Rod Thorn had his reasons for leaving the Nets that may have been right for him personally, but it wasn’t a smart move professionally.

The former Nets president and now Sixers president won’t expound any more than he has about why he left. You’ve heard the reasons: it was time, some things happened in the last 2 ½ years that led him to his decision, personality conflicts, the team needed to go in a different direction and so did he.

But this wasn’t a lateral move for Thorn. It was a step backward in areas such as talent, flexibility, finances and the team’s future.

The Nets, who beat Philadelphia 90-89 in preseason action today on Stephen Graham’s game-winning, buzzer-beating three, are in far better shape than the 76ers all the way around.

They have a legitimate center on the cusp of becoming an All-Star, something he should do under Avery Johnson, who is going to force-feed Brook Lopez, understanding that on most nights they have an advantage inside.

Lopez can get opposing bigs in foul trouble and will make his free throws. He also will be able to put the Nets in the bonus in a hurry by playing physically inside.

The Nets have a quality young rookie power forward, who is going to get bigger and stronger, whether it’s here or in Denver. It’s a win for the Nets either way if Derrick Favors blossoms here or he’s the asset that gets them Carmelo Anthony.

Either way, it appears the Nets will be pretty set up front for years.

They have more shooters than they have had in recent memory that can make teams pay when they double Lopez. They have expiring contracts that are going to put them in position to be under the cap next summer. They have 10 draft picks over the next three years. And in new owner Mikhail Prokhorov, a multi-billionaire, the Nets will be able to do things for the players and their team that few teams can.

He can give them the best toys, a la Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, and Prokhorov can and will say don’t worry about the luxury tax. He’ll pay to make the Nets as competitive as possible.

Prokhorov doesn’t want to look foolish here or in his home country after saying the Nets would make the playoffs this year and win a championship within five years.

Thorn knows all of this.

He put the Nets in the position they’re in across the board. Who knows if Prokhorov would have bought the team if the Nets didn’t have all these assets and avenues to improve in a hurry?

Of course putting a team in Brooklyn was a major reason he purchased a majority stake of the team from Bruce Ratner.

Thorn doesn’t have the flexibility in Philadelphia the Nets have. He has two big contracts -– Andre Iguodala’s and Elton Brand's –- that he probably would like to get out of, and his owner’s pockets aren’t as deep as Prokhorov’s.

Thorn will try and fix the Sixers like he did the Nets. Thorn had reasons for leaving, but deep down he knows the team he left has a far better future than the one he joined.

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Nets were very sloppy today and overcame 25 turnovers and some stretches of bad defense to pull out the win in their last game in North America in more than a week.

After the game, the Nets left for Moscow and China, where they will meet their owner and play two preseason games, respectively.

Almost miraculously, the Nets came back from seven down with 15 seconds left. It’s an indictment against the 76ers, who missed four foul shots in the final 15 ticks, but the Nets also deserve credit for staying poised, running their plays and knocking down shots.

Lopez finished with 23 points. Jordan Farmar, who hit a huge three, had 15. Travis Outlaw also had 15.

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Coach’s Corner

“This is not an excuse. Our players will tell you I’m the last one in the world that’s going to make an excuse. Third NBA preseason game together. We’re still working out the kinks. We were sloppy. 25 turnovers is not going to be good. We didn’t practice yesterday. We thought our energy was going to be better. We’re going to have to re-evaluate our off days.”

- Avery Johnson after the game

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Follow me on Twitter: @Al_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Nets for The Record (Bergen County, N.J.)