PHILADELPHIA _ The 76ers announced Wednesday that they are investigating accusations made against Bryan Colangelo, the team's president of basketball operations, after a sports and pop culture website linked him to anonymous Twitter accounts that disclosed sensitive team information and frequently criticized players and head coach Brett Brown.
Fresh off the franchise's most successful season in nearly 20 years, the Sixers are suddenly looking at a firestorm that could seriously damage their "Trust the Process" rebuilding plan that has seemed to be headed toward championship contention. And it could cost Colangelo, hired in 2016, his job.
The team's main offseason goal _ signing mega-free agent LeBron James, or another big-name free agent _ could face new roadblocks.
The Sixers said in a written statement that "the allegations are serious and we have commenced an independent investigation into the matter. We will report the results of that investigation as soon as it is concluded."
Colangelo acknowledged using one of the Twitter handles reported by The Ringer, @phila1234567, which didn't have an account name. He never tweeted from that account. However, The Ringer alleges that Colangelo may be linked to four other accounts _ "Eric jr," "HonestAbe," "Enoughunkownsources," and "Still Balling" _ that did make controversial tweets.
Colangelo denied being connected to those four accounts. The problem with Colangelo's denials, however, is that those tweets were aligned with some of the frustrations and beliefs inside the organization. According to several sources, that's why several players believe Colangelo is linked to the tweets even if he did not directly post from the burner accounts.
"I think the damage is done," said an NBA executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I don't know if the players can trust him. I think he lost the trust of the players unless it's proven definitively that it wasn't him."
