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New Jersey Nets General Manager Ed Stefanski has signed a multi-year contract extension with the team, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today. As per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

"We are very pleased that Ed has agreed to a contract extension," said Thorn. "He is a vital part of our basketball management team and we look forward to an exciting future for Nets basketball."

"Ed Stefanski is an exceptionally keen evaluator of basketball talent, and we are privileged to have him remain as general manager of the Nets for many years to come," said Bruce Ratner, Nets principal owner. "With Rod and Ed's guidance and leadership, we are in great hands heading into this summer and the future."

Stefanski 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.

As general manager, Stefanski oversees the team's basketball operations and is integrally involved in the team's roster development and player personnel issues. Stefanski was instrumental in the December 2004 blockbuster trade that brought five-time All-Star Vince Carter to the Nets, and helped engineer the 2001 draft-night trade for Richard Jefferson and Jason Collins. Additionally, Stefanski played a key role in the drafting of center Nenad Krstic with the Nets' First-Round pick (24th overall) in the 2002 NBA Draft.

"I am thrilled to continue my relationship with the Nets organization," Stefanski said. "Rod has been my mentor since I joined the league, and I feel very comfortable with the direction of the team under Bruce Ratner and his ownership group."

Prior to joining the Nets, Stefanski spent 20 years as a color analyst, including Big Five basketball (1979-90) and as an Atlantic 10 analyst on ESPN for 11 seasons. In addition, Stefanski coached his high school alma mater, Monsignor Bonner High School, in Drexel Hill, PA, for four seasons (1979-83), winning the prestigious Philadelphia Catholic League his final year.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School of Business) in 1976, 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 U.S.

Stefanski played for the Penn basketball team for three seasons, and was a member of two Ivy League champions (1974 and '75), playing in the NCAA Tournament each of those seasons. While in college, Stefanski launched 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.