The Sixer Sense
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Does the Bryan Colangelo report hurt Sixers’ reputation?

By Christopher Kline

TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 9: Bryan Colangelo ,President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, answers questions about his own contract with the MLSE to The Star's Cathal Kelly. Rene Johnston/ Toronto Star (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 9: Bryan Colangelo ,President and General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, answers questions about his own contract with the MLSE to The Star's Cathal Kelly. Rene Johnston/ Toronto Star (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /
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The Philadelphia 76ers’ President of Basketball Operations will have trouble saving his reputation after The Ringer’s report.

Tuesday night was an odd one for Philadelphia 76ers fans. In a two-hour span, it was the revealed that Ben Simmons is dating a Kardashian, Brett Brown got extended, and Bryan Colangelo might be using five Twitter accounts to disparage players and leak sensitive team information.

To give you the gist of things, the accounts personally attacked Jahlil Okafor, Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noel and Markelle Fultz in some capacity. They also followed close associates of Colangelo and live-tweeted some of his son’s games at the University of Chicago.

One reporter from Toronto — where Colangelo was once G.M. — said that Colangelo’s “overt media paranoia” would line up with the kind of comments made on the accounts. Woj, who isn’t one to stir up controversy, dropped this bombshell on those giving Colangelo the benefit of the doubt.

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"Maybe there’s an IT person who can prove it wasn’t Bryan Colangelo, but here’s one of his biggest problems in disputing Ringer story: Those tweets reflected not only private team biz, but launched personal beefs/jealousies/frustrations that he’s shared inside and outside 76ers. — Adrian Wojnarowski"

It’s hard to imagine Colangelo saving face entirely, even if the accounts aren’t directly run by him. The kind of information shared by the accounts is of the variety that only high-ranking officials have access to. They also make a concerted effort to protect Colangelo’s image while defaming that of Sam Hinkie.

We’ve already seem Joel Embiid attack Colangelo on Twitter, even joking that Sam Hinkie is superior. He would eventually walk those comments back and state his support (?) for Colangelo, but it’s hard to imagine that their relationship isn’t somewhat impacted by this report.

If the face of the franchise no longer trusts Colangelo, that probably means he needs to be let go. Again, there isn’t any concrete proof that Colangelo is behind all five accounts. The information shared and tweeting patterns, however, make it hard to believe he isn’t indirectly involved, at the very least.

This will also impact the Sixers’ offseason plans. Why would LeBron James and Paul George want to play for a team whose general manager has a reputation for disparaging players on burner accounts across the Twitterverse?

The same goes for potential draftees. Agents might not want their clients playing for a G.M. whose reputation has been so gravely damaged, regardless of how talented the Sixers’ roster may be.

Next: Is trading for Kemba Walker an option?

There’s no way to make a definitive conclusion on this issue until the Sixers’ private investigation concludes. That said, it’s difficult to picture Colangelo coming out of this unscathed. It also seems very possible that the Sixers’ future is, in some way, impacted by what happened last night.