Nick Piccone
Many are excited about the upcoming basketball season in Philadelphia. And with good reason.
The Sixers’ president of basketball operations, Bryan Colangelo, joined Adrian Wojnarowski on The Vertical Podcast with Woj and talked about the state of the Sixers moving forward as he took the reigns from Sam Hinkie and is now putting his stamp on this basketball team.
In one of the more interesting bits from the interview, Colangelo talked about there being a losing culture and losing mindset as a result of the rebuilding process Sam Hinkie had undertaken … and now the hardest thing will be to switch from a losing mindset to a winning mindset, and it all begins this season.
“Taking a minor step is not enough. Taking major steps forward is where your long-term goal is. And it doesn’t happen overnight, as I said earlier. It takes a few years, so, you’ve gotta make sure you take those measured stats but also kind of manage that expectation of what’s next for those players that have been part of the process. There’s gonna be seven or eight new members of this team when it’s all said and done. So, the mentality of those players that were there and played significant minutes – that’s going to be one of the most difficult things for them to realize, you know.
“The likes of TJ McConnell, Jerami Grant, young players that have played a lot of minutes; I think they are gonna be surprised when it comes time to giving up the minutes to who’s playing and why. There’s going to be more talented players involved and more experienced players involved, and they’re probably going to take a significant portion of those minutes. So, those players are gonna need to make an adjustment. Some of the guys that haven’t played at all in terms of, you know, Joel Embiid, he’s gonna have to understand what this is all about. I’ve watched and observed himself over the past several years, what was taking place, and now he’s gonna have to step into a very hyper, competitive situation with two other very talented players that he’s competing with.
“So, it’s going to be a very interesting unique experience this year. Everyone’s going to have to make adjustments along the way. The biggest single adjustment is again that mind shift from a losing mentality to a winning mentality and that’s what the challenge is ahead for the coaching staff and for management and everyone involved.”
It’s really a terrific interview, and you can listen to it below.
Here’s a table of contents for the episode, courtesy of Yahoo:
0:48: Getting back into the league after a brief hiatus.
2:20: Colangelo’s first priority upon joining the 76ers.
5:44: The importance of changing the team’s mentality after years of losing.
8:43: Joel Embiid’s comeback and his high ceiling.
11:00: The challenge of trying to maximize the value of the team’s three big men.
16:19: Experimenting with Ben Simmons’ role because of his unique skill set.
20:59: The benefits of Brett Brown’s previous relationship with Ben Simmons and his family.
22:53: Inheriting Brown as the head coach and building a relationship and trust with him.
27:46: The team’s offseason pursuit of Manu Ginobili in free agency.
29:16: The calls of nepotism after he joined the 76ers.
40:39: Does he feel more pressure to prove himself now than when he joined the Suns?
47:50: Colangelo’s continued friendship with Masai Ujiri after Ujiri was hired to replace Colangelo in Toronto.
51:08: The rush to declare winners and losers in trades and free agency.
56:56: What does he want to improve upon as a leader with the 76ers?
1:02:56: The process of making Philadelphia a destination for free agents.