In one of the craziest stories in an already crazy NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations, Bryan Colangelo, is involved in a bizarre saga about social media burner accounts.
Bryan Colangelo of the Philadelphia 76ers is in some pretty hot water right now. The team is currently investigating five “burner” Twitter accounts that may or may not be run by Colangelo, or someone close to him. Ben Detrick of The Ringer first reported the accounts which prompted the current investigation by the 76ers.
Whether or not you believe that Bryan Colangelo was secretly operating burner accounts on Twitter is up to you. The evidence looks pretty compelling and it’s clear that something fishy was going on. Detrick does an excellent job of connecting some dots and there is certainly a lot to unpack there.
As of now, Colangelo’s job in Philadelphia looks to be in serious jeopardy and to a certain extent, his future in the NBA is up in the air. If this story is true and Colangelo—or someone close to him like his father, Jerry—were running these Twitter accounts, Colangelo’s reputation would be damaged beyond repair.
It was funny when Kevin Durant’s burner account was exposed this past offseason. It was a good story and definitely gave NBA Twitter ammo to use against him, but overall, it seemed relatively harmless.
This story with Colangelo is far more strange. Instead of simply defending against internet trolls, these accounts were providing information, slandering current Sixers players, and exhibiting a special affinity for one Sixers blogger in particular.
From a New York perspective, this should be refreshing. The Knicks have a dramatic history and this is on-par with some of the shenanigans that have gone on in New York in the past. The keyword there is past.
The new regime of Steve Mills, Scott Perry, and David Fizdale seem to be instilling, at the very least, a facade of professionalism in New York. They still have a lot to prove in the upcoming weeks and months, but so far, so good. Keep your heads down, scout every player possible up until the draft, and delete all your burner accounts.
The other interesting tidbit from this story is what one of the burner accounts had to say about Kristaps Porzingis. The account HonestAbe wrote, “I am a Philly fan but out trade The process for The Unicorn in a heart bit. Such a smarter player.”
If this actually is Bryan Colangelo, Scott Perry may want to make a phone call before the Sixers conclude their investigation. Of course, Porzingis can turn into a generational talent, elite rim protector, and one of the best players in the league. But isn’t Joel Embiid all of those things already?
Obviously, with Porzingis injured and Colangelo’s future in jeopardy, this will never happen. Regardless, it’s an interesting debate. Knicks fans have fallen in love with Porzingis, but Embiid for KP straight up would be a tantalizing offer. Both have the opportunity to be generational talents and it’s likely that they will be battling one another in the Eastern Conference for the next 10 years. The question of “The Process” or “The Unicorn” will be answered eventually.
This story could be the most bizarre story in a year filled with unhappy superstars, locker room fights, and bowls of soup. But this is why we love the NBA. The stories are just as compelling as the games at times.
And for Knicks fans, just be happy it wasn’t you for once.
