Dec 7, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie (L) listens as owner Joshua Harris (M) introduces Jerry Colangelo (R) as special advisor before a game against the San Antonio Spurs at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Faces of the Front Office
In a surprise press conference the Philadelphia 76ers announced that Jerry Colangelo will be joining the Sixers’ front office as Chairman of Basketball Operations. Success has followed Colangelo, most prominently with rebuilding the brand of Team USA and their international dominance, but he has also dabbled with coaching, owning several franchises, and building teams from scratch. His main role will be as a consultant, while also acting as a mentor to Sam Hinkie.
There are huge positives in bringing such a brilliant basketball mind into the organization to help with The Process, with the biggest among them as being the point person for any communication about the team. His main point when talking about his role were to be the person who the media speaks with, to articulate the best way he can the status of the team on any issues put in front of him. It sounds like he wants fans and other executives to know the reasoning behind decisions that the Sixers take and how much he supports them. This is important for the team, since Brett Brown has usually been the only person of note to chat extensively and constantly with the media on the team.
Hinkie likes to be behind closed doors and will only come out on big events, such as during the lottery or end-of-season press conferences. Having Colangelo speak about the team eases the workload on Coach Brown, especially because Colangelo is very knowledgeable and can articulate points well. He commands respect behind the mic. The other party Colangelo communicates with are agents. Sam Hinkie loves lopsided team-favorable deals, hurting his relationship with agents, who could shepard their clients away from Philadelphia. Colangelo’s network can ease tensions against the organization for agents and players to come to the Sixers.
Colangelo said all of the right things during his press conference and his meetings with the media since he came on board. He said he is eager to learn, he does understand and support the process, and that Sam Hinkie will have the final say in all personnel decisions. But what if he changes his mind?
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Soon after Colangelo joined the Sixers, it was reported that NBA owners lobbied to get him there. If this report is true and Colangelo’s hiring was not an organic one by the team, this could pose problems for supporters of the process, namely Sam Hinkie. Many NBA owners have repeatedly trashed on the Sixers for tanking so blatantly, saying it hurts the image of the league and is affected league-wide revenue, so if the hire came from them, Colangelo must have some obligation to change the process to appease the owners. This is also indicated by team owner Josh Harris, who wanted to speed up The Process with Colangelo’s help.
Hinkie’s greatest ally was the time to properly implement his dream. If he did not hit with a superstar in the draft, he was willing to wait another year with a poor record to draft again (and again, and again). Putting Colangelo in the mix complicates matters because he puts a schedule on things instead of the open-endedness that Hinkie had. Since Colangelo also reports directly to Josh Harris, Hinkie’s power is reduced; even though it has been said that Hinkie has the final word on decisions, the person with the real power is Harris, where Colangelo can exert his influence.
Something so exciting quickly turns complicated when taking a deeper dive into the details. This season and the coming offseason are when we will see key moves being made and who really controls the team. I doubt Colangelo will make moves until after that time, seeing as he knows the value of the assets that we have and will want to maximize the return on them (by draft, trades, etc.). In an ideal world Sam and Jerry will work closely to build a team contending for the next decade but many things have to go the Sixers’ way to do so.