76ers general manager Ed Stefanski discussed the team's coaching search while introducing Eddie Jordan on Monday.

Stefanski insisted that Jordan didn't have the job in the bag all along.

"As I said from the beginning, it was a process. Some people weren't happy that it wasn't quick enough; some people said I went too fast. I can't make everyone happy.

"I said communication was important for me, and communication turns into leadership. Everybody I talked to in the NBA, it kept coming back that Eddie Jordan did it the right way, that he put his dues in, that he worked really hard at his craft and is a student of the game.

"I heard it over and over, from 'The Logo,' Jerry West, who had him [as a player] in Lakerville; I heard it from Pat Riley, I heard it when I was [in New Jersey] from Rod Thorn.," the general manager said.

Stefanski and Jordan worked together for four seasons in New Jersey, where Jordan was an assistant coach and Stefanski was the assistant GM.

"Eddie and I are friends," Stefanski said. "[But] in the 6 years he was in Washington, close your eyes, that's how many times I did anything personal with [him]. There was no [thought] that Eddie was going to be the [Sixers] coach and nobody else."

Via Philadelphia Daily News

Philadelphia 76ers

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