Bryan Colangelo Reportedly Agrees to Become 76ers G.M.
Sam Hinkie stepped down as the Philadelphia 76ers' general manager Wednesday, announced the team, and they reportedly already have a replacement.
Citing league sources, John Gonzalez of CSN Philly reported that former Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns general manager Bryan Colangelo "will be installed" as the next Sixers GM. The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski also reported the news.
According to Wojnarowski, Colangelo's candidacy had "been gathering momentum" from ownership.
Wojnarowski added that "Sixers ownership had been touting that Hinkie would have another top basketball executive with a comparable title," which ultimately paved the way for his departure from the franchise.
Colangelo will be tasked with expediting a rebuild that assumed the form of a slog under Hinkie—who took the long view and chose to collect risky assets such as Joel Embiid and Dario Saric in favor of demonstrating a commitment to improving the on-court product in a timely fashion.
However, Colangelo's track record is hardly pristine, and he'll need to prove he's learned from past mistakes.
Although he drafted Amar'e Stoudemire in 2002 with the Suns and signed Steve Nash as a free agent in 2004 before winning the first of two Executive of the Year Awards, Colangelo's tenure with the Raptors wasn't nearly as smooth.
Not only did Colangelo oversee the team's selection of Andrea Bargnani with the top pick in the 2006 draft, but he doubled down on the Italian bust by signing him to a five-year, $50 million extension. Colangelo also operated as the Raptors' general manager when Toronto signed Landry Fields to an infamous three-year, $20 million deal.
And, in one of his final moves as Raptors GM, Colangelo dealt for Rudy Gay in January 2013. Gay ultimately flopped, averaging 19.4 points on 38.8 percent shooting from the field, and the Raptors were forced to sell him off for pennies on the dollar the following December to the Sacramento Kings.
Colangelo will have assets to work with in Philadelphia. Beyond Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Embiid and Saric, the Sixers have the top odds to land the first pick in this year's draft and could wind up owning as many as four first-round picks in 2016 if the Los Angeles Lakers' top-three protected pick conveys along with lightly protected picks from the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder.
But as Hinkie learned, a little bad luck in the draft process can wind up spelling doom down the road.
