The Sixers have parted way with scouts John Nash and Chris Ford.

"I've had the good fortune to do this for a long time," Nash said last night. "I've been general manager for four different teams [Sixers, New Jersey, Portland and Washington], been with the Sixers three different times and was employed 28 years with the NBA. I would love to continue to do it. I feel anyone in this profession who says they don't want to be a decision-maker is too tired or fibbing. I would still love to run an NBA franchise."

Nash was general manager of the Sixers from 1986 until 1990 and returned to the franchise after he left the Blazers.

Ed Stefanski was relieved of his duties as genearl manager of the 76ers on Tuesday, but his talks with the Raptors have 'heated up', according to a source.

Stefanski and Jeff Bower have long been thought of as the finalists for the Toronto GM job, where they would report to Bryan Colangelo.

Ed Stefanski has been relieved of his duties as general manager of the 76ers.

Rod Thorn will remain as team president and will be the “captain of the ship,” according to majority owner Josh Harris.

Speculation had been that Jason Levien, a former NBA player agent and executive with the Sacramento Kings, would be involved in player personnel. Levien is one of the minority owners.

Asked about ownership’s involvement in player personnel, Harris said, “You can be assured that we are interested owners. We will be very focused, with lots of debate about what we do with players. At the end of the day, Rod is the captain of that ship. He will run that part of our organization. We will speak with you through one voice, Rod and Doug [Collins] voice when it comes to players.”

Stefanski has been a frontrunner for a high-ranking job with the Toronto Raptors.

The purchase of the Philadelphia 76ers from Comcast-Spectacor by a group led by Joshua Harris was completed yesterday after having been approved by the National Basketball Association’s Board of Governors.

“My partners and I are thrilled to have become owners of the Sixers,” said Harris. “It is an honor to be a part of this storied franchise – we have a lot of work to do but we have a rich history, a strong foundation and a bright future. My partners and I want to thank Ed Snider and the Comcast-Spectacor team for all their efforts to make this outcome possible. As we move forward, we want to build on the team’s momentum and be world class and cutting edge in everything we do.”

The new owners have named Adam Aron, a native Philadelphian and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vail Resorts, Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia 76ers.

“Adam is a superb executive with deep and broad experience, and we are very pleased he will be returning to Philadelphia as CEO of the Sixers and a member of our ownership group,” Harris said. “Adam and I both have strong ties to the Delaware Valley, and we are committed to providing an exciting, high-quality experience to the great fans in Philadelphia in the years ahead.”

“Being named CEO of the Philadelphia 76ers is truly a dream come true. Having grown up in Abington, I have always been a fan of this team,” said Aron. “I’m excited about celebrating and building on the extraordinary heritage of the 76ers, the third winningest team in NBA history. We will work tirelessly to make Philadelphia sports fans proud.”

The investor group is led by Harris, who will serve as Managing Owner of the 76ers and as the team’s Governor on the NBA Board of Governors. Other investors include David Blitzer, who will serve as Co-Managing Owner and an Alternate Governor of the NBA, CEO Adam Aron who will also serve as an Alternate Governor of the NBA, Martin Geller, David Heller, Travis Hennings, James Lassiter, Marc Leder, Jason Levien, Michael Rubin, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, Handy Soetedjo, Erick Thohir and Art Wrubel, all of whom have made personal investments in the team.

Talks between the Raptors and Ed Stefanski stalled after some progress had been made, sources said on Friday.

Two sources with knowledge of the talks used the term “hit a snag” to describe the state of the discussions.

Sources said the development has caused Jeff Bower to re-emerge in Toronto's general manager search.

Comcast-Spectacor's sale of the 76ers to a group of investors led by New York billionaire Joshua Harris is expected to close early next week, according to a source close to the situation.

Terms of the sale were agreed upon in July, but the deal has been pending approval of the NBA's board of governors for more than two months.

The deal is for 100 percent of the Sixers for approximately $280 million. 

Byron Mullens has decided to leave Panionis to return to the United States. But the team, according to sources, has replaced him with Marreese Speights of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Mullens and Speights are both represented by Andy Miller.

The Raptors have narrowed their list for a general manager to Ed Stefanski and Jeff Bower, sources said.

Stefanski is in advanced talks with the Raptors on a deal, according to sources.

Stefanski has been mentioned as a target of interest of the Blazers. He turned down the job several years ago as a New Jersey Nets executive, and sources said Stefanski hasn’t been interested in the Blazers job this time around unless he can report directly to owner Paul Allen.

The Blazers have decided against hiring any of the candidates already interviewed by the club over the past few weeks, says a team source.

Larry Miller, president of the Blazers, began calling those former candidates on Thursday.

The Blazers will create a new list of candidates, focusing on people with extensive general manager experience.

"I don't want to get into specific details, but what I will say is that we are expanding our search," Miller said. "We're going to expand our candidate pool." 

Jeff Bower and Ed Stefanski will be among the targets.

"We're not the only team that's taking the time to find the right GM candidate," Miller said. "Other teams are going through a similar process; taking just as long as we are. Toronto and New York are going through this, too. It takes time. My hope is that we find the right person and I don't have to go through this again anytime soon."