John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Contrary to early reports, Bryan Colangelo will not be relieved of his duties as team President of the Toronto Raptors, instead just relieved of his General Manager position.
But the Raptors should have just let him go entirely.
The team wants to keep him around because of how respected he is around the Raptor organization, and just want him to oversee the team and the business side of things, not having any input on basketball related decisions.
While it sounds like a good idea in theory – keeping a guy in the front office who is respected by his peers – what it does for the Raptors is create a high level of discomfort.
Basically, Colangelo will be just a high up title in the Raptors front office hierarchy, without say in personnel matters. He will be forced to see another General Manager step in his place – as well as perhaps another head coach take over, as current incumbent Dwane Casey, who Colangelo hired, could be on the outs - and inherit personnel control of the team that Colangelo put together.
And the former GM can’t do anything about it.
It will definitely be a tough thing for him to accept, as has already been hinted at by new Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the company that owns the Raptors) President Tim Leiweke.
Leiweke said, when asked about the situation by the Toronto Star, “Bryan’s going to have to occasionally take a deep breath and understand now, that a GM is going to have final say-so on all basketball decisions”, and that “he’s going to have to live with that. And I hope he can, because if he can’t, I’m fairly certain we’re not going to fire the Toronto Raptors”.
Essentially, Lieweke is saying that Colangelo will have to do this his way and fulfill his new role the way he wants it, or Colangelo will be gone. His words to the Toronto media were nothing else other than a direct threat to the former Raptors’ personnel boss, putting his foot down on what he expects him to do and not do.
This is hardly shaping up to be a harmonious partnership in Canada’s only NBA city.
The team would have just been better off getting rid of Colangelo altogether.
Jake Carapella is a Dallas Cowboys writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JKCSports1, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
