76ers apply for a $1.7 million disabled player exception after Ariel Hukporti’s Achilles tear

The Philadelphia 76ers have applied to the league for a disabled player exception after Ariel Hukporti’s season-ending Achilles tear, Jake Fischer reported Tuesday. If the request is approved, Philadelphia would get a spending slot worth about $1.7 million, half of the reported $3.4 million salary on Hukporti’s one-year deal.

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.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) October 27, 2026

Hukporti, a 24-year-old 7-footer who joined the Sixers in July after two seasons with the New York Knicks, tore his right Achilles tendon in the first quarter of the preseason opener against his former team on Oct. 5. He had surgery soon after and is expected to miss the full 2026-27 season. His injury left Philadelphia thin at center behind Joel Embiid, a problem the team has been working around since camp.

What the exception can and cannot do

A team can be granted the exception when a league-designated doctor finds that the injured player is more likely than not to be out through June 15. The amount is the smaller of half the player’s salary or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, so for Hukporti it comes out to roughly $1.7 million.

The money can be used in three ways: to sign a free agent to a one-year contract, to claim a player off waivers, or to trade for a player in the last year of his deal. It does not open an extra roster spot, and Hukporti’s salary stays on Philadelphia’s books either way.

Teams have until Jan. 15 to apply. An approved exception expires on March 10 if it has not been used, and it is lost earlier if the team waives or trades the injured player or if he comes back ahead of schedule.

Why it is unlikely to be used soon

At $1.7 million, the slot buys almost nothing right now. Apart from a few rookies, no player on a standard NBA contract earns less than that this season, so it is hard to find a trade target who fits. A free agent signed today on a minimum deal would also cost more than $1.7 million, since the prorated minimum does not fall below that level until Dec. 13.

The exception becomes more useful later. After the Feb. 11 trade deadline, a $1.7 million offer for the rest of the season would be worth far more than a prorated veteran’s minimum, which could help Philadelphia win a bidding race for a player who reaches the buyout market.

There is a limit, though. The Sixers are hard-capped at the first apron and sit only about $1.83 million below it, according to reports. Any move that adds salary before then could leave too little room to use the full amount.

The backup center question

The application is a small step for a team still looking for size. Philadelphia is 3-1 heading into Wednesday’s game at Indiana, but Tacko Fall and Dominick Barlow are out, Embiid has been managed on back-to-backs, and Nick Nurse has leaned on Adem Bona, Jabari Walker and even LeBron James in the middle. The Sixers were reported earlier this month to be planning to wait until December, when prorated minimum contracts get cheaper, before adding a center on a standard deal.

Philadelphia may not be the only team to ask. Oklahoma City could apply after Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace were ruled out indefinitely ahead of surgery, and Sacramento has the same option after Ben Simmons’ Achilles tear, a case that works out to a similarly small exception. Because Williams earns far more than Hukporti or Simmons, an exception for him would be capped at the non-taxpayer mid-level amount and could be a real trade tool for the Thunder.