76ers make roster request due to injury that forced LeBron James into center role
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LeBron James can literally do it all on the basketball court, and that was evidenced by the fact that he ended up being the Philadelphia 76ers’ starting center against the Detroit Pistons in the absence of Joel Embiid, who was rested. Embiid, just like the 76ers, has started the season strongly but Philadelphia are dealing with an obvious problem, especially after Ariel Hukporti tore his right Achilles tendon in the preseason opener against the New York Knicks.
Now, the 76ers have applied for a disabled player exception due to the injury, per a post on X by Insider Jake Fischer.
“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,” he wrote.
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Hukporti signed a one-year, $3.4 million contract with Philadelphia in July after winning an NBA championship with New York. He averaged 2.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 9.1 minutes per game across 79 appearances, including six starts, over his two seasons with the Knicks.
The Sixers are eligible for a disabled player exception worth approximately $1.7 million, half of Hukporti’s 2026-27 salary. However, receiving the exception would not automatically solve the problem. Philadelphia is operating under a hard cap at the first apron and sits approximately $1.8 million below that threshold, meaning they cannot sign a replacement center to a standard contract without first creating additional financial flexibility.
That means that before a new center can be brought in, the 76ers will need to either waive a player or execute a trade to free up room. Philadelphia entered the season with multiple backup center options, including the likes of Adam Bona, Tacko Fall and Dominick Barlow, in addition to Hukporti.
However, Bona is currently listed as day-to-day due to a left foot sprain, with Barlow and Fall out due to a lumbar spine bone stress problem and a quadriceps injury, respectively. Hence, as things stand, Embiid is their only recognized center, and it remains to be seen whether the disabled player exception ends up giving them the room for another player, if approved.
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