Bryan Colangelo is back in basketball, and the new stop is well beyond the NBA.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the former Philadelphia 76ers executive is taking on an advisor role with BC Roma, the team co-founded by Donnie Nelson and Luka Doncic.
For Sixers fans, Colangelo’s name still carries plenty of baggage. His run in Philadelphia was widely unpopular from the start, especially after Sam Hinkie, the face of the “Trust The Process” era, resigned under pressure from the league and Colangelo was brought in to replace him. That move never sat right with a lot of fans, and things only got worse from there.
Colangelo does have a long resume in the league. He spent eight seasons in the Toronto Raptors’ front office and 13 seasons with the Phoenix Suns before that. During his time in Phoenix, the Suns won 58.3% of their games, and Colangelo collected two Executive of the Year awards along the way.
But his time in Philadelphia is the part people remember.
The Sixers were coming out of a tanking stretch when he took over, so the early on-court results were never going to tell the whole story. In his first full season running the front office, Philadelphia went 28-54.
He also took credit for selecting Ben Simmons with the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. By his second full season, the Sixers were moving into the playoff conversation for the first time in the Joel Embiid era.
Then came the off-court mess. Colangelo was accused of operating burner accounts that defended him and criticized his own players anonymously. One of the most striking parts of that saga was his criticism of Joel Embiid, who has become one of the best players the franchise has ever had.
Colangelo denied any wrongdoing, but he eventually resigned. That exit led to another front-office shakeup just before the 2018 NBA Draft, with Brett Brown put in charge of the front office before Elton Brand was officially named general manager.
It was a chaotic stretch in Philadelphia, and now Colangelo has another basketball job on his hands. He won’t be in a top leadership role at BC Roma, but Sixers fans still have plenty of reasons to raise an eyebrow at the news.
In Other News...
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The joint venture between Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment and Comcast Spectacor is also a reminder that this is about more than a new address. The project is meant to improve scheduling and give the Sixers a stronger home-court edge, but it also raises the stakes around what Philadelphias basketball future will look like once the current arena timeline gives way to the new one. [Read more 🡒]
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76ers Still Have One Big Question Behind Joel Embiid
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One name worth watching is veteran center Kevon Looney, who has become a possible low-cost trade target. A three-time NBA champion, Looney is currently buried as a third-string center with the Lakers and could be available because of his limited role, giving the 76ers a potential answer if they decide they need more reliability in the middle during the season. [Read more 🡒]