Colangelo needs proper investigation, but strong replacement is available

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It’s a very simple mandate to follow, but somehow still gets lost in society: innocent until proven guilty.

That’s the approach that should be taken with The Ringer report of the bizarre Twitter scenario surrounding Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo. 

As of right now, the only concrete admissions are that Colangelo operated one of the five Twitter accounts linked to the report for reference purposes and that the Sixers have launched an investigation into the matter.

Colangelo has denied association with the other Twitter accounts and claimed that “someone’s out to get” him. Those statements should also be taken at face value unless proven false.

With that said, if Colangelo actually ends up being involved in the situation or the storm from the public and those around the NBA is simply too strong, we could be witnessing the end of a front office career that has spanned nearly 30 years.

In all, it’s a messy situation for the Sixers to deal with heading into arguably the biggest offseason in franchise history.

Perhaps the only thing going for the Sixers at this point is if there is a move made, one former front office exec on the open market specializes in handling messy situations: David Griffin.

Griffin, the former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager, parted ways with the team last summer after seven seasons in the organization (the last 3 1/2 as GM). During his time overseeing the Cavs’ front office, all Griffin did was work out the deal to bring LeBron James back to town, orchestrate the Kevin Love trade and acquire other complementary pieces such as J.R. Smith and Kyle Korver.

Those decisions resulted in the Cavaliers reaching three straight NBA Finals (now a fourth without Griffin) and the first championship in franchise history in 2016.

Griffin, who is currently serving as an analyst for NBA TV, was able to help construct a roster to accomplish those amazing feats all while working under the Cavs’ ever-unpredictable owner Dan Gilbert. Remember him? The same Gilbert that frequently undermines his own coaching staff, players and front office members. The man behind the infamous Comic Sans letter after James decided to take his talents to South Beach.

Oh, and speaking of James, Griffin has a great relationship with the superstar. You know, the guy with three championships, four MVP awards, 14 All-Star Game appearances and countless other accolades that just so happens to be the Sixers’ top free-agent target this summer.

So while Colangelo absolutely deserves the benefit of the doubt until there’s a rock-solid reason to strip it away, Griffin is a man that is extremely respected around the league and would be a more-than-capable substitute. One that could potentially help the Sixers land the free-agent jewel they’ve coveted all along.

More on Colangelo:

Bryan Colangelo on Twitter story: "Someone's out to get me" 

• Report: Bryan Colangelo at center of bizarre Twitter situation

• Making sense of the alleged Bryan Colangelo Twitter mess

• Author of Bryan Colangelo Twitter story explains how it all went down

• With free agency looming, Sixers better hurry Colangelo investigation

• Sixers launch internal investigation into Bryan Colangelo report

• Joel Embiid reacts to and trolls Bryan Colangelo report

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