Bryan Colangelo - Updated Legacy?

[S.R.]

Anyone else realize that Colangelo put together this currently quite successful starting unit? Ujiri's restocked the bench and had the smarts to dump Bargnani and Gay (Colangelo acquisitions), but at the same time BC brought in all of Lowry, DD, Ross, Amir, and Valanciunus.

Looking at those facts, I think Colangelo was hampered by one significant weakness - he valued players with offensive skill sets too highly, and undervalued other skill sets. Thus he handed the keys to Bargs and Gay and was blind to how their shortcomings hampered the team.

Ujiri and Casey seem to have a more well-rounded view of talent.

Still, BC put this starting unit together. Cause to update his legacy?

[Joey]

Was thinking this myself ... this is till very much BCs team .. just with Ujiri's stamp.

No matter how good we get, we will always have BCs Love Child (JV? Ross?) as a reminder of what once was.

[stooley]

BC made some good moves. But his numerous blunders kind of outweigh them.

That combination is what got us stuck on the 'treadmill'. Generally good moves with a few major blunders that ensured we'd never be contenders.

[ebrian]

Colangelo was always decent when it came to forecasting talent in drafts. In hindsight, the shortcomings of Bargnani weren't the real issue -- the real issue was rewarding that ridiculous contract to a person who had yet to display the level of talent deserving of such a contract.

[white men can't jump]

No, because you can't overlook his reluctance to move Bargnani, his pointless pursuit and acquisition of Gay, and the fact that no winning team could be built around those guys with the pieces we had. If BC were still here, our starting lineup would probably be Jonas-Bargs-Gay-DeMar-Lowry.

But, can we spell his name right? It's Bryan. BRYAN.

[S.R.]

No, because you can't overlook his reluctance to move Bargnani, his pointless pursuit and acquisition of Gay, and the fact that no winning team could be built around those guys with the pieces we had. If BC were still here, our starting lineup would probably be Jonas-Bargs-Gay-DeMar-Lowry.

But, can we spell his name right? It's Bryan. BRYAN.

LOL - I can spell his name right. Unfortunately his parents couldn't. "Bryan" is basically a variant created because Anglo-Saxons didn't know how to spell. I refuse to conform.

#coveringupforadumbmistake

[slaw]

Except, Colangelo didn't put together this team. He put together a team featuring Rudy Gay, Andrea Bargnani, and Landry Fields making $6 million a year.

BC did some good things in Toronto but they were always neutralized by all the horrendous moves he made.

[Nilanka]

LOL - I can spell his name right. Unfortunately his parents couldn't. "Bryan" is basically a variant created because Anglo-Saxons didn't know how to spell. I refuse to conform.

#coveringupforadumbmistake

Don't get me started on Dwyane Wade....

[Bendit]

Not really. It's the team....that would be 15 players, not the starting 5 in a vacuum. It's also the environment surrounding the team and the vibes generated by management and coaches towards the players. Does anyone believe that if there was no addition of TH and the players from Sac and deletion of Gay that the same BC acquired players and the team would be enjoying this resurgence? It should be obvious by now that it is much more than throwing some talented individuals together and having them perform as a winning NBA team. It's much more tenuous and indeed complex than that.

Emphasis on "team" and all that entails including respecting and liking each other.

[S.R.]

Don't get me started on Dwyane Wade....

I fear the day when all these current young kids become adults we have to deal with in the real world. Parents not only make up names now, they make sure the spellings are completely unique. Ugh. Surely one day extra terrestrial archaeologists will look back and pinpoint the demise of human civilization on the day we forgot how to spell our own names.

[S.R.]

Not really. It's the team....that would be 15 players, not the starting 5 in a vacuum. It's also the environment surrounding the team and the vibes generated by management and coaches towards the players. Does anyone believe that if there was no addition of TH and the players from Sac and deletion of Gay that the same BC acquired players and the team would be enjoying this resurgence? It should be obvious by now that it is much more than throwing some talented individuals together and having them perform as a winning NBA team. It's much more tenuous and indeed complex than that.

Emphasis on "team" and all that entails including respecting and liking each other.

I agree completely with this and the importance of Ujiri's work, but still - hasn't the basic take on this team completely changed? Pre-trade they were a steaming Colangelo-induced mess expected to tank. Now they're aiming for the 3rd seed in the conference, and the fact remains that they're doing this with a starting 5 selected by Colangelo. Ujiri's basically pruned the tree, but Colangelo planted it.

[JawsGT]

BC did some good things to be sure. But he wasn't a good GM. It's akin to what Dumars has done in DET IMO. Lol, Smith and Jennings were just terrible moves for that roster, just like relying on Bargs and adding Gay were bad moves. He had a decent eye for talent, but not necessarily a good eye for character (eg. Hedo, Bargs, Alston and Gay) and did not know how to build a proper TEAM.

[ceez]

I like how now that Ross is coming into his own a lot of people are saying "wait maybe BC made the right pick?!" meanwhile Ross was a Stefanski pick

[white men can't jump]

I like how now that Ross is coming into his own a lot of people are saying "wait maybe BC made the right pick?!" meanwhile Ross was a Stefanski pick

Meh. I've always been a Ross supporter. I wasn't pissed at all when we took him over Drummond...Once again, I just also thought we could probably trade down a few spots and still get him, but who knows...

[Fully]

I still maintain that he was a terrible GM. You can't just gloss over the parts about Bargnani and Gay - they were the two biggest hindrances on the roster. Plus in the case of Gay, it actually cost the team assets to bring him here and bog things down. I can almost guarantee that Gay would still be on the roster if BC was still in charge and I can't rule out Bargnani being allowed to stay either.