There's a reason why the Sixers hadn't announced the acquisition of Nemanja Bjelica.
No dotted line was ever inked.
The free-agent power forward, who had reportedly agreed to a one-year deal earlier this month, informed the Sixers on Tuesday he will not sign and instead return to Europe, a source confirmed to NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news.
The 30-year-old Bjelica, who reportedly agreed on the mid-level exception, was seen as a cheaper and younger replacement for Ersan Ilyasova, who signed with the Bucks.
A 6-foot-10, 240-pounder from Serbia, Bjelica played three seasons with the Timberwolves. Last year in Minnesota, he set career highs in minutes (20.5), points per game (6.8), rebounds per game (4.1), three-point percentage (41.5) and three-pointers made (76).
Along with Ilyasova, the Sixers also lost key bench contributor Marco Belinelli in free agency. They acquired Wilson Chandler in a trade with the Nuggets and may possibly go forward with internal options to fill out pieces to their second unit.
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The team on Monday officially re-signed big man Amir Johnson. It also has some size and shooting ability along the wing in Justin Anderson (6-6), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (6-6) and Furkan Korkmaz (6-7).
