<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> The 76ers are expected to fire Billy King as team president today and replace him with New Jersey Nets general manager Ed Stefanski, two league sources said last night. The team would give Stefanski a multiyear contract to become the franchise's chief decision-maker on basketball matters, a source said. The decision to remove King apparently was made in the last few days as the 76ers continued to struggle this season. It is not known whether the decision had been made before last night's home loss to the Atlanta Hawks . Stefanski will report to Comcast president and chief operating officer Peter Luukko. A source indicated that head coach Maurice Cheeks would retain his job for the rest of the season. It is not known whether Larry Brown, a consultant to the team and a close confidant of King's, would remain with the team in any capacity under Stefanski. Stefanski was directly involved in the team's getting forward Vince Carter from Toronto, and assisted team president Rod Thorn in acquiring forward Richard Jefferson and drafting center Nenad Krstic.</p> </div></p> Source</p>
