2008-09 News and Features

Q & A with Sixers Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager Tony DiLeo

How would you describe your job responsibilities as Senior Vice President/Assistant General Manager?
My main job is to assist Ed Stefanski with basketball operations - supervising the draft, trading the players, signing free agents, and running day-to-day operations in the office.

What was a key component of getting to the position you currently hold?
This is my 19th season, so the key component is hard work and being at the right place at the right time. I started as a college scout and I’ve probably had every position in basketball operations and worked my way up.

What stage of the year-long preparation for the NBA Draft are you in?
We are in the evaluation stage. All of our scouts are out watching college games. We have preliminary rankings and lists. We then evaluate those lists every couple of weeks. It’s just the beginning of the process. Things are really going to heat up probably a couple weeks before the draft in June.

How do you feel about last year’s draft pick Marreese Speights’s performance to date?
He’s really contributing faster than we expected. He’s very talented and we’re happy to have acquired him.

Do you see a continued influx of European players coming into our league?
I think it’s drying up. I don’t think we’ll get a lot of European players coming in like we did in the past. There was an influx a few years ago, but I think the talent is drying up now. There is some young talent over there, so we’ll keep an eye on them.

As Germany’s Coach of the Year Award recipient, what did you learn in Europe that you brought back to the NBA?
The European style of basketball is a little different; it’s more free-flowing. Every player and every position learns the fundamentals. The big guys shoot, dribble, and pass. I think more of a free-flowing movement type of ball players and versatility of the players is a big one.

Is there any specific rule difference between the NBA and NCAA that few people know about?
The way the game is played is different. There’s a lot more physical contact and touching in the NCAA – so the physicality. In the NBA, they really can’t touch the perimeter players. It’s more physical on the inside in the NBA.