Sixers CEO Adam Aron To Take Reduced Role?

3:12pm: A league source tells John Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer that there will be no change in Aron's role (Twitter link).

1:08pm: Former NBA general manager John Nash said on SportsRadio 94 WIP in Philadelphia today that Sixers CEO Adam Aron "has been extracted from the basketball side of things," stemming from a clash with consultant and former coach Doug Collins (Twitter links). However, a source tells Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com that Nash will remain as CEO, and that an announcement the team has scheduled today has nothing to do with Aron (Twitter links). Still, Moore tweets that it's safe to assume Aron's role on the basketball side will be reduced following the hiring of new GM Sam Hinkie.

Presumably, today's announcement will make Hinkie's hiring official, as it's been widely reported since Friday that Hinkie, the Rockets assistant GM, will replace Tony DiLeo, who's spent that past year as Sixers GM. The past month has brought change to Philadelphia, where Collins stepped down as coach following the season and assumed an advisory capacity with the team. Team president Rod Thorn is also transitioning into a consultant's position for the Sixers, having previously been the man in charge of the team's day-to-day basketball operations before DiLeo was named GM last summer.

It's not the first time Collins' presence has created the specter of a power struggle in the Sixers front office. There were concerns that the coach's influence last summer may have dissuaded Danny Ferry, who became GM of the Hawks, from taking the same position in Philadelphia. I'm not sure exactly how much Aron had to do with the team's basketball ops, with both Thorn and DiLeo around this past season in addition to Collins. Nonetheless, I wouldn't be surprised if Hinkie expressed a desire for a higher degree of autonomy than having so many people involved in the team's basketball dealings would have afforded.

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