NBA Philadelphia 76ers

Philadelphia 76ers Smart To Make Andrei Kirilenko Report

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By @Greg_Sacidor

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Getty Images

Earlier this month the Philadelphia 76ers acquired forward Andrei Kirilenko. Although expectations were that Kirilenko would be released, the 76ers now want him to report.

In a trade that sent forward Brandon Davies to the Brooklyn Nets, the 76ers acquired a package that included Kirilenko and a future second-round draft pick. Most league sources believed that as they have in the past, Philadelphia would pay Kirilenko the remainder of his salary and grant him his release immediately. After all, why would Philadelphia want to have the 33-year-old as a part of their ongoing rebuilding plan?

Unlike trades in the past, it seems as though general manager Sam Hinkie and the rest of the 76ers organization want Kirilenko to report to the team and prepare to start playing in games. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Hinkie has told Kirilenko and his camp that Philadelphia has no immediate plans to release him and pay him the remanding $3.3 million that is left on his contract. As a 33-year-old veteran, many may question why Hinkie and Philadelphia would want to hold onto Kirilenko seeing as the team is rebuilding around much younger talent.

The team is in fact rebuilding around younger players, but that does not mean Kirilenko cannot still be valuable for Philadelphia. By having him report and play for the team, Philadelphia will be able to increase Kirilenko’s trade value for later on in the season. Instead of releasing him outright, Philadelphia will be able to trade Kirilenko to playoff team that is searching for extra veteran help at the trade deadline.

This is a smart move by general manager Hinkie and Philadelphia. During their ongoing rebuild process, every little asset matters. By holding onto Kirilenko until the trade deadline, Philadelphia may even be able to acquire a late first-round pick out of some team that is desperate for help. Although he may not want to report to the team, Philadelphia is not required to just outright release Kirilenko. With an asset like that on their team, why would they not try to get something in exchange for Kirilenko as opposed to absolutely nothing? At the end of the day the NBA is a business, and Hinkie and the rest of the 76ers organization are making the correct business move by making Kirilenko report to the team.

Greg Sacidor is a Philadelphia 76ers and NBA writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Greg_Sacidor or add him to your network on Google.

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