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The Las Vegas Jacks ownership group has been working on putting together a bid for a Southern Nevada NBA expansion team since January 2024, according to people with knowledge of the group’s operations. The Jacks announced their plans to pursue a Las Vegas NBA expansion team this month, but years of work has preceded that announcement for the group that includes former NBA owner Jerry Colangelo, former NBA player and coach Vinny Del Negro, chairman and managing partner of Prime Capital Financial Scott Colangelo, media executive David Levy, American Century Investments CEO Jonathan Thomas and former NBA lottery pick and current ESPN analyst Jay Williams.
The Jacks’ name isn’t a lock to be the team’s name should the group prove successful in the bid process, but they trademarked the name last year just in case it sticks, the sources said. The group is open to having the residents of Southern Nevada chime in on what they think the team’s name should be, including the Jacks.
Stefan Bondy: I spoke with John Calipari a couple days ago and he brought up an old well-known tale about the Gary Trent Jr. situation happening before, without punishment from the NBA: In 1994, the Suns had just $1 million under the cap and used it to sign Danny Manning. It was a shake-hand agreement from Suns owner Jerry Colangelo that Manning would get a larger contract after one year. The problem? Manning blew out his knee midway through that first season. But Colangelo kept his word and signed Manning in 1995 to a seven-year, $40 million extension (which was massive back then). Colangelo even gave Manning part ownership of the Diamondbacks (talk about circumventing the cap). Anyway, Calipari told me this should be a viable way for players and teams to operate in the apron era. He also applauds the stars who are taking discounts to build contenders around them. "I don’t begrudge somebody saying, 'No, I earned it.' I don’t begrudge. But I’m saying it’s kinda neat. Because I’m about team. And that means – I care about myself and my family, but I also care about this team. What’s the common ground? What’s the middle ground? I got to give up a little bit?"
The Las Vegas Jacks, a group competing to acquire the prospective NBA expansion franchise, announced that it has already secured $8 billion in financial commitments to land the team. The group’s leadership includes Jerry Colangelo, the former owner of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, David Levy, founder of Horizon Sports & Experiences and Scott Colangelo, the managing partner of Prime Capital Financial. US Bank and its subsidiary BTIG LLC, along with merchant bank Global Leisure Partners, will serve as the group’s financial partners.
Duane Rankin: Former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo ('04) one of six presenters for 2008 USA Men's National Team into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for 2025 Class. Jim Boeheim (‘05), Chris Bosh (‘21), Jason Kidd (‘18), Mike Krzyzewski (‘01) and Dwyane Wade (‘23) remaining five presenters. Team USA won 2008 Olympic gold in China. Colangelo was managing director for USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team program. Team USA won four consecutive Olympic gold medals during Colangelo's run as managing director. #Suns
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But if you’re someone who covers the Sixers, someone who covered them during the Sam Hinkie and especially the post-Hinkie years, you don’t get Jerry Colangelo on the phone and not ask him about the strangest story in recent Philly sports history. So, Jerry, how is your son doing? “Bryan is doing fine,” he said. “He’s not in basketball, as you well know, and that’s a sad story from my perspective because he really had nothing to do with anything, if you know what I mean.”
Bryan resigned in June 2018, then all but vanished. He reportedly bought an ownership stake in an Australian professional team in 2020; otherwise, his name appears publicly only in retrospectives or rehashes about the still-mind-bending circumstances and events that led to the end of his career. Jerry did not mention what Bryan was doing now. “I look at it this way,” Jerry said. “He had 20 years in the NBA as a GM, three different teams. He was executive of the year a couple of times, and he established himself on his own as a legitimate executive in the NBA. “Things happen in life that don’t always work out the way you want them to, and in his case, that’s what transpired. But he was very, very strong in his support of his own wife. That became stronger after the fact. It brought them even closer. So it’s a happy ending in the sense that he may be out of basketball and that still pains him, for sure, but he’s doing well for himself. He’s a good young man with a good heart.”
It would certainly be worth asking Bryan what he thinks. Any chance he’d talk? “No, he’s so private in that sense,” Jerry Colangelo said. “That’s not something he would do. He wouldn’t. It’s not so much to protect himself. He doesn’t want anything said about anybody. That’s just his M.O. There’s nothing wrong with that. There really isn’t.”
Draymond Green: This is Team USA. That’s the best basketball team in the world. And Melo was the go-to scorer. And so I think—just even with that—I’ll never forget. We had a little situation in Brazil, and after that happened, we had like a two-and-a-half-hour meeting. I call Jerry Colangelo “Doc.” So Doc is up there, Coach K says something, and then Doc just keeps going on and on and on, man. And we’re all just sitting there, taking it on the chin. Whole team. Sitting there, quiet, taking it. Finally, after like two hours, Melo was like: 'Hey Jerry, we got it. We’re all grown men. Let’s move on now. If this happens again, someone’s going to have to go home. You’ll be kicked out of the Olympics.' And that ended it. That was it. That was the end of it.
Arizona Sports: Former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said current owner Mat Ishbia is going through a learning curve right now. "I think maybe when he first bought the team he wanted to make a little splash, which was kind of customary when people take over an organization. In retrospect, he maybe would have done the same thing, maybe not. Again, he has to learn, sometimes the hard way. "I believe in him in terms of the long-term future of the franchise because he's committed."
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“He was cut out to be a great international player,” Jerry Colangelo, the former director of USA Basketball, told The Post. “The nuances of the international game, the 3-point distance is a little bit less. The pace of the game was perfect for him. And with his great skill of scoring, we went to him a lot. He had the ability to shoot anytime he wanted to. Because most of the time he’s going to score. He had a few games where, in my mind, he didn’t miss any shots. Loved his competitiveness. He was great in our system. I think he made other people better. And he was committed all the way.”
Cooper will be inducted into the Hall on Sunday in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Pasadena, California, native learned that he made the Hall of Fame on April Fools’ Day after receiving a phone call from Hall of Fame CEO John Doleva and board chairman Jerry Colangelo. “I’ve always played this game for the love of the game. And after 12 years, the accolades that come with it, I never, ever, ever thought that my footsteps would be standing at the door of the Hall of Fame,” Cooper said. “So, I knew the call was going to be coming, and it came at about 9:10 that morning. I had been on the ballot two years, and I got that call [previously], and I’m waiting, and I was really excited. And [in prior years] they said, ‘Hey, Coop … it’s not your year.’ “So, when [this] call came, I remember answering the phone, and my wife was sitting next to me and I had it on speakerphone. And I kind of like spazzed out for a minute, and they were going like, ‘Coop. Congratulations, you got in.’ I’m sitting there holding the phone and my wife [hit] me on the leg, she said, ‘Babe, you got in.’ And I’m like, ‘If this is an April Fools’ joke, this is very, very rude, you guys.’ Mr. Colangelo starts laughing and he goes, ‘No, no, Coop, you got in.’ ”
Sirius XM NBA: “It’s pretty easy to make accusations from the outside” Former Team USA Director, Jerry Colangelo, tells @TermineRadio & @JumpShot8 that player selections are solely decided by Team USA’s staff. pic.twitter.com/eAh059orAS
“It’s pretty easy to make accusations from the outside”
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) July 25, 2024
Former Team USA Director, Jerry Colangelo, tells @TermineRadio & @JumpShot8 that player selections are solely decided by Team USA’s staff. pic.twitter.com/eAh059orAS
“No,” Kerr said bluntly when asked if he would coach Team USA after the Paris Games. “To me, it’s a two-year; it’s a cycle. Pop coached a World Cup and the Olympics, now it’s my turn to pass the baton. I think that’s kind of how it should be. Frankly, it’s a huge commitment too. I guess I think it was different the last go-around with Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) and Jerry (Colangelo), when they were really establishing this culture and this system where guys had to commit for a couple years. Made sense for Coach K to stay on. But I think where we are now, one cycle and you move on.”