*** Todays Notebook highlights some of the additional topics that Bryan Colangelo touched upon during his Thursday afternoon appearance on 97.5 FM The Fanatic. To read more about updates he provided on the status of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, click here. The interview can be streamed in its entirety on The Fanatics website. ***

Putting Turnaround in Perspective Despite confronting an early deficit Thursday in Orlando, one to the tune of 21-6 just six minutes into their pairing with the Magic, the Sixers relied on a gritty, resilient spirit to eventually turn things around for a 112-111 win.

T.J. McConnell certainly emerged as the hero, providing the decisive shot in the final seconds of regulation. But, between Ersan Ilyasovas clutch free throws, and a big boost from the bench, the Sixers first victory of February represented a group effort.

In many ways, the Sixers performance Thursday at Amway Center harkened back to their form from what was an encouraging first month of the new year. The progress the club exhibited during that stretch wasnt lost on Bryan Colangelo, who weighed in on the Sixers turnaround in his interview on 97.5 FM The Fanatic.

It sure was exciting to see a 10-5 record in January, said the Sixers president of basketball operations, currently in his first full season with the organization. It was obviously coming on the heels of a period of time where we looked at a lot of growth, even though it wasnt necessarily manifesting itself in the win column.

On top of the modest strides the Sixers made in the standings in January, Colangelo has also been pleased to see the franchise reap rewards from having bolstered its basketball operations infrastructure in recent months.

A lot of good things have been happening behind the scenes as we grow this program and grow this team going forward, Colangelo told Fanatic hosts Jason Myrtetus and Bob Cooney.

Specifically, Colangelo cited new hires to the Sixers executive, analytics, and scouting staffs since he was brought in April.

The things that are happening off the court are wins as much as they are on the court, said Colangelo.

In terms of the factors that, in Colangelos view, would ultimately constitute a successful season, the personnel chief sounded as if he was less interested in counting wins, and more focused on taking stock in whatever significant holistic evaluations could be extracted from the 2016-2017 campaign.

I always said it would not be based on a number, Colangelo said, when discussing how he would judge the current year. I love the fact that the fans are being rewarded with certain aspects of this run, and certain aspects of just the growth of this team.

Growth that Colangelo thinks could be moving along even quicker had there been better health through the first three and a half months of the season. Ben Simmons has so far been missing in action due to a right foot fracture. Jerryd Bayless, a free agent signing whom the Sixers were counting on to be a key member of their backcourt rotation, managed only three games this year before being shut down because of ligament damage in his left wrist.

Unfortunately, because of those injures, and because of those setbacks, the reality is we had to put the breaks on a little bit with respect to where we are, and put the health, and long-term performance capability of these players ahead of short-term gains.

As far as Joel Embiid is concerned, Colangelo considers the rookies rapid development a success in and of itself, even in light of the restrictions placed on the big mans playing time, and the left knee issues hes been battling of late.

Internally, we feel that were moving in the right direction, said Colangelo, and that to me spells success overall.

Keeping Busy With Trade Deadline on Horizon Bryan Colangelos interview on The Fanatic came two weeks out - almost down to the exact minute - from the 2017 NBA trade deadline, which is set for 3:00 pm EST on Thursday, February 23rd.

According to Colangelo, the Sixers front office phones have been ringing regularly as of late. He said hes been talking a lot with his counterparts from around the rest of the league.

Quite a bit of activity in recent weeks, is how Colangelo described the frequency of his communication with fellow executives.

Since the outset of the season, the Sixers have acknowledged the realities surrounding their center rotation. Its no secret that between Joel Embiid, Richaun Holmes, Nerlens Noel, and Jahlil Okafor, the team boasts a lot of young talent in one place.

In the instances in which all four players have been healthy, the Sixers have done their best to fairly manage each prospects respective role and playing time.

At the end of the day, Im looking to make a good deal for this organization, Colangelo said Thursday. At some point, somethings got to give. Im just trying to obviously get it to the point where we do, and maximize the opportunities that we pursue.

Despite the circumstances surrounding them, the Sixers bigs, as Colangelo sees it, havent allowed external factors beyond their control to influence their conduct on the court - both in practice settings, and in games. He praised Noel and Okafor in particular for the maturity theyve shown.

I have to compliment both Nerlens and Jahlil on the way theyve handled everything, said Colangelo. Coach [Brett Brown] has said it often, but these guys are acting like true professionals. Both of them have been great.

Although this years trade deadline is fast approaching, Colangelo restated Thursday a point hes stressed repeatedly in past media availabilities. He feels no rush or pressure to pull the trigger on transactions simply because of a looming date on the calendar.

Im going to be very patient where we build this team, Colangelo said. Its got to be a deal or a situation that makes good sense for the organization overall in the bigger picture.

If no swaps are made by this years deadline, Colangelo noted that other junctures of the leagues annual calendar tend to present additional trading opportunities, such as the run-up to the June draft, and the July free agency period.

Feeling Good for Fans More than halfway through the season, no team in the NBA has experienced a bigger per-game attendance boost than the Sixers. A year ago, the team drew an average of 14,881 fans to The Center, a figure that ranked third-to-last in the league. This season, with excitement and winning results on the rise, the Sixers have averaged 17,165 fans per home game, good for 19th-best overall.

None of the NBAs other 29 franchises has increased its average per-game gate by more than 400 fans. The Sixers spike of almost 2,300 spectators per game exceeds that number nearly six times over.

Im thrilled [for] the fanbase, the ownership, and the people involved that have gone through so much of a hard times through the entire three years or so thats been going on, the rebuilding scenario, Bryan Colangelo said during his chat on The Fanatic.

In the same breath, the two-time NBA Executive of the Year made clear he has lofty goals in mind for the Sixers, ones that go beyond a 10-5 month, regardless of how energizing January was for the team.

Its just great to see it all come together, even for a brief moment this year, but we cant be fooled, he said. We still have a lot of work to do. We know it wasnt going to happen overnight.

What Colangelo did feel confident expressing on the radio was his belief that the Sixers are potentially positioned for sustained, long-term success.

To know that some of the pieces are in place, and that were in a position to add additional pieces moving forward, both with salary cap flexibility and draft picks, I think its just fantastic, said Colangelo. Its a great opportunity for this city to see a winner for a long time, for many years to come, and thats what were aiming for.

Excerpt from:

Seltzer's Notebook | Colangelo Encouraged by Sixers' Progress - Sixers.com