Bryan Colangelo, now former president and general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, has resigned from his position with the team. This decision comes in the aftermath of the recent news of burner accounts that were linked to Colangelo used to criticize the organization and leak sensitive information that was not meant for the public.
After an investigation by the law firm Paul/Weiss, it was concluded that his wife, Barbara Bottini, was the person behind the accounts. She admitted to creating the five secret Twitter handles, but it was too late for Colangelo. While he could not have predicted her reckless behavior, Colangelo shared privileged information with someone outside of the 76ers organization that was released to the public which is reprehensible.
The damage has been done. According to team manager Josh Harris, “it has become clear Bryan’s relationship with our team and his ability to lead the 76ers has been compromised.” Instead of outright firing the former Executive of the Year, he chose to resign to avoid the embarrassment.
His own family is the reason for his departure, but also took measures to save his job with the team. Jerry Colangelo, Bryan’s father and a special advisor to the Sixers, threatened to ruin the organization’s relationship with other NBA teams if they dismissed his son. Despite his warnings, Bryan will no longer be associated with the franchise.
For now, head coach Brett Brown will temporarily assume the responsibilities of overseeing basketball operations.
Now that this scandal has come to a close, the Sixers will try to move away from this distraction and focus on improving their team in the offseason.
The Sixers finished 3rd in the Eastern Conference this year, but with lots of cap room as well as the tenth pick in the upcoming draft, Philadelphia could add some crucial pieces to put together a successful postseason campaign in 2019.
