly, which had a very balanced team with some talented young players.

Grade: C+

Resigning Iguodala to that contract was a bad move, but you can't totally blame Stefanski. If the Sixers didn't do it somebody would, and the deal didn't look so bad on paper.

Despite that, as a general manager it's your job to analyze talent accurately and avoid overpaying players. Today the Sixers are in a position where they could trade to improve the team greatly by moving Iguodala to address their front court-needs, but the Sixers are having a hard time finding a suitable partner because of Iggy's bloated contract.

Elton Brand

Move:

In July 2008 the 76ers signed Elton Brand for $80 million dollars over five years. In order to make room for Brand's massive contract, the Sixers had to offer the Timberwolves a first-round pick in order to absorb the contract of Rodney Carney.

This move was supposed to be Stefanski's biggest splash after making an effort to clear cap space in a number of trades. The 76ers were looking for their first franchise player since Allen Iverson was traded to Denver in 2006.

Grade: F

Now some people will argue that Elton Brand was solid last season, and while that's correct he was terrible considering how much he got paid.

Elton Brand had only played in eight games the season prior to his signing due to a ruptured left Achilles' tendon. One would have to question Stefanski's eagerness to sign him to a "max" contract. Forward Josh Smith was also a free agent that summer and was not signed to an offer sheet after visiting Philadelphia.

In his three seasons in Philadelphia, Brand only averaged 14 points and 7.7 rebounds. Brand is owed over $17 million next season and over $18.1 million in 2012.

As a result of this trade, the 76ers chose not to re-sign Andre Miller the next summer. The Sixers won only 27 games without Miller in 2009-2010.

Overall Brand is now 32 years old and will likely be waived if teams are given an amnesty clause. This move was by far the biggest mistake of Stefanski's career.

Traded for Kapono

Move:

In an attempt to add much-needed three-point shooting, Ed Stefanski traded Reggie Evans to Toronto for forward Jason Kapono in June of 2009.

At the time Evans had spent the last two seasons in Philly and was a very solid rebounder despite receiving minimal playing time. In '08-'09, Evans averaged a career low of 14.4 minutes per game, and trading him didn't seem like it would have much of a negative impact at the time.

Jason Kapono was a two-time three-point contest champion who was solid in Toronto, averaging eight points in 23 minutes.

Grade: D+

While the deal actually looked pretty good on paper, Kapono went on to average only six points in 2009-2010 and only averaged 0.7 points in four minutes a game last season.

Meanwhile Reggie Evans proved to be a very valuable glass eater in Toronto, averaging 11.5 rebounds last season.

Drafting Holiday

Move:

With the 17th overall pick in the 2009 draft, the Philladelphia 76ers selected Jru Holiday out of UCLA.

Holiday was a "one-and-done" player who averaged 8.5 points for the Bruins. Coming into the league, Holiday was compared to combo guards such as Rodney Stuckey and Mario Chalmers.

Grade: A

Jru Holiday had a solid rookie season, averaging eight points and four assists in only 24 minutes of playing time. In his sophomore season Holiday flourished as a starter, averaging 14 points, 6.5 assists, four rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Holiday is only 21 years old and is a rising star with loads of potential. If the 2009 draft had to be conducted again, I'm positive Holiday would be selected in the top eight.

Trading Samuel Dalembert

Move:

In June, 2010, Stefanski traded center Samuel Dalembert to Sacramento for Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni.

Dalembert, a consistent double-double center, had just averaged eight points and 9.6 rebounds for Philadelphia the year before. The team thought they could get a two-for-one deal from Sacramento.

Andres Nocioni had an offseason the year prior to the deal, but was a consistent double-digit scorer for over half a decade with a career average of 11.6 points per game.

Spencer Hawes had only finished his third season and had solid averages of 10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in the two seasons prior to the trade.

Grade: D

The trade wasn't smart at all and could be one of the main reasons why Stefanski isn't expected to stay in Philly much longer.

Nocioni and Hawes were both flops last season. Nocioni averaged only 17.2 minutes and scored a career-low 6.1 points per game. What makes it worse is that Nocioni is owed over $14 million in the next two seasons.

Spencer Hawes wasn't terrible, but he wasn't a difference maker either. Hawes averaged 7.2 points and six boards but only received 21.2 minutes of playing time despite starting in every game. Hawes averaged five fouls per 40 minutes, and was terrible on defense. Hawes will be a free agent, and will likely cost more than he did last season if they plan on keeping him.

All season long the Sixers lacked real post presence playing undersized big man Elton Brand and Marreese Cheeks at center. Had the 76ers had Dalembert last season, they could have really put up a good fight against the Miami Heat in the playoffs.

Dalembert held a large expiring contract that would have lead to plenty of cap space for this offseason, and he averaged a very solid eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks despite playing only 24.2 minutes per game.

Drafting Evan Turner

Move:

With the second overall pick in the 2010 draft, the 76ers drafted Evan Turner.

Evan Turner was the consensual second overall pick after averaging 20.4 points for the Ohio State Buckeyes in his junior year in college.

Turner failed to perform like most second overall selections do, but the 2010 draft class failed to produce many impressive rookies so far. Evans averaged 7.2 points and four rebounds, but only shot 31 percent from deep.

Grade: B

Some will criticize Stefanski for not selecting a pure big man like Demarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe, and for selecting Turner despite having a similar player in Iguodala already on the roster.

The truth is that we can't judge this move accurately until we wait at least one more season. Turner is very athletic, but he only received 23.4 minutes per game being on a playoff team.

Still, the move gets a B because it seemed Turner was drafted based on hype and poor scouting. While Turner still has lots time to prove he's not a bust, we must remember he's 22 years of age, which is a year or two older than most of the top prospects in last years draft.

Drafting Nikola Vucevic

Move:

In this year's draft the 76ers surprised many fans by drafting Nikola Vucevic with the 17th overall pick.

Vucevic is a 20-year-old player who was born in Switzerland and has a Montenegrin background. Vucevic was raised in Belgium where his father was playing professionally. Vucevic played in the NCAA despite being able to play professionally in Europe, and he averaged a double-double in his three seasons at USC.

Grade: B+

It's too early to give this move a grade, but I think it was a great move.

Vucevic proved he could play very well on U.S. soil, and that's a huge plus. It's a fear European big men have to contend with, having heard that many come to the NBA and struggle with the playing style here.

Vucevic displayed good defense and rebounding, and he also proved to be skilled offensively. Vucevic has perfect size for the NBA, standing 7' tall and weighing 260 pounds. Vucevic isn't very athletic, but how many players with that size are? Vucevic has great pedigree—his father Borislav played professional basketball for 24 years.

I give this move a B+ because there is such a small pool of talented centers in the NBA, and the 76ers selected one. Vucevic wasn't expected to go as high as he did, so the 76ers get extra credit for reaching over to get him. Most talented centers in the league today were selected very late in the draft, so the 76ers took a calculated risk picking Vucevic, and I believe they will be rewarded greatly.

Overall: Great move on paper, let's see how it pans out.

Verdict:

Final Verdict:

Overall Stefanski's dealings as the general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers was fairly poor, averaging around a C or C+. Most of his positive decisions in regards to the roster were smaller moves, and his mistakes held a greater impact on the team (ironically similar to Colangelo).

Still. Despite this I'm going to say adding Stefanski will be GOOD for Toronto.

Why? Even though he has screwed up in Philly, he has also done some good. By coming to Toronto he will inherit a better Roster than that which Philly had. He will not be able to blow money without the permission of Bryan Colangelo. In this situation, I believe two minds is really better than one.

Also, we can't ignore Philadelphia's success either. In his five seasons there, Stefanski's 76ers have made the playoffs three times. Even though all of the appearances were first-round exits, the starless 76ers were more successful than Colangelo's Raptors.

By adding Stefanski, the Raptors will have an extra mind in these crucial times. Toronto's free-agent decisions this offseason could shorten or delay the rebuilding process by years, so even though Stefanski isn't the greatest executive out there, we should welcome his addition.

What do you think? Looking at Stefanski's track record, do you think he's the right guy for Toronto? If not, who is? Let us know what you think and join the conversation!