As the “Process” in Philadelphia has entered a grim state, Sixers ownership has reached out a league-aided hand to NBA executive extraordinaire Jerry Colangelo, but is the move intended to generate false revivification of a NBA corpse or is the part of the next phase of the Philadelphia plan on steroids?
It must have been a bit of an unwelcomed surprise for Sam Hinkie, general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, to receive the news that there was going to be a new shot-caller in town. Particularly, a godfather shot-caller, current head of Team USA Basketball, GM, MLB and NBA team owner, NBA Hall of Famer and four team NBA Executive of the Year Jerry Colangelo.
On Monday, the Sixers announced that they had hired the living legend as President of Basketball Operations and special advisor to co-owner Josh Harris. This is big NBA news for a number of reasons, so let’s try to unpack some of them.
As you may have figured out by now, Colangelo is a big deal in the basketball world. His involvement in the professional level goes all the way back to the 1960s with the Chicago Bulls and then moves west to Phoenix where he would be general manager and owner. He was involved in acquiring Kevin Johnson via draft, and bringing Charles Barkley via trade with the Philadelphia 76ers.
You could probably count the number of teams that don’t need or want Colangelo involved in their front office affairs and personnel decisions. Colangelo has a great relationship with a lot of players and agents around the league. This stands in stark opposition to the reputation Hinkie has earned himself throughout the Process, sending players packing at every turn for just about any imaginable reason including “good at basketball.”
Part of the good relationship aspects of the move extends to the league’s offices. In what amounts to a seemingly bizarre move, Commissioner Adam Silver appears to have set up Colangelo’s Tinder and swiped right on Philadelphia before teaching him how to use the app, having set up a meeting between managing owner of the Sixers, Josh Harris, and Colangelo, before stepping away from the table.
That the league’s office cares at all is indicative of just how dire the situation is in Philadelphia. There is indeed very little love for ownership, but equally little love right now for Hinkie and even the would-be saviors of the team – players like rookie Jahlil Okafor and zero games played ‘veteran’ Joel Embiid – are starting to feel the wrath.
It’s bad in Philly. Really bad. Only by beating their Western Conference counterparts, the Los Angeles Lakers, did they avoid making history with the worst start to a season the history of the NBA. No one wants to watch this team, no one believes in this team, and instead of reaping a core of foundational pieces they have a frontcourt of mixed potential and T.J. McConnell. The league needed to do something before the Sixers accidentally triggered a metaphysical “Process” that turned their home court into a literal black hole that would eventually cause the entire planet to implode.
Or, to state it even more dramatically, it has been so bad in Philly that some people have even started to feel bad for Philadelphia sports fans.
The move to bring in Colangelo carries so much weight for where the franchise goes from here that it’s hard to express the importance enough. There are implications for potential free agent or trade acquisitions, future draft moves, Hinkie’s tenure, and the future of the organization as a whole.
Colangelo’s good relationship and stellar reputation could definitely help Philadelphia add something that it desperately needs: veteran players with skill and leadership qualities. It’s hard to quantify what leaders bring, but we can know that it is infinitely better than sending out a bunch of kids, rudderless, hoping that when they are pushed onto the court they can swim with the sharks.
Remember that part about drafting Kevin Johnson? Sure, every front office has some hits and some misses, but the Sixers really, really need to get it right this coming season. They could end up having either the first or second pick in the draft on their own and they also have multiple other picks that will likely end up being theirs. One of those picks could end up being as high as the fourth spot if the Lakers are just not terrible enough and get an unlucky draw in the lottery. With Embiid, Nerlens Noel, Okafor and sooner than later Dario Saric from overseas, they will need to figure out who to draft to compliment these players and help them round out their roster. Then they need to start the hard part – trying to win games and eventually championships.
Those front court players to build around and the upcoming picks are here because of the moves of still employed general manager Sam Hinkie. But how long will Hinkie be around? It doesn’t seem like a reach to assume that Hinkie will now be on a leash and the hand holding that leash will be Colangelo. Personnel decisions, evaluations, trades, organizational philosophies and business models will now be more like directives issued to Hinkie, formerly some of the decisions would have fallen to him. And Jerry isn’t the only Colangelo that Hinkie needs to worry about. Bryan Colangelo, Jerry’s son, is also a two-time NBA Executive of the Year and has a good amount of front office experience in the NBA. A lot of sentiment exists that the hiring of Jerry is the writing on the wall for Sam which will lead to the introduction of Bryan. Got it? Good.
Colangelo certainly has the whole package. He is experienced, successful and respected. He’s going to make a big impact on the trajectory of the Philadelphia franchise and hopefully that impact is going to be a positive one. Colangelo prizes healthy environments, getting into ownership with the Phoenix Suns after their situation got completely out of control in the 1980s and trading away players with off the court issues, including point guard great Jason Kidd.
Maybe you can see the dots connecting. Colangelo wants a stable and professional environment and that produces positive results. If off court issues are a focus for Colangelo, the story to follow right now for the Sixers might be the future of Okafor. Based on a track record, the safe assumption is that Colangelo can’t be a fan of a player getting in 4 A.M. fist fights or speeding down the freeway at 110 MPH while rumors started before he was even drafted that he wanted nothing to do with Philadelphia. The safe assumption is that Hinkie would never move Okafor, but the perfect storm under Colangelo may be brewing.
The move to bring in Colangelo definitely helps the Sixers in the PR department, inspiring the Philly fans to have a reason to not be so cynical and create some sense of hope. Not only does Colangelo inspire legitimate and reasonable confidence, he is free to triumphantly enter while Hinkie is served up as the sacrificial lamb. Whether Silver engineered or not, this move has the Philadelphia franchise being mentioned in a positive and optimistic tone for literally the first time in years.
But there’s more to this story. Reports have started to leak out, including this piece at Bleacher Report, which indicate the Sixers ownership group may be in the early stages of preparing to sell the team. The B/R story details the extensive ownership history of Josh Harris and his partner, and their propensity for the buy low, sell high on businesses. When they bought in, Philadelphia cost them $270 million but the team is now valued upwards of $700 million which is one hell of a profit. Thanks TV money! Not only could the Colangelo move be a PR maneuver for the fans and the players, it could also be part of the PR to garner interest in a franchise that could be one of the first to change hands with the current ownership handing over the reins to a team that will be loaded with talent and ready to start the road to a championship right away.
Of course, a lot of this depends on the amount of success that Colangelo can have and how quickly it can happen. No matter what the front office plans to do now, winning this season still can’t be a part of that. Will they look to move Okafor? Doesn’t seem likely, but if there was ever an NBA boss willing to trade away a player with troubles or a poor relationship with ownership, it is the guy the 76ers just hired. Are they really looking to sell? Probably too early to know for sure, but they could stand to bring in somewhere between 300 and 400 percent of what they initially invested and as finance guys with supposed NFL in Europe ambitions, it would make sense. Whatever happens, it’s finally time to start feeling good about the direction the Sixers are headed.
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