The Philadelphia 76ers have announced their intentions to win the Eastern Conference this season with a number of loud moves. Yet it may be the quiet ones that truly propel them to success -- including stealing Ariel Hukporti away from the New York Knicks.
Even close watchers of the NBA playoffs may have missed the impact that Hukporti had for the Knicks. As their third center, he was not a consistent part of their nightly rotation if both Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson were healthy.
When called upon, however, Hukporti was not afraid of the moment. Towns got in early foul trouble in multiple key games, including in the NBA Finals against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs, and Hukporti came in and did his part. Patrick Ewing he is not, but he looked like a player who was ready to step up into a larger role.
The 76ers stole Ariel Hukporti
The 76ers evidently thought so more confidently than the Knicks, who failed to extend a qualifying offer to the German center after his second season. Perhaps New York intended to bring him back once they concluded the rest of their business, but they were never given the chance.
Philadelphia seized the opportunity and struck quickly, agreeing to a one-year, $3.4 million deal with Hukporti. It paid him above the league minimum, likely outbidding the Knicks' offer, and it allows him to hit free agency again next summer if he plays well this year.
He will certainly get plenty of opportunity. Joel Embiid is a lock to miss 15 games this year, and the backup center position is an open competition between Adem Bona and Johni Broome, a competition Hukporti may just be the favorite to win.
The Knicks, the defending Eastern Conference (and NBA) champions and the team that summarily dispatched Philly in the second round, are the team that Philly has to beat. Adding Jaylen Brown, Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons will certainly help them do that.
The Knicks will miss Hukporti
Adding Hukporti will too, in more ways than one. He is not only the type of big to throw at Karl-Anthony Towns, making Philly better, but his absence also makes the Knicks worse. They lost both Mitchell Robinson and Hukporti this summer, leaving them without even a backup to the foul-happy Towns.
New York is financially strapped to make additions to their roster, and while their front office has pulled rabbits out of hats in the past, odds are their solution at center will be worse -- likely much worse -- than the combination of Robinson and Hukporti.
Hukporti was supposed to be the replacement plan for Robinson, but instead, he has moved to the Knicks' rival. And he will grow to spread his wings down the road, including likely earning a number of starts in the absence of Embiid.
If he continues his upward trajectory of growth, he will be ready for consistent playoff minutes by the time April and May roll around. And if the 76ers and Knicks end up facing one another, he will be perfectly positioned to make the Knicks regret not keeping him around.
Their loss is Philadelphia's gain.
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