Bryan Colangelo
From Hoopedia
On February 28, 2006, the Toronto Raptors named Bryan Colangelo president and general manager. He joined the franchise following 15 years in the Phoenix Suns organization, where he served his last seven seasons as president and the final 11 in the general manager’s role. He was named the 2005 Sporting News NBA Executive of the Year after the Suns completed the third-greatest turnaround in NBA history en route to winning the Pacific Division Championship in 2004-05. He won the award again in 2007.
Colangelo put his stamp on the franchise during his first offseason in Toronto as he rebuilt the team, retaining just six players from the 2005-06 15-man unit. He made three trades, acquiring guard T.J. Ford from Milwaukee, forward Kris Humphries from Utah and center Rasho Nesterovic from San Antonio, and signed three free agents in forward Jorge Garbajosa, guard Fred Jones and guard-forward Anthony Parker. Colangelo’s past success in Phoenix and his vision for Toronto’s future also convinced NBA All-Star Chris Bosh to re-sign with the Raptors.
Colangelo’s revamping of the roster began to take shape when the Raptors won the annual NBA Draft Lottery, giving the franchise the top overall pick for the first time in team history. He made NBA history by taking Benetton Treviso forward Andrea Bargnani with the selection, marking the first time a European player had been tabbed with the top pick.
Colangelo is no stranger to redesigning a franchise. He rebuilt the Suns through a series of forward-thinking moves, beginning with the trade of All-Star Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to New York creating the cap space necessary to sign eventual two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and Quentin Richardson, among others. Under his direction the new-look Suns finished the 2004-05 season with a league-best 62-20 after a posting a 29-53 record in 2003-04.
During Colangelo’s tenure as general manager, the Suns appeared in the NBA Playoffs nine of 11 seasons while posting an overall record of 476-366 (.565). Through various trades and free-agent moves, Colangelo brought some of the league’s best and most recognizable players to the Suns including All-NBA/All-Stars Tom Gugliotta, Hardaway, Jason Kidd, Marbury and Antonio McDyess. Colangelo also landed the team top-flight players like Shawn Marion, Amaré Stoudemire, Michael Finley and Nash via the draft.
The former Suns executive was part of a new ownership group that purchased the franchise June 30, 2004. He also previously held the positions of scout, assistant director of player personnel, and vice president/assistant general manager with the club, where he was directly involved in all aspects of player personnel, including evaluation, draft selection and transactions. He has also served as tournament director of the NIKE Desert Classic, an annual college All-Star basketball tournament held in Phoenix, from 1993 through 2001.
In addition to his responsibilities with the Suns, Colangelo served as president of Phoenix Arena Sports (PAS), the owning entity of the Arizona Rattlers (Arena Football League) and the operating entity of the Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) from June 1991 through June 2002. He managed the business administration, team operations and marketing sales of the Rattlers, Mercury and other exhibition events including tennis, hockey, indoor soccer, boxing and volleyball. Highlights of his involvement with PAS include the 1994 and 1997 Rattler World Championships, setting the league attendance mark with the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA’s inaugural season, and his selection as the AFL’s 1993 Executive of the Year. The Rattlers also won the AFL Commissioner’s Award as the top franchise on and off the field for an unprecedented five straight years from 1996 to 2000.
In May 2005, Colangelo was named to the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Program Advisory Panel charged with selecting teams for the 2006 FIBA World Championship (Saitama, Japan), 2007 FIBA Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament (TBA) and the 2008 Olympics (Beijing, China).
Colangelo’s accomplishments and influence in sports and business were recognized nationally when he was named to the “40 Under 40” most influential group by Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal in 2000.
Colangelo was born June 1, 1965. He is a 1987 graduate of Cornell University with a bachelor of science degree in business management and applied economics.
