The NBA has reached out to the Sixers regarding The Ringer report intimating president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo could be linked to multiple Twitter accounts and the team's independent investigation around it.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed the media at Oracle Arena prior to Game 1 of the Finals between the Cavaliers and Warriors. When asked about the league's contact with the Sixers as well as its eagerness for a resolution, Silver responded:
"For the league there's always that balance of speed and doing things in a deliberate and appropriate way. And so I have talked to management at the 76ers and the notion here was, let's find out what's going on. And I said, in anything we've dealt with over the years, I think you have to separate sort of the chatter and sort of what either fans or frankly the media are saying from the facts. And the first thing we have to do here is determine what the actual facts are in this circumstance.
"I know the first thing that (Sixers managing partner) Josh Harris and his ownership group did was when presented with that story, which I believe came as a surprise to them, was to engage an outside law firm, a New York firm, that specializes in these types of investigations and said here's all the information we have. Our organization, all of us, are available to you, and I know that includes Bryan Colangelo. And with deliberate speed, but don't cut any corners, let us know what's going on."
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The Ringer article, published Tuesday, suggests a connection between Colangelo and five Twitter accounts, many of which posted criticisms of Sixers players (past and current), head coach Brett Brown, and disclosed non-public information. The Sixers announced the following morning the team had launched an investigation.
On Thursday, Colangelo arrived at the Philadelphia International Airport, where he told NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark he "stands by his (previous) statement," which was published in the article. Colangelo also said he is "fully unaware of anything" related to the situation (see story).
The NBA Finals began the same night.
"Of course from a league standpoint, here we are Game 1 of the Finals, it's not necessarily something that we want to be talking about," Silver said. "But it's the reality of this league. And so I have no information beyond that other than that investigation is underway."
