After nearly a month-long standoff between the team and Andrei Kirilenko, the Philadelphia 76ers decided Friday to suspend the 13-year veteran.
Since being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets back on Dec. 10 of last year, Kirilenko has yet to report to his new team. With his wife in the middle of a pregnancy back in New York and the 76ers not quite playing the best brand of basketball, Kirilenko made it known from the start that he did not want to report to the 76ers. Instead, he and his agent wanted the team to pay the remaining $3.3 million on his contract and grant him his release so that he could sign with a team of his own choosing .
Normally the 76ers and general manager Sam Hinkie would waive a veteran that they just acquired in a trade, but that was not the case with Kirilenko.
Seeing as the veteran forward may have some value on the trade market — especially come February’s trade deadline — Hinkie and the 76ers told Kirilenko’s camp that they had no immediate plans to release him. Rather they wanted him to start getting back into playing shape so that he could report to the team and begin playing in games.
The 76ers fully understood that Kirilenko wanted to be with his wife during her pregnancy back in New York. They also understood that he did not want to play for a team that was in the middle of an ongoing rebuilding process.
If Kirilenko were to report to the team, the 76ers expressed a desire to help accommodate him and his desire to be with his wife back in New York. Seeing that Philadelphia and New York are relatively close to one another, the franchise thought it was more than reasonable to think that Kirilenko could commute back and forth when he needed to. But with Kirilenko still refusing to report, the 76ers made the decision to suspend him. Under the suspension Kirilenko will be unable to collect the remaining $3.3 million on his contract according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
This may seem like an unreasonable move by the 76ers, but it is not. With the team more than willing to accommodate Kirilenko and his desire to spend time with his wife, the veteran forward had no excuse not to show up. Playing for a team that is sitting at the bottom of the standings can be undoubtedly frustrating, but that is what being a professional is all about.
Without question the 76ers only acquired Kirilenko in order to flip him for a future draft pick at the trade deadline. But if that is what Hinkie and the 76ers want to do, that is their prerogative. With Kirilenko taking up a spot on the roster yet refusing to report to the team, the 76ers had no choice but to put an end to this nearly month-long standoff and suspend him.
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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