Bob Donnan/USA Today Sports, via Reuters
Rod Thorn was an assistant coach in 1976 when the Nets, as they moved from the American Basketball Association to the N.B.A., made the oft-lamented decision to sell Julius Erving’s contract to the Philadelphia 76ers. Twenty-five years later, Thorn was the architect of the best trade in Nets history as the general manager who brought in Jason Kidd, who then led the woebegone franchise to back-to-back trips to the N.B.A. finals.
All of those memories, from the worst and best of a past life, came rushing back to Thorn on Sunday night.