The Philadelphia 76’ers have a problem. Not a big one but a problem nevertheless. When trading for Andrei Kirilenko, Brooklyn and Philadelphia apparently agreed for Kirilenko to be waived due to his focus on family. Kirilenko made it clear that he’d only play in Nets home games so it was obvious that he wasn’t going to play for Philly.
But Sixers head coach Brett Brown has a different outlook towards the ordeal. According to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly, the plan to release Kirilenko was not accurate.
The Sixers initially weren’t sure whether they were going to keep Kirilenko or not, so there was no issue with his absence, a league source said. Kirilenko didn’t take a physical as part of the trade going through, which is normally part of any trade.
“I hear the stories,” Brown said. “It was explained to me very aggressively and clearly. Andrei had a chance to play for me and us. I got excited because I had coached against Andrei in two Olympic games. We have mutual international friends, Tony Parker among them.
“I sat down with him and had coffee with him the last time we were here. I wanted to get in his head and see what he was thinking. I went through that exercise and got excited. I wanted him to share his wealth of knowledge with the team along with Luc [Mbah a Moute]. That we always intended to release him — that is not accurate.“
Knowing that Brett Brown actually talked to Andrei before all this makes the whole thing that more confusing. There has been miscommunication on all levels here.
The fact that Philly knew what was going. Why suspend him? It’s not like he’s going to have a change of heart and start playing 100% for the Sixers. His mind is elsewhere. You might as well waive him and let him deal with his family issues.
