Nick Piccone
After Sam Hinkie resigned from his post yesterday, reports started surfacing almost instantaneously that Bryan Colangelo would be replacing him as the Sixers’ general manager. And the Sixers are expected to announce Colangelo as the team’s new GM on Monday.
So, who is Bryan Colangelo? Well, he absolutely is the son of current chairman of basketball operations of the Sixers, Jerry Colangelo. However, that’s apparently not why he got the job, according to Keith Pompey’s source. His track record apparently speaks for itself, according to people within the Sixers organization. And that includes a stint as president and general manager with the Toronto Raptors and 11 seasons as general manager of the Phoenix Suns.
Colangelo was a finalist for the GM job of the Brooklyn Nets, as well. Many are touting his “revolutionary” Suns team from the 2004-2005 NBA season as the reason this man is a basketball genius. And a lot of the pieces he acquired while he was GM of the Raptors are now blossoming into making his former team legitimate contenders.
But, he also botched the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft by picking Andrea Bargnani, who is still in the NBA today averaging under seven points per game. To be fair, Bargnani was compared to Dirk Nowitzki back then, but Colangelo completely missed the mark on the first overall pick, which is pretty hard to do.
Colangelo did draft the likes of Amar’e Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Michael Finley, and Stephen Jackson. So, his record isn’t all bad. However, it’s not like he hasn’t tried tanking before, just like his predecessor, either. With the pieces in place that Hinkie has left, Colangelo may not need to do much. Let’s hope he doesn’t feel like he has to sell off everybody.
The Sixers are now becoming the Phoenix Suns of the east, with the Colangelo boys and Mike D’Antoni on the coaching staff. Hmmm…