76ers expected to ride out center shortage until December after Ariel Hukporti’s Achilles tear, Marc Stein reports

The Philadelphia 76ers are not expected to add a center, or any other player on a standard contract, until prorated minimum deals become available in early December, Marc Stein reported in his newsletter late Sunday, even after losing Ariel Hukporti to a torn Achilles tendon.

That leaves the Sixers to open the season with very little size behind Joel Embiid, whose availability has been a recurring question throughout his career. According to Stein, the only realistic path to a signing before December would be a trade that trims roughly $600,000 from the payroll. The team has not commented on the report.

How the depth chart got so thin

Hukporti, a 24-year-old 7-footer who signed with Philadelphia in July after two seasons with the New York Knicks, went down without contact in the first quarter of the preseason opener against his former team on Monday, October 5. The Sixers announced the next afternoon that an MRI had confirmed a torn right Achilles, and he has since had surgery. Shams Charania of ESPN reported that the injury will end his season.

He had been in the running for the backup job, and his loss exposed a group that was already banged up. As of the Sixers’ Wednesday update, reported by Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Adem Bona, last season’s primary backup, was back to on-court work after a foot sprain, Dominick Barlow was dealing with a back problem, and Tacko Fall was expected to miss at least another week with a hip injury.

Stein named Bona, Barlow and Jabari Walker as the only depth Philadelphia has behind Embiid. When Hukporti went down against the Knicks, Walker stepped in for a double-double of 11 points and 11 boards. He then started on Saturday, October 10, in Boston, finishing with 14 points and six rebounds in a 144-106 loss in which Embiid, Bona, Barlow and Fall all did not play. The Game Center has the full box score.

Why the Sixers are boxed in

The roster math explains the patience. Philadelphia is hard-capped at the first apron, the Inquirer noted, and most players who signed new contracts this offseason cannot be traded until December 15. The club does still have an open two-way slot.

In the meantime, Nick Nurse is preparing smaller looks. The coach confirmed last week that LeBron James could play some small-ball center, and he listed Dean Wade among the players who could slide into the middle.

What comes next

The Sixers host the Boston Celtics in a preseason rematch on Friday, October 16, at 7 p.m. ET (Game Center). Updates on Bona and Barlow will show whether either can be ready for the regular season.