Bryan Colangelo resigned as president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday after a bizarre Twitter mess involving multiple burner accounts — several of which were found to belong to his wife — used to criticize former and current players, among other things.
Colangelo’s exit alone isn’t likely stop the drama from unfolding in Philly, however.
His father, Jerry Colangelo, currently works for the team in an advisory role to ownership. According to Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice, Jerry tried to protect his son during this fiasco by threatening to undermine the team’s relationships in the NBA.
“The delay was, in part, due to internal and external politics that ownership had to weigh,” Neubeck wrote. “More than one person who spoke to PhillyVoice on the condition of anonymity suggested Jerry Colangelo tried to intervene on Bryan’s behalf, threatening to interfere with club relationships around the league.”
If true, this is a pretty bad look for Jerry, who has spent many decades in the NBA, perhaps most notably as a former owner of the Phoenix Suns. He has won NBA Executive of the Year in four different seasons.
76ers owner Josh Harris was asked during a press conference Thursday about Jerry’s role with the franchise going forward, and he didn’t give much insight into the team’s plans.
Josh Harris doesn't give a definitive answer about Chairman of BaskOps Jerry Colangelo’s future, (under contact through the end of 2018): "we’re going to be talking about it. But that’s not today’s issue…my respect for him is certainly not colored by this unfortunate situation."
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 7, 2018
