Does the return to NBA management of Bryan Colangelo mean anything to his former team? Put another way, why should we Raptors fans care about his new job?
We’re not a “breaking news!” site here at the Rapture; we hope our readership visits for analysis and advanced ideas about the Toronto Raptors you can’t find many other places, if at all. So I’m not trying to be Adrian Wojnarowski or Marc Stein (both of whom I have great admiration for) with this post’s headline.
Bryan Colangelo, the Raptors General Manager and President prior to the (re)arrival of Masai Ujiri, has left the ranks of real estate investment for a not-fully-defined role with the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s joining his father Jerry to complete the takeover of Philly’s front office which began when Dear Old Dad was brought in a few months ago to “help” GM Sam Hinkie.
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These kinds of power-sharing arrangements never seem to work out, and no one could have been surprised when Hinkie resigned. I wouldn’t be at all shocked to learn at some point in the future that Bryan refused the Philly gig unless Hinkie was out of the picture. Bryan has already lived through one of these funky, unworkable arrangements at the Air Canada Centre. When Tim Leiweke was brought in as overlord of all MLSE activities, he kicked Bryan downstairs by firing him as GM while leaving him as President, then Leiweke insisted Bryan split basketball management duties with Masai Ujiri. That shotgun wedding couldn’t last long, and didn’t: Bryan resigned.
Let’s turn to the positives, which are considerable. Both our All-Stars arrived by Bryan’s hand; DeMar DeRozan in the 2009 draft, and Kyle Lowry via a trade with the Houston Rockets. On June 21, 2011, Bryan hired Dwane Casey as head coach. Two days later, he selected Jonas Valanciunas with the #5 pick in the draft.
One of the many reasons I admire Masai is for what he didn’t do, namely arrive in the big chair and mindlessly blow up his predecessor’s team. He knew Bryan had made some sound choices and was willing to wait for them to bear fruit. They did.
We need to remember the wreckage Bryan was brought in to bring order to. The Raptors were destroyed under Rob Babcock, infamous as the man who traded Vince Carter and got a box of rocks in return. One of Bryan’s first moves was to dump draft-lottery bust Rafael Arujao, and getting even pennies on the dollar (Kris Humphries) was a feat. He traded for, and resigned, Amir Johnson, whom everyone else thought was a rotation player at best.
This post isn’t some silly nostalgia; there’s a point. Bryan and Masai, despite their tribulations, remain friends. (Bear in mind: Bryan brought Masai to Toronto the first time.) In the NBA, when it’s time to deal, General Managers complete transactions with people they trust. Watch for a deal sometime soon (prior to, or on the night of, the draft?) between Toronto and Philadelphia. When and if it happens, I’ll wager the transaction will prove to be one which helps both teams.