Sixers file for DPE after Ariel Hukporti's Achilles tear

Hukporti's season ended almost before it started, and 3 weeks later the front office is trying to get something back for it.

Jake Fischer

@JakeLFischer

Amid the NBA’s string of early-season injuries, the Philadelphia 76ers have applied for a disabled player exception, per source, in respect of Ariel Hukporti’s torn Achilles.

Quick refresher on how bad the luck was. Hukporti tore his right Achilles in the opening minutes of the Sixers' preseason opener against the Knicks, the team he played his first 2 NBA seasons for. He was only starting because Joel Embiid was resting. He had surgery the next day and is done for the 2026-27 season. The 24-year-old signed in Philly as a free agent this summer after averaging 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.1 minutes across 79 games in New York. Those aren't big numbers, but he was supposed to be the body that let the Sixers bring Embiid along slowly.

The money works like this. Hukporti is on a 1-year, $3.4 million deal, and a disabled player exception is worth half the injured player's salary, so Philly is looking at about $1.7 million. To get one, a league-designated doctor has to rule the player is likely out through June 15, and a torn Achilles in October clears that easily. It does not open a roster spot. It just lets a team over the cap sign or trade for a player it otherwise couldn't afford.

Here's the catch, and it's a very Sixers catch. Per Hoops Rumors, Philadelphia is sitting about $1.83 million under its first-apron hard cap, so actually using the full exception could get tight. On top of that, a prorated minimum salary doesn't drop below $1.7 million until December 13. Nobody should expect a signing tomorrow. The realistic use is the buyout market after the trade deadline, when a vet big who got cut somewhere could become the cheap backup this roster badly needs. Philly has until March 10 to use it.

Meanwhile the frontcourt is held together with tape. Adem Bona has been dealing with a foot sprain he picked up in international play. Jabari Walker stepped in the night Hukporti went down and put up 11 points and 11 rebounds, and he told the Inquirer that losing his locker neighbor 'messed me up.' Dean Wade and Dominick Barlow are the other options behind Embiid, and if you've watched the Embiid injury saga you know how comfortable that depth chart should make you feel.

So the move is basically filing the paperwork now so you're ready later. It won't win anybody a game in November. But in a league that's already piling up early-season injuries, a $1.7 million exception in your back pocket in March could decide whether Philly's backup center is a real NBA player or whoever's left on the board.