Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2025 Free Agents - Ariel Hukporti
After several successful seasons playing overseas in Europe and Australia, Hukporti entered the 2024 draft and was selected late in the 2nd round. He didn't get much playing time as a rookie, and even his G-League minutes were limited, but the Knicks reportedly have some real hopes of him taking on a larger role going forward. Hukporti has pretty high-upside on the defensive end of the court. He has good size for a center, and has shown good insticts for rotating on team and good feel as a pick-and-roll defender in drop coverage. He gets a good amount of blocks, and posted a high block rate in his limited NBA minutes in '24-'25 also. Offensively, Hukporti will likely just be a rim-runner, because he hasn't show a ton of ball-skill or passing ability yet. He has a high motor and can use that to collapse the defense in transition, even if it doesn't end up with him getting the ball. It was a small sample size, but he his 14 out of his 18 shots at the rim in '24-'25, according to Cleaning the Glass. Hukporti is already 23 years old finishing his rookie season, but I could see him playing a role as a back-up rim-running big. It will be interesting to see if he can break into the rotation in '25-'26, as I expect the Knicks to keep him on the roster.
Summary
Hukporti has a $2 million team option for '25-'26, and if that is declined he will be a restricted free agent with a $2.2 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer, and the Knicks will have his Non-Bird rights. There's also a chance that the Knicks do not give Hukporti a QO, which would make him an unrestricted free agent. If the Knicks re-sign Hukporti using the Non-Bird Exception, they could offer him a starting salary of up to 120% of his minimum salary, which should be more than enough to retain him. If it weren't, and they wanted to retain him, they would simply exercise his option anyway. Since Hukporti will only have one year of service, he will be subject to the Gilbert Arenas provision if he is given a QO. This means that any offer sheet he signs with a team besides New York can have a starting maximum salary of $14.1Â million, but the third and potentially fourth years of that contract can have a large jump (up to the max). His cap hit would then be the average salary over the life of the contract. Since the Knicks would only have his Non-Bird Rights, they would not be able to match an offer sheet above the amount they can give him using the Non-Bird Exception. I do not expect the Arenas provision to come into play for Hukporti, as I think any offers for him would fit within the full Non-Taxpayer MLE over the length of the contract. It's most likely that he's an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers, and he may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.
Cap Considerations
Charles Bassey (1 year minimum, 2024) Moses Brown (1 year non-guaranteed minimum, 2023) Orlando Robinson(1 year partially-guaranteed minimum, 2024)