He was brought in at the request of owner Josh Harris. He has ties to the NBA as far back as the as the 1970s when he coached the Phoenix Suns. He’s a man who has seen it all, and been one of the innovative forces in NBA history.
He has also co-authored a book: How You Play the Game: Lessons for Life from the Billion-Dollar Business of Sports in 1999 with Len Sherman. Of course, when Colangelo was hired by the Philadelphia 76ers, he was not brought in to write a book, to GM, nor to take ownership of the team.