With an toward the future, the Philadelphia 76ers must clear cap space so they can sign players to help them compete in the newly improved Atlantic Division. 

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, the organization has started doing exactly that and has elected to exercise their amnesty clause on Elton Brand.

The move will clear the $18 million he is owed from their cap this season, but the franchise still must pay its marquee free-agent signing of 2008.

Woj noted that the Sixers can’t actually put the move through until July 11, the day the moratorium period ends and NBA free agency will begin in earnest.

It’s going to be a bittersweet day for 76ers fans, who will be happy that Brand’s inflated contract is off the books, but sad that the power forward who put in four good years is moving on.

Though Brand was entirely overpaid, he was a solid contributor to a team that pushed theBoston Celtics to seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals this season.

He averaged 11.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks  in just 28.9 minutes per contest and held his own on the defensive end. Though he is well past him prime, the Duke product should have no shortage of suitors vying for his services on the amnesty waiver wire.

Here is how the process will work, according to Marc Stein and Chad Ford of ESPN:

Players released through the 2011 amnesty clause have to go through a modified waiver process before becoming a free agent that gives teams with salary-cap space first crack at submitting offers in the manner of a blind auction to claim an amnestied player by bidding the amount of the player’s contract they’re willing to eat.

While it’s doubtful that many teams will be willing to take on more than a fraction of Brand’s $18 million paycheck for the upcoming season, he is undoubtedly going to wind up on a roster this summer.

Elite.