GENERAL MANAGER

Ed Stefanski, beginning his eighth season with the New Jersey Nets, was promoted to general manager in the summer of 2004 following a one-year stint as the team's senior vice president of basketball operations and four seasons as the team's director of scouting. In his position overseeing the team's basketball operations, Ed is integrally involved in the team's roster development and player personnel issues. Ed continues to travel both nationally and internationally in evaluating basketball talent for the Nets, as well as interacting with the Nets coaching staff and scouts on the available talent pool. Ed also continues to work very closely with Nets President Rod Thorn on the evaluation of professional and amateur talent for both the NBA Draft and the procurement of free agents.

Ed has earned a reputation throughout the NBA as a keen evaluator of basketball talent, from both those who are homegrown as well as the burgeoning European talent pool. Under his guidance as the Nets director of scouting, Ed played a significant role in the drafting of Kenyon Martin as the overall Number One selection in the 2000 NBA Draft, as well as the three-for-one draft night trade the following season, in which the Nets traded the draft rights to Eddie Griffin (#7), to the Houston Rockets for Richard Jefferson (#13), Jason Collins (#18) and Brandon Armstrong (#23). Three of those players (Martin, Jefferson and Collins) were starters on the Nets 2002-03 Eastern Conference championship team. On the foreign front, Ed was at the forefront in the drafting of center Nenad Krstic of Serbia with the Nets' first round pick (24th overall) in the 2002 NBA Draft, as well as Serbian center Mile Ilic in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft.

Ed was also instrumental in the 2004 blockbuster transaction that brought All-Star Vince Carter to the Nets in exchange for Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning and two first round draft picks.

A 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School of Business), Stefanski played for Penn for three seasons (where he was coached by former Nets head coach Chuck Daly), and was a member of two Ivy League Champions (1974 & 1975), playing in the NCAA Tournament each of those seasons. While in college, Ed originated and secured the funding for the Philadelphia Housing Authority's Inner City Basketball League, which provided a structured basketball environment for hundreds of boys and girls who lived under the auspices of the Housing Authority. Ed was involved in all facets of the league, including scheduling, transportation, finances and game management. At the conclusion of his two-year involvement with the project, more than 500 boys and girls comprising more than 20 teams had been the beneficiaries of Ed's hard work and determination. The Housing Authority cited his efforts with a special recognition award, commending his efforts and contributions to the children of Philadelphia.

Following college, Stefanski embarked on a successful business career, becoming president of Preferred Mortgages Corporation, one of the most successful real estate funding mortgage companies in the United States. But his astute business acumen did not deter Ed from his passion for roundball. He became the head basketball coach at his high school alma mater, Monsignor Bonner High School, in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, for four seasons (1979-83), winning the prestigious Philadelphia Catholic League his final campaign.

But the sideline was not Stefanski's only involvement with hoops after college. In 1979, he began a 20-year run as a color analyst, including Big Five basketball (1979-90) and as an Atlantic 10 color analyst on ESPN for 11 seasons prior to joining the Nets (1988-99). Among the play-by-play broadcasters that Ed worked with on these telecasts were Harry Kallas, Mike Breen and WNBC-Channel 4 sports veteran Bruce Beck.

Ed and his wife, Karen, have four children: Edward, Jr., Kevin, Matthew and David. Ed Jr., is a graduate of Widener College, where he was an All-Conference linebacker. He is currently employed in the mortgage business in Villanova, PA. Kevin is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection as a free safety and was a captain of the football team. He is currently working in the football operations department of the Minnesota Vikings. Matthew is a senior at Penn State, following a standout high school football career that saw him quarterback St. Joseph's Prep to an undefeated 13-0 mark in his senior year in high school, capturing the vaunted Philadelphia Catholic League title. David, the youngest of the four Stefanski children, is a freshman at Penn, and may attempt to follow in the basketball footsteps of his point-guard dad.