Billy King, who ran the 76ers for a decade before being fired three years ago, has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Rod Thorn, both Adrian Wojnarowski and Chris Mannix report.  Moreover, it's becoming increasingly evident that Avery Johnson, who has endorsed King, is becoming the front office power broker.

Woj writes that King's chief competition, Danny Ferry, returned home Tuesday without an offer, feeling uncomfortable competing with King, his former college teammate at Duke.  Ferry is a likely candidate for the Portland GM job. Mannix writes, the job is King's "if he wants it."

Johnson, meanwhile, is emerging as the key man in the Nets front office, having ingratiated himself with the Nets' Russian ownership.  He is likely to have a key role in player personnel matters along with King and Bobby Marks, who will more than likely become the team's general manager

Rod Thorn's last day is Friday.  It's uncertain when Mikhail Prokhorov will make his decision.  The team is not expected to make any last minute moves before Thorn departs, but wait til the new president and GM are in place.  ESPN did report the Nets had interest in Al Harrington before he signed with the Nuggets Tuesday night.

• King emerging as Nets' frontrunner - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
• Billy King emerges as top candidate for Nets' president job - Chris Mannix - Sports Illustrated