Sixers Announce Jerry Colangelo As New Chairman Of Basketball Operations

The Sixers announced a mystery press conference for 4:30 today, with rampant speculation about the actual contents of the conference, with a range of a charity press conference to an Okafor announcement to many other things. Jerry Colangelo being announced as the new Chairman of Basketball Operations was not noted by literally anyone leading up to the press conference. But it has happened, and it's a bombshell.

Colangelo, the head of USA international basketball and a well-respected executive around the NBA, has worked in basketball for longer than Sam Hinkie has lived. He last worked in the NBA as an executive with the Phoenix Suns and looks to continue as the head of USA basketball.

During the press conference, several things were noted by the participants, which were Colangelo, Harris, and Sam Hinkie:

- The Sixers started looking into hiring Colangelo about 10 days to 2 weeks ago. This does not coincidentally overlap with the timing of Jahlil Okafor's off-court issues.

- Colangelo reports to Josh Harris, but Sam Hinkie retains final say over personnel decisions subject to ownership approval. Thus, he acts as something of a special adviser, technically.

- The Sixers noted they're working on a contract extension with Brett Brown.

- Josh Harris does wish the Process would go faster, but also says that "we're still committed to The Process".

- Colangelo specifically noted the need for additional leadership among the players and a need to repair the agent/team relationship.

- Colangelo will continue to live in Phoenix during his tenure, which likely means he won't work day-to-day on the team.

There's so much more to the press conference - watch the replay once it's available. But things have definitely changed with the 76ers and The Process, and it's unclear exactly where we go from here.