Bryan Colangelo Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Thybulle, Morey, Siakam, VanVleet, Mazzulla

October 19th, 2022 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

Sixers swingman Matisse Thybulle wasn’t actively involved in extension negotiations with the team leading up to the season, letting his representatives handle those discussions, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Thybulle, who didn’t sign a new deal by Monday’s deadline and is now on track to reach restricted free agency in 2023, is OK with playing out his contract year.

“It’s not my negotiations,” he told Pompey. “So I trust my agents. If it wasn’t the right time, then I trust that it will be when we get to the next offseason.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

In a fascinating profile for The Ringer, Kevin O’Connor takes a deep dive into Daryl Morey, sharing several behind-the-scenes anecdotes about the Sixers‘ president of basketball operations and examining his ongoing quest for a championship. Within the story, star center Joel Embiid takes a veiled shot at former 76ers executive Bryan Colangelo, telling O’Connor, “Since I’ve been here, all of the GMs were really smart, except one.”
The Raptors didn’t work out extensions this offseason with either Pascal Siakam or Fred VanVleet, prompting Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca to wonder if the team will end up regretting that, given the NBA’s rapidly rising salary cap. While Siakam can’t sign a new deal until next July now that Monday’s deadline has passed, VanVleet remains eligible for an in-season extension (if he declines his 2023/24 player option), but that seems like a long shot.
Joe Mazzulla, thrust into the Celtics‘ head coaching job less than a month ago after Ime Udoka was suspended for the season, looked ready for the big stage in Boston’s opening night victory over Philadelphia, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “From the start of the game, his confidence, you could see, is oozing out,” guard Marcus Smart said. “Usually, most coaches are trying to figure things out, and he comes right in like he’s doing it for years.” Jaylen Brown agreed with Smart’s assessment: “Joe is tough as nails. Even when in the midst of everything, all the turmoil, when you looked into his eyes, you could tell he was ready.”

Bryan Colangelo Part Of New Illawarra Hawks Ownership Group

June 17th, 2020 at 10:40am CST by Luke Adams

The National Basketball League in Australia has announced that a new ownership group is assuming control of the Illawarra Hawks, one of the league’s nine teams. The group includes former Raptors and Sixers executive Bryan Colangelo, who will take on an advisory role with the Australian club, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

As Wojnarowski explains, Colangelo won’t have a role in making basketball decisions as a president or general manager in Illawarra. However, he’ll assist the franchise “in governance and strategy.”

Although Colangelo recently interviewed for the Bulls’ head of basketball operations position, his involvement in the purchase of the NBL’s Hawks represents his first foray back into the sport since his unceremonious exit from the 76ers in 2018.

Colangelo’s time in Philadelphia came to an end when he resigned after just two years following allegations that he was using burner Twitter accounts to disparage 76ers players and to disclose private information about them. Subsequent reporting suggested that Colangelo’s wife was responsible for creating some or all of those accounts and publishing that sensitive info.

A previous report had indicated that LaMelo Ball would be part of a group purchasing the Hawks, but that deal didn’t materialize, despite some serious negotiations. Ball, a projected top-10 pick in the 2020 draft, played for Illawarra this past season, and the team’s press release mentioned him multiple times.

“The decision in choosing the right owners was not an easy one and I want to acknowledge and thank all those who were part of the thorough process undertaken,” NBL owner and chairman Larry Kestelman said in a statement. “I would like, in particular, to thank LaMelo Ball and his organization for the support and interest shown in wanting to achieve the best outcome for the team that has helped him have a chance at being the number one NBA Draft pick.

“We hope we can explore future opportunities with LaMelo and wish him all the best for the NBA Draft in October and his ambition to be the best ever player in the game.”

Bulls Interview Bryan Colangelo For Top Front Office Role

April 8th, 2020 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

As the Bulls continue to conduct interviews for their top basketball operations job, Bryan Colangelo is the latest veteran executive to emerge as a candidate. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Colangelo has interviewed with Chicago for the open position.

As we detailed earlier this afternoon, the list of candidates to interview for the Bulls’ job now includes Nuggets GM Arturas Karnisovas, Jazz GM Justin Zanik, former Hawks GM Wes Wilcox, and former Cavs, Hawks, and Pelicans GM Danny Ferry, in addition to Colangelo.

Colangelo previous served as the head of basketball operations in Phoenix, Toronto, and Philadelphia, winning Executive of the Year awards in 2005 with the Suns and in 2007 with the Raptors.

His time with the Sixers memorably came to an end in 2018, when he resigned after just two years following allegations that he was using burner Twitter accounts to disparage 76ers players and to disclose private information about them. Subsequent reporting found that Colangelo’s wife was responsible for creating some or all of those accounts and publishing that sensitive info.

The Bulls have already interviewed five candidates and may not be done, but Karnisovas still looks like the odds-on favorite. The Nuggets GM “made a strong impression” on the Bulls during their search, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who tweets that conversations are ongoing.

Sixers Have Interest In Robert Covington, Other Players

January 9th, 2020 at 10:27am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Sixers are parsing the trade market for reinforcements who can shoot the ball. According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, Philadelphia has expressed interest in several role players, including Malik Beasley, Glenn Robinson III, Davis Bertans, E’Twaun Moore, and Andre Iguodala. O’Connor adds that the team has also inquired on Robert Covington, whom the team dealt away in the Jimmy Butler deal last season.

Most of those names, including Covington, are truly available. The price for Minnesota’s wing is expected to be high and with Philadelphia void of shiny assets, GM Elton Brand will have to get creative if he is going to bring back Sam Hinkie’s former gem.

Zhaire Smith is the young prospect the team is most willing to part with. Rivals teams have more interest in Matisse Thybulle, though Philadelphia is reluctant to deal the No. 20 overall pick. The franchise owns all of its own draft picks starting in the 2021 draft, so the Sixers could attempt to sweeten any deal with a future asset.

Other names on that list could be more obtainable than RoCo. It’ll be tough to pry Bertans from Washington, as the team can envision him as a long-term piece, but Iguodala, Moore, and Robinson are in obvious selling situations. Denver won’t be a seller at the trade deadline, but with a deep rotation and Beasley’s impending restricted free agency, the franchise is smartly assessing the market for the shooting guard.

Here’s more on Philadelphia.

O’Connor contends that the Sixers should consider making a bigger move for Chris Paul, swapping either Tobias Harris or Al Horford and additional salary for the 34-year-old point guard. However, the scribe hears that Harris and Horford, each of whom signed long-term deals this offseason, aren’t any more tradeable than CP3.
Trading Simmons doesn’t appear likely, in part because it would mean “putting all your superstar eggs in the Embiid basket,” and the big man has had a shaky injury history. O’ Connor wonders if Simmons would be the one the team decides to build around if forced to choose between the two.
Big changes will likely come with an early exit in the playoffs, though many around the game believe it would be Brett Brown who takes the fall in that scenario. There were rumblings that former team president Bryan Colangelo was planning to fire Brown and replace him with Villanova coach Jay Wright, but that was before Twittergate. Still, O’Connor hears from multiple sources that Brown didn’t have the best relationship with the locker room last season.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Dinwiddie, Brown, Tatum

September 30th, 2019 at 8:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers center Joel Embiid dropped 20 pounds this summer in order to take the pressure off his balky knee, Brian Windhorst of ESPN reports.

“Obviously my knee was bothering me the whole second half of the season and the playoffs,” the Sixers’ star said. “But all I was thinking was what can I do make sure I don’t let my teammates down again or my team. Or the whole city basically. That was to take better of my body.”

Embiid missed 12 games after last season’s All-Star break, mainly due to knee tendinitis. The Sixers will have a load management plan for him, but he expects to play more than the 64 games, Keith Pompey of the Philly Inquirer tweets.

Embiid added that he has more trust in Sixers GM Elton Brand than predecessor Bryan Colangelo, Derek Bodner of The Athletic tweets. “With the past GM it wasn’t all that,” Embiid said.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie will meet with league officials this week to discuss his plan to turn his contract into an investment tool, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. The NBA nixed the idea last week but Dinwiddle hopes he can convince the league to reverse its ruling. Dinwiddie wanted to enable investors to essentially buy shares of his three-year, $34.4MM contract.
Celtics swingman Jaylen Brown is eligible for a rookie scale extension until opening night but he’s not fretting over negotiations, Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston writes. “To be honest, I’m not putting too much thought into it,” Brown said. “I’m not losing any sleep over it. I think stuff like that ends up working itself out in the end, or however so. I’m just focused on this season and playing basketball. I think that’s my No. 1 emphasis. Let the chips fall where they may.” He’ll be a restricted free agent next summer if he doesn’t sign an extension.
Celtics swingman Jayson Tatum, who played for Team USA in the FIBA World Cup, is hopeful of being on the Olympic roster next summer, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets. “I ain’t got nothing else to do,” Tatum said.

Sixers Notes: Colangelo, Workouts, McConnell, Holmes

June 13th, 2018 at 10:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers insist the loss of Bryan Colangelo hasn’t affected their draft preparations, relays Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Colangelo resigned last week as president of basketball operations after a Twitter-related scandal involving sensitive information released through burner accounts.

The front office has tried to stick to business as usual in his absence, conducting pre-draft workouts over the past three days. Coach Brett Brown has taken over Colangelo’s responsibilities on an interim basis, and draft decisions will be made as a group effort.

“I don’t think it’s going to change much, to be honest with you,” said VP of player personnel Marc Eversley. “All of our scouts have been on staff here for the past two years. I’ve been here for the last two years. You know, we’re in a position where we feel we are going to be able … to select somebody who’s going to be able to come in and help us contribute.”

There’s more tonight from Philadelphia:

After two days of bringing in high-profile prospects, today’s workout focused on potential second-round picks, summer leaguers and G League acquisitions, Pompey writes in a separate story. West Virginia’s Jevon Carter and Miami’s Bruce Brown highlighted the session, with Brown saying he is motivated by a stress fracture in his left foot that required surgery in February and limited his effectiveness at the combine. “I just have a chip on my shoulder that I know I can get back to where I was,” said Brown, who was viewed as a possible lottery pick before the season began. “I know teams are going to believe in me, and believe that I can do that. So it just adds a chip on the shoulder, and I’m ready to go after guys that go before me.”
Today’s move to exercise team options on Richaun Holmes and T.J. McConnell could lead to free agency decisions next summer, Pompey notes in another piece. Both will have non-guaranteed $1.6MM salaries next season then will become unrestricted free agents if they aren’t signed to extensions. “Like I said, I want to be here,” McConnell said. “So I’m excited they picked it up. But that’s not going to change how I approach every day.”
The Sixers are in contention for the top players on the free agent market, but Brown promises they won’t spend recklessly if they don’t get their main targets, tweets Jessica Camerato of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Sixers Notes: Colangelo, Fultz, Brown, Bayless

June 9th, 2018 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bryan Colangelo probably had no way to save his job as president of basketball operations, even if he had blamed the Twitter incident on his wife from the start, suggests Marcus Hayes of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Colangelo resigned Thursday after the completion of an investigation into burner accounts on Twitter that released sensitive information and made critical comments of Sixers players and opponents.

The law firm that investigated the matter concluded that Colangelo acted in a “reckless” and “careless” manner, even though the accounts belonged to his wife, Barbara Bottini. Investigators said they couldn’t prove Colangelo knew about the accounts, but there also isn’t strong evidence that he wasn’t aware of them.

Regardless, Hayes concludes that Colangelo had already lost trust among management and the players and that a change was necessary for the Sixers to move past the incident.

There’s more today out of Philadelphia:

Colangelo didn’t turn in a remarkable performance during his time with the Sixers, writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. O’Connor states his best moves were the decision to retain coach Brett Brown and to add J.J. Redick in free agency last summer. However, Colangelo got little value when he shipped off Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor, and he didn’t have any other significant signings or notable draft picks outside the lottery.
Colangelo ignored other voices in the organization who wanted to consider Jayson Tatum or Lonzo Ball after Markelle Fultz turned in a disappointing performance at last year’s pre-draft workout, O’Connor adds. Colangelo reportedly insisted on drafting Fultz after completing a deal with the Celtics that cost Philadelphia the rights to a future first-rounder from the Kings.
Brown won’t have much time to relax this summer with his new roles as GM and president of basketball operations in addition to his coaching responsibilities, notes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Brown will hold the front office positions until replacements can be found, but that might not happen until after the draft and the start of free agency. “My role in all of this is simply to provide a level of leadership with people I trust and respect and do the best I can while I’m here moving us forward,” Brown said.
One of Brown’s first major decisions will involve guard Jerryd Bayless, Pompey notes in the same piece. As they try to maximize cap space for a run at LeBron James or other elite free agents, the Sixers could be tempted to waive Bayless and stretch his $8.6 million salary over three seasons.

Charania’s Latest: Clippers, Doncic, Kawhi, RFAs, More

June 7th, 2018 at 5:33pm CST by Luke Adams

While no trades are likely to be completed until closer to – or during – draft night, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports believes there could be a lot of movement in this year’s draft, with several teams looking to trade up or down. Appearing today on Chris Mannix’s podcast, Charania pointed specifically to the Clippers as a team that has weighed the possibility of moving up. With the Nos. 12 and 13 picks currently in hand, L.A. could put together an intriguing package, and they’ve looked “heavily” at Real Madrid star Luka Doncic, according to Charania.

Here are more highlights from Charania’s appearance on the Yahoo Sports NBA podcast:

Addressing the Kawhi Leonard situation in San Antonio, Charania indicated that an extension or a trade are the probable outcomes for the star forward this summer — it’s unlikely that the Spurs would keep him for next season without a new deal in place. However, both sides are interested in mending fences and clearing up last season’s miscommunications. Leonard is also nearing 100% health and should be ready to go to start next season, Charania adds.
In a look at the restricted free agent market, Charania identified Magic forward Aaron Gordon and Bulls guard Zach LaVine as two players who could command max or near-max deals and are unlikely to change teams. He also speculated that the Suns, Kings, and Pacers are among the clubs with cap room who could be fits for Celtics RFA Marcus Smart, and said that there seems to be mutual interest between the Mavericks and Julius Randle.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet and Bulls swingman David Nwaba are two under-the-radar restricted free agents in line for sizable raises, in Charania’s view. He expects both players to land deals worth more than $5MM, noting that Toronto may have to use its full Early Bird exception (approximately $8.5MM) to retain VanVleet.
While outside observers around the NBA remain skeptical about the Thunder‘s chances of re-signing Paul George, Oklahoma City is still exuding confidence, according to both Charania and Mannix. Charania observes that George and Russell Westbrook have become “really close,” which could factor into the forward’s decision.
Many people around the league don’t expect former Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo to get another NBA job anytime soon, if at all, per Charania.

Sixers Notes: Colangelo Fallout, Brown, GM Search

June 7th, 2018 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been an eventful day in Philadelphia, where the Sixers announced that president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo has resigned from his position following an investigation into several burner Twitter accounts connected to him. Independent investigators hired by the franchise concluded that Colangelo’s wife Barbara was behind the tweets, but suggested that Colangelo himself was “careless” and “in some instances reckless” with sensitive information, a charge he strongly disputed in his own statement.

Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com provides another fascinating detail on the saga, writing that multiple people who spoke on the condition of anonymity indicated that special advisor Jerry Colangelo attempted to intervene on his son’s behalf, delaying the team’s decision. According to Neubeck’s sources, the elder Colangelo may have threatened to interfere with Sixers relationships around the NBA.

As the 76ers look to recover from an unexpected and unusual setback, let’s round up a few more notes out of Philadelphia…

While head coach Brett Brown will run the basketball operations department on an interim basis, he said today he has no interest in taking on that role permanently, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge.
According to Sixers principal owner Josh Harris, the club would like to have a new general manager in place before the start of free agency on July 1. However, Harris acknowledged that a full-fledged search may take a little longer than that (Twitter link via Aldridge).
In the view of Jake Fischer of SI.com, the Sixers should exercise patience when it comes to picking a new GM, focusing on finding the perfect fit for the job rather than rushing to bring someone new on board within the next few weeks.
With a big summer looming for the Sixers, ESPN’s Kevin Pelton takes a closer look at the next steps for the franchise, both in terms of possible player acquisitions and front office changes.
Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype offers up some names to watch as the Sixers’ search for a GM gets underway.

Bryan Colangelo Issues Statement Following Resignation

June 7th, 2018 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

Less than an hour after the Sixers sent out a press release announcing that president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo has resigned from his position with the franchise, Colangelo has responded, issuing an announcement of his own.

In detailing the findings of their investigation, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP indicated that Colangelo’s wife Barbara was behind the rogue Twitter accounts, adding that there was no evidence Colangelo himself knew about them.

However, the law firm suggested that the Sixers’ president of basketball operations “was careless and in some instances reckless in failing to properly safeguard sensitive, non-public, club-related information in communications with individuals outside the 76ers organization.”

Colangelo disputed that notion in strong terms in his own statement:

“While I am grateful that the independent investigation conducted by the 76ers has confirmed that I had no knowledge of or involvement in the Twitter activity conducted by my wife, I vigorously dispute the allegation that my conduct was in any way reckless. At no point did I ever purposefully or directly share any sensitive, non-public, club-related information with her.

“Her actions were a seriously misguided effort to publicly defend and support me, and while I recognize how inappropriate these actions were, she acted independently and without my knowledge or consent. Further, the content she shared was filled with inaccuracies and conjecture which in no way represent my own views or opinions. While this was obviously a mistake, we are a family and we will work through this together.

“Although I am not directly responsible for the actions, I regret this incident occurred and understand that it has become a distraction for the team. Therefore, the organization and I have mutually agreed to part ways.”

For more details on Colangelo’s departure from the Sixers, be sure to check out our full story.