Jerry Colangelo has been in the news a lot lately. The longtime NBA executive was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers in December to become the franchise's chairman of basketball operations, and over the last few months he has reportedly played a big role in general manager Sam Hinkie stepping down.
Colangelo's son, Bryan, is now the president and general manager of the Sixers. Funny how that worked out.
NBA executives around the league are concerned with Colangelo's actions, but not related to his inner dealings with Philly's front office. Rather, his role as the president of basketball operations for USA Basketball has other general managers concerned that there's a conflict of interest, and that he could use this power and influence to help him recruit top of the line free agents.
Apparently, the NBA has been listening to those concerns, and now they're taking action.
RELATED: Former Sixers’ GM Believes He Knows Who Leaked His Resignation Letter
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports' The Vertical, the association is taking a stand by restricted many of Colangelo's Team USA responsibilities. From Wojnarowski:
Among rival executives, there was concern that Colangelo’s powerful pathways and year-round lines of communication to elite American players could be leveraged into a free-agent advantage for the 76ers.
Within weeks of Colangelo’s hiring as 76ers chairman of basketball operations in December, the league office informed the NBA Board of Governors of new limitations on Colangelo’s ability to communicate directly to players outside of USA Basketball activities and how much formal impact he can have in the final voting process for national team and Olympic rosters, league sources said.
Given the situation, this seems pretty fair. It's the association's responsibility to make the free agency and player acquisition process as even and fair across the board as possible, and to squash any possible controversies before they even occur.
Hopefully, Colangelo doesn't try to toe the line that the NBA has drawn; otherwise, some problems could arise.
Follow Us
Subscribe