patriotic publicity purposes). Thorn negated numerous trade offers for the Bulls' No. 3 pick in 1984. There was maneuvering for Jordan to go to Philadelphia where North Carolina star Billy Cunningham was the 76ers coach. There was further speculation Thorn might select Jordan's North Carolina’s teammate Sam Perkins, (who was drafted at No. 4), because the Bulls had recently selected shooting guards in previous drafts and Thorn had just traded All-Star Reggie Theus. However, Thorn drafted Jordan, and the Bulls' foundation was in place. Thorn hired Kevin Loughery as head coach and the team struggled with youth. Thorn left the Bulls when he and Loughery were fired in March 1985 and new owner Jerry Reinsdorf hired Jerry Krause as G.M. NBA/Dream Team/Nets/76ers From 1986 to 2000 Thorn was the NBA's Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, serving as the league's chief disciplinarian. Thorn chaired the USA Basketball Men's National Team Selection Committee in 1992, 1996 and 2000. The "Dream Team" for the 1992 Summer Olympics (Barcelona) was assembled and the committee put together the Olympic gold-medal USA teams in 1996 and 2000. Thorn rejoined the Nets organization on June 2, 2000, and he was named the NBA Executive of the Year in 2002 after the Nets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. During the 2010 offseason, Rod Thorn announced he would step down from the Nets' organization. On August 11, 2010, Thorn was hired as president of the 76ers, taking over the title from Ed Stefanski, who remained with the team as the general manager. On October 18, 2011, prior to a press conference introducing the 76ers' new ownership group, it was announced that Stefanski was leaving the organization and Thorn would be both president and general manager. In 2012, Tony DiLeo was named the team's general manager, but Thorn retained his title as president. On July 10, 2013, the National Basketball Association announced that Rod Thorn had been named President of Basketball Operations, effective August 1, after Stu Jackson decided to step down. On April 26, 2014 Thorn, on behalf of the NBA, suspended Wizard Nene Hilario from game 4 of the first round of the NBA playoffs. In 2015, Thorn briefly retired from the NBA. In 2015, Thorn, semi-retired, became a Special Consultant for the Milwaukee Bucks. Of his career, “I’ve been unbelievably fortunate to be in the right place so many