Bryan Paul Colangelo (born June 1, 1965)
is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
basketball executive who was the former
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
of the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
,
Toronto Raptors and
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
(NBA).
He also served as president of basketball operations for Philadelphia and Toronto.
He is the son of
Phoenix sports mogul
Jerry Colangelo
Jerry Colangelo (born November 20, 1939) is an American businessman and sports executive. He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the Arizona ...
.
He graduated from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
with a Bachelor of Science degree in business management and applied economics.
He was the
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
recipient of the
NBA Executive of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking executive. Befor ...
.
Early life
Colangelo grew up in
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
, where his father served as general manager (and eventually owner) of the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
. After graduating from
Central High School, Colangelo attended
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...
, where he played as a guard for the
Cornell Big Red men's basketball team. After graduating from Cornell, he moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he worked in
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
.
Front office career
Phoenix Suns
Colangelo was hired by the Suns front office in 1991. In 1995, Colangelo succeeded his father as general manager of the Suns.
During his tenure as Phoenix's general manager, Colangelo made a number of transactions that have received wide praise across the NBA, including the drafting of would-be superstars
Shawn Marion
Shawn Dwayne Marion (born May 7, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who played 16 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Marion finished his career as a four-time NBA All-Star, a two-time member of the All- ...
and
Amar'e Stoudemire. Colangelo traded
Jason Kidd to the
New Jersey Nets for
Stephon Marbury, and then traded Marbury and oft-injured
Penny Hardaway
Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...
to the
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...
for several contracts.
The additional salary cap space created by this trade allowed Colangelo to sign
Steve Nash
Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...
back from the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
in the summer of 2004.
Nash would go on to be the
2004–05 and
2005–06 NBA Most Valuable Player
The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. Starting with the 2022–23 ...
, and the Suns would go 62–20 and claim the top playoff seed in the
Western Conference in the 2004–05 season.
As a result, Colangelo was awarded the 2005
NBA Executive of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Executive of the Year Award is an annual award given since the 1972–73 NBA season, to the league's best general manager, president of basketball/business operations, or another high-ranking executive. Befor ...
.
In the summer of 2005, Colangelo traded
shooting guard
The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...
Joe Johnson to the
Atlanta Hawks for two future first-round picks and
Boris Diaw, who then won the 2006
NBA Most Improved Player Award. Colangelo also dealt
Quentin Richardson
Quentin Lamar Richardson (born April 13, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player who was formerly the director of player development for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Q-Rich", he p ...
to the Knicks. After the loss of these two players and the loss of Stoudemire for virtually the entire season (only playing in 3 regular season games), the Suns once again led the
Pacific Division.
In addition to his work with the Suns, he served as president of Phoenix Arena Sports (PAS), the owning entity of the
Arizona Rattlers
The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...
team of the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
and the operating entity of the
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...
team of
WNBA from June 1991 through June 2002. The Rattlers won the championship in 1994 and 1997 and the Mercury played in the WNBA finals in 1998. He won the AFL Executive of the Year award in 1993 for his work with the Rattlers.
Toronto Raptors
In
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, the Suns were sold to a group of investors led by
Robert Sarver
Robert Gary Sarver (born October 31, 1961) is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, and the former owner of the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, and RCD Mallorca.
Early life and educati ...
, although Colangelo stayed on as president and
general manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
. Shortly after the
Raptors fired
Rob Babcock
Robert "Rob" Babcock (1953 – May 15, 2019) was an American basketball executive. He served as a Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA, and also as general manager of the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to ...
in January 2006, rumors began swirling that the team was pursuing Colangelo despite the Raptors' claims that they were initiating an "exhaustive" search for a new general manager.
On February 27, 2006, Colangelo resigned from his position with the Suns, and on February 28, 2006, the Raptors announced him as their new president and general manager.
On May 23, 2006, Colangelo and the Raptors were awarded the first overall pick in the
2006 NBA Draft.
On June 8, 2006, Colangelo pulled his first trade since he joined the Raptors by swapping first-rounder
Rafael Araújo for
Robert Whaley
Robert Antawon Whaley (born April 16, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player.
High school and college career
Whaley graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 2001. He was a leading contender for Mr. Basketball of Michigan, ...
and
Kris Humphries
Kristopher Nathan Humphries (born February 6, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, New Je ...
with the
Utah Jazz. He completed his second trade by sending forward
Eric Williams, fan favorite
Matt Bonner
Matthew Robert Bonner (born April 5, 1980), also known as the Red Rocket or Red Mamba, is an American former professional basketball player. Bonner played college basketball for the University of Florida before being selected by the Chicago Bu ...
and a
2009 second-round pick to the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
for center
Radoslav Nesterovič
Radoslav () is a common Slavic masculine given name, derived from ''rad-'' ("happy, eager, to care") and ''slava'' ("glory, fame"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "eager glory". It is known since the Middle Ages. Th ...
on June 21, 2006. The Raptors also announced that they had waived Whaley.
Colangelo traded
Charlie Villanueva
Charlie Alexander Villanueva Mejia (born August 24, 1984) is a Dominican-American former professional basketball player who played for the Toronto Raptors, Milwaukee Bucks, Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Associat ...
, who was runner-up for the
NBA Rookie of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given to the top rookie(s) of the regular season. Initiated following the 1952–53 NBA season, it confers the Eddie Gottl ...
, for
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...
point guard
T. J. Ford
Terrance Jerod Ford Sr. (born March 24, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Having been awarded numerous top basketball accolades in high school and college, Ford entered the 2003 NBA draft and was selected eighth overall ...
.
Colangelo picked the 20-year-old Italian
Andrea Bargnani with the first overall selection in the 2006 NBA Draft
which was held in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on June 28, 2006. This also made Bargnani the first European selected first overall in the history of the
NBA Draft. He also signed several free agents from European teams, including
Jorge Garbajosa
Jorge Garbajosa Chaparro (born December 19, 1977), also known as The Pornoplayer, is a Spanish former professional basketball player and the current president of the Spanish Basketball Federation. Standing at 2.07 m (6 ft 9 in), he p ...
and
Anthony Parker
Anthony Michael Parker (born June 19, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as in Italy and Israel. He is one of the most beloved and successful players in Ma ...
. However, the drafting of Bargnani would cause some serious criticism later on after performing lesser to expectations as a #1 selection.
On July 16, 2006, Colangelo signed Bosh to a contract extension which was in effect starting from the 2007–08 season. The contract was for three years plus a player option for the fourth year, and had the potential to pay Bosh up to US$65 million over the four-year span.
2007: Executive of the Year
In 2007 the Raptors clinched the Atlantic Division, with a 47–35 record, for the first time in franchise history. Many have credited their significant turnaround from a 27–55 in the 2005–06 season to the changes made by Colangelo, in which he brought in nine new players to the Toronto Raptors' roster.
Colangelo was awarded the 2007 Executive of the Year Award in the weeks following the Raptors' series loss to the Nets in the first round of the playoffs.
During the offseason, Colangelo gave the 2009 and 2011 second-round draft picks to the
Detroit Pistons in exchange for
Carlos Delfino
Carlos Francisco Delfino (born August 29, 1982) is an Argentine-Italian professional basketball player for Victoria Libertas Pesaro of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He holds dual citizenship in both Italy and Argentina. Standing at , he ...
. He also signed
Jason Kapono to a multi-year contract with the Raptors.
2008–2013
On July 6, 2008, Colangelo traded point guard
T.J. Ford
Terrance Jerod Ford Sr. (born March 24, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Having been awarded numerous top basketball accolades in high school and college, Ford entered the 2003 NBA draft and was selected eighth overall ...
to the
Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...
for
Jermaine O'Neal. In the trade the Raptors also acquired the draft rights to forward-center Nathan Jawai, the 41st overall selection in the
2008 NBA Draft, and sent center
Rasho Nesterovic, forward
Maceo Baston and the draft rights to the 17th overall selection, center
Roy Hibbert
Roy Denzil Hibbert (born December 11, 1986) is a Jamaican-American former professional basketball player. He is a two-time NBA All-Star, and earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2014. Hibbert was the runner-up for the NBA Defensive Play ...
, to Indiana. During the 2008–2009 season, the trade was regarded as being a failure for Toronto.
Colangelo fired coach
Sam Mitchell 17 games into the season,
promoting assistant
Jay Triano to head coach.
Triano was the first Canadian-born head coach in NBA history.
In the 2009 draft he picked
DeMar DeRozan
DeMar Darnell DeRozan (born August 7, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the USC Trojans and was selected ninth overall by the T ...
with the ninth pick.
Two years later, in the 2011 draft he picked
Jonas Valančiūnas
Jonas Valančiūnas ( ; ; born 6 May 1992) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 ...
with the fifth pick, although he would not play for the Raptors until 2013.
In July 2012, Colangelo traded Gary Forbes and a first round pick for Kyle Lowry. In October 2012 he re-signed DeMar DeRozan to a 4-year deal worth $38 million.
On May 21, 2013, MLSE announced that the Raptors were looking for a new general manager, but Colangelo would remain team president. On June 26, 2013, Colangelo stepped down as president of the Raptors. Although Colangelo had received substantial criticism in the latter part of his tenure as Raptors' general manager, he was credited with building the foundations for the Raptors' success under his replacement, Masai Ujiri.
After his tenure with the Toronto Raptors ended, Colangelo did freelance scouting and consulting for other NBA executives and agents.
In January 2016, Colangelo emerged as a top candidate to succeed
Billy King as general manager of the
Brooklyn Nets
The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The t ...
, though the team ultimately hired the
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference Southwest Division ( ...
' assistant general manager
Sean Marks
Sean Andrew Marks (born 23 August 1975) is a New Zealand-American basketball executive and former player and coach who is the general manager and alternate owner of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was the firs ...
instead despite not being considered a main competitor for the position at the time.
Philadelphia 76ers
In April 2016, the
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
hired Colangelo as president of basketball operations.
Colangelo's father,
Jerry Colangelo
Jerry Colangelo (born November 20, 1939) is an American businessman and sports executive. He formerly owned the Phoenix Suns of the NBA, the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, the Arizona Sandsharks of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, the Arizona ...
, had been hired as chairman of basketball operations earlier in the season, but he soon stepped down from the chairman role after the younger Colangelo was hired as president. The older Colangelo still maintained a role as a special adviser for the team during this period.
Sam Hinkie
Samuel William Wallace Hinkie (born December 1977) is an American businessman and former basketball executive who served as the general manager for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 2013 to 2016.
Hinkie ...
, the previous general manager of the team, also stepped down from his position days before Bryan Colangelo was hired.
Colangelo drafted
Ben Simmons
Benjamin David Simmons (born 20 July 1996) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, after which he was ...
, a former
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
point forward, as the first overall pick of the
2016 NBA draft; the team also selected
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot
Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (; born 9 May 1995) is a French professional basketball player for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was selected with the 24th overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the ...
and
Furkan Korkmaz
Furkan Korkmaz (born 24 July 1997) is a Turkish professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was born and raised in Istanbul, and was selected 26th in the 2016 NBA draft. Korkmaz is ...
with first-round picks. Due to a fractured foot, Simmons missed the entirety of the 2016–17 season. Colangelo also signed
Jerryd Bayless
Jerryd Andrew Bayless (born August 20, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. He played a year of college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats after playing high school basketball at St. Mary's High School in Phoenix. He was ...
,
Gerald Henderson
Jerome McKinley "Gerald" Henderson Sr. (born January 16, 1956) is an American retired basketball player. He was a combo guard who had a 13-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1979 until 1992. He played for the Boston C ...
, and
Sergio Rodriguez during the 2016 off-season.
At the 2017 trade deadline, Colangelo traded center
Nerlens Noel
Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his anterior cruciate ...
to the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
for
Andrew Bogut,
Justin Anderson, and two second round picks.
In June 2017, Colangelo traded the third pick in the
2017 NBA draft
The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
...
and a future first-round pick to the
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
for the first overall pick of the draft, using that pick to select
Markelle Fultz
Markelle N'Gai Fultz (born May 29, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies before being selected by the Phila ...
.
During this second and final season, Colangelo helped the 76ers enter the playoffs with over 50 victories, as well as enter the second round of the playoffs that year.
On May 29, 2018,
The Ringer published an investigation alleging Colangelo used up to five secret Twitter accounts to disparage his predecessor, Hinkie, as well as several 76ers players including
Joel Embiid and
Jahlil Okafor. The next day, the 76ers announced that they were commencing an investigation into the matter. Colangelo denied the report in a statement. On June 7, 2018, Colangelo resigned as a result of the Twitter scandal. The situation related to his wife, Barbara Bottini, creating three of the five fake Twitter accounts involved that leaked potentially sensitive information about the Philadelphia 76ers organization, among other details. Colangelo also had an account, but he never released sensitive information from it. The 76ers' head coach
Brett Brown
Brett William Brown (born February 16, 1961) is an American professional basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Brown is a former college basketball player who previously ...
was named interim general manager at the time, holding onto the position from June 7 to September 20. On that day, former 76ers player
Elton Brand
Elton Tyron Brand (born March 11, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player and the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After playing college basketball for Duke, he was selecte ...
was named the official general manager of the team.
Personal life
Before working for the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
, Colangelo worked for an upmarket commercial real estate firm on Wall Street for four years.
Colangelo is married to Italian-born Barbara Bottini, and they have two children.
In 2015, Colangelo was in the final stages of earning his
permanent residency in Canada.
References
External links
Raptors bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colangelo, Bryan
1965 births
Living people
American emigrants to Canada
American expatriate basketball people in Canada
American men's basketball players
Basketball players from Chicago
Cornell Big Red men's basketball players
Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni
Guards (basketball)
National Basketball Association controversies
National Basketball Association general managers
Philadelphia 76ers executives
Phoenix Suns executives
Sportspeople from Chicago
Basketball players from Toronto
Toronto Raptors executives
Sports owners