Report: Sam Hinkie Reneged on Handshake Deal to Release Andrei Kirilenko

Photo Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Sam Hinkie makes deals. He may not make huge ones, or ones that directly impact the Sixers’ current roster much, but he deals. The flowchart shows that. But did he go back on a handshake agreement with the Nets that he would release Andrei Kirilenko that could impact his standing with other GMs? According to Bob Ford, maybe.

When Hinkie traded Brandon Davies to the Nets back in early December, the general feeling was that the Sixers would release Kirilenko, who came here as part of the deal. It’s the Hinkie way: deal a player or conditional pick, get a pick in return along with a veteran whom you’ll waive. Just ask Earl Clark, Danny Granger, Hasheem Thabeet, Ronny Turiaf, Keith Bogans, Marquis Teague, Travis Outlaw, etc. But Kirilenko was not waived. His picture is still on the team’s website. His name is in grey on the flowchart:

This could be a problem, according to Ford. Some league sources have “lingering hard feelings about how it played out and unsettling questions.”

People around the league say Hinkie had agreed in principle to release Kirilenko:

According to two sources with inside knowledge of the negotiations, the Sixers had agreed to release veteran forward Andrei Kirilenko after the trade was consummated, but did not follow through on that handshake deal. Kirilenko … has refused to join the team despite a request to do so.

According to two sources, the Nets told the Sixers that Kirilenko would not report and wished to become a free agent … Those sources insist the Sixers agreed to release Kirilenko but did not.

…

“He might have an IQ of 150, but [Hinkie] doesn’t seem to realize you have to deal with these people over and over,” one league source said.

A Sixers source (that you, Scott?) told Ford that the team has always wanted Kirilenko to report and play in a Sixers uniform.

It’s likely that Hinkie will try to move the Russian by the trade deadline. The question remains if Hinkie crossed some line here by reneging on a supposed handshake deal, and made himself untrustworthy in the minds of other GMs. The Clippers don’t seem to think so.

UPDATE: The Sixers have reportedly suspended Kirilenko for failure to report, which makes Kirilenko “unable to collect the balance of his $3.3 million salary.” It’s getting a little dirty.