Bryan Colangelo named President of Basketball Operations by Philadelphia 76ers
Bryan Colangelo’s hiring
In an official statement released by Josh Harris, Philadelphia 76ers Managing General Partner, the franchise announced that it has named Bryan Colangelo as its President of Basketball Operations. As part of the transition, Bryan’s father Jerry Colangelo will relinquish his position as Chairman of Basketball Operations and will remain as a special advisor to Harris. The decision to appoint Bryan comes four days after the previous General Manager Sam Hinkie stepped down after serving the franchise for close to three years.
Hinkie penned a 13-page letter to the ownership putting it forward as his resignation. The move to hire Bryan and boot Hinkie was predicted by many in the press and media, when Josh Harris announced the appointment of Jerry Colangelo as a special advisor to the ownership earlier in the season in December. Harris stated in the press conference that Jerry had nothing to do with the appointment of Bryan as the General Manager however that is a difficult pill to swallow given the father-son relationship that Jerry and Bryan share.
Even Bryan Colangelo said repeatedly during the press conference that the initial plan discussed was to join Hinkie in Philadelphia and work ahead together but Hinkie’s resignation didn’t let that happen. He even mentioned that he spoke to Hinkie over the weekend and expressed his disappointment over not being able to work together. Here’s what he had to say about Hinkie’s three years of work at Philadelphia:
My predecessor, Sam Hinkie, has done a nice job of establishing the assets and resources to move forward in a positive way. I'm sorry that Sam won't be a part of that, it was intended all along that he would... The organization is poised to take a major leap forward because of what's happened... The fact that he put the effort forth, he deeserves credit for it. It's not going to sit well with everybody, but the people that understand what was involved and where we are now, I think we're excited about that.... This may be one of the best jobs in basketball right now.
Bryan Colangelo’s resume
Colangelo most recently served as the General Manager of the Toronto Raptors from 2006 to 2013. He’s only one of three NBA executives to win the Executive of the Year award twice. He won it in 2007 with the Raptors, when the improved by 20 wins in his first season itself, and the first time with the Phoenix Suns in 2005.
His track record as a GM whether it’s in free agency or in rebuilding a team through the draft has been proven by his career. With the Suns, he drafted Amar’e Stoudemire in 2002 as the 9th overall pick and Shawn Marion ninth overall in 1999, then went on to sign Steve Nash as a free agent in 2004 which led to the formation of one of the most dominant regular season teams in league history the Phoenix Suns from 2005 to 2007. In the 2004-05 season, the Suns notched up a record of 62-20 and went on to make a Western Conference Finals appearance where they went down to the eventual NBA Champions, the San Antonio Spurs.
As a sum total, all the team he has managed have made it to 11 Playoffs and captured four division titles in his 18 years as a General Manager.