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Report: Bryan Colangelo ‘a leading candidate to run the Detroit Pistons’

The Toronto Raptors earned the No. 3 seed with five starters Bryan Colangelo acquired and a head coach Colangelo hired. All five of the starters have contracts favorable to the team, and Dwane Casey finished fifth in Coach of the Year voting.

Is it time to re-think Colangelo’s tenure as Raptors’ general manager?

The Detroit Pistons are reportedly taking a closer look.

Michael Grange of SportsNet:

After a year on hiatus multiple NBA sources have told Sportsnet that he’s close to joining the fray again and is a leading candidate to run the Detroit Pistons.

First, I wouldn’t read too much into the words “leading candidate.” Quite possibly, that description comes across as stronger than intended. The Pistons’ search is expected to be lengthy, and I wouldn’t rush to call any candidate who hasn’t even been reported to interview – especially when the source is someone who has identified only one candidate – leading.

As for Colangelo himself, ehhh.

He has strong front-office experience, but he’s also already had a chance as a general manager and – even if hindsight treats his record kindly – didn’t exactly excel. Colangelo acquired all five Raptors’ starters, but he also traded for Rudy Gay and drafted and extended Andrea Bargnani. If Masai Ujiri hadn’t cleaned up those mistakes, the Raptors wouldn’t be where they are now.

How much credit does Colangelo get for acquiring Terrence Ross, a Toronto starter, when Colangelo could have drafted Andre Drummond instead? How much credit does Colangelo get for signing DeMar DeRozan to if DeRozan never would have been an All-Star with Gay around?

Colangelo made some good moves, because he made a lot of moves. His record on the whole is not great.

He probably warrants a look by the Pistons in their wide search, but the onus would be heavy on Colangelo to persuade them he’s not the uninspiring choice he appears to be.