Jerry Colangelo - Basketball

Basketball

Colangelo was an assistant coach of the Chicago Bulls basketball team. In 1968, he was hired as the first general manager of the expansion team, the Phoenix Suns. When he and his family left for Arizona, he had $200 in his wallet.

Colangelo got off to an unlucky start, losing a 1969 coin flip to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to UCLA phenom Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). The Suns remained competitive most of the 1970s, making it to the NBA Finals in 1976, but losing to the Boston Celtics in six games. Colangelo had two stints as head coach during that decade, compiling a record of 59 wins and 60 losses.

During much of the 1980s, Colangelo's Suns faced trouble. Some players, including 1976 NBA Finals player Garfield Heard, were involved in an infamous drug scandal, young center Nick Vanos perished in a 1987 plane crash and, from 1985 through 1988, the Suns failed to qualify for the playoffs. Colangelo put together a group that bought the Suns in late 1987, in the wake of the drug scandal. He subsequently made a trade for Kevin Johnson in 1987.

The Suns made one of the biggest turnarounds in NBA history in 1988–89, nearly doubling their win total (from 28 wins to 55) and making the first of 13 straight playoff appearances. In 1989, Colangelo was an essential part of the group that planned to build America West Arena (now US Airways Center), providing financial backing. In 1992, Colangelo traded Jeff Hornacek, Tim Perry, and Andrew Lang to the Philadelphia 76ers for Charles Barkley. The trade proved to be productive for the Suns, and they reached the NBA Finals for the second time in 1993, this time losing to the Bulls in six games. Barkley's relationship with Colangelo, however, grew sour over the years, and in 1996, he was traded to the Houston Rockets.

He eventually turned over the Suns' presidency to his son Bryan (who eventually left the organization to become general manager of the Toronto Raptors).

A strained relationship with Charles Barkley has improved with years. Colangelo declared himself a born-again Christian, a reason that he credits for his change of heart about Barkley.

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