PHILADELPHIA - Danny Granger's short tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers officially came to an end Wednesday, with the team announcing it has agreed to buy out the remainder of the injury-plagued forward's contract.
Granger, a former All-Star whose production has declined sharply over the past two seasons due to knee problems, had been acquired by the Sixers from Indiana at last week's trade deadline in exchange for forwards Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen. He did not appear in a game with his new team, however, as the two sides worked on an arrangement for his release.
"Following the completion of the trade on Thursday night, Danny traveled to Philadelphia and we had an opportunity to meet with him here," said Sixers president of basketball operations and general manager Sam Hinkie. "These were in addition to the open lines of communication with his agent Aaron Mintz and CAA while we worked through the next steps.
"Given Danny's future goals and his desire to pursue them, we worked to fulfill his requests and have come to a resolution that we feel is mutually beneficial to both Danny and our organization. We wish Danny the best in the next phase of his career."
Granger was in the final season of a five-year, $60 million extension he signed with the Pacers during the 2008-09 campaign, his best in the NBA. The nine-year veteran will be eligible to sign with any team if he clears waivers.
The 30-year-old was named the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2008-09 after averaging 25.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range for the Pacers that season. Granger followed up by averaging 24.1 points over 62 games the following season, but has since those numbers go down in every year since.
A serious knee injury limited Granger to only five regular-season contests for Indiana in 2012-13, and he missed the first 25 games of this season due to a strained calf. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 29 outings prior to last week's trade.
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