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The Philadelphia 76ers officially have a new GM, as Tony DiLeo was introduced in a press conference Monday.
DiLeo has served stints as the team's head coach and president. But with Rod Thorn retreating from the role of GM to focus on his position as the team's president, the Sixers went within the organization for their next hire. DiLeo was heavily involved in the process of bringing Andrew Bynum to the club in the offseason with the role still vacant, and was promoted from executive vice president of basketball operations.
"I have been a coach. It's fun, but basically you have no life," DiLeo said. "But this, I think I can have more of an impact. I think I fit this role better and I think I can have more of an impact than in coaching."
DiLeo emphasized that he would look for the team to gain an edge using advanced statistics and analytics in his first appearance in his new role:
"I'm a big believer in that so we're going to try to bring someone in who is an expert in statistics and analytics just to give us a competitive edge over these other organizations that don't do it or are not at that level," DiLeo said
DiLeo has been with Philadelphia since the 1990-91 season, briefly serving as interim head coach in 2008-2009 after the firing of Maurice Cheeks. He is expected to succeed Thorn as the team's president when Thorn retires from the position. His initial moves will likely surround filling out the team's roster for training camp, and the team hopes to reach an extension with Bynum sooner than later.
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