Knicks Just Received So Much BAD NEWS... | Knicks News | The Knicks Recap Podcast

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The 76ers just stole the Knicks Backup Center. That's right, Ariel Hukporti, he has taken a new deal with Philadelphia. That means right now, New York has no other centers on their roster besides Karl-Anthony Towns. We're going to break down all of these latest reports today.
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And now, let's get started.
The 76ers steal Ariel Hukporti.
Now, it looks like The Knicks will have to find two centers, a backup for Karl-Anthony Towns, and also a backup at center just for insurance. Right now, they don't have either. They have not resigned Mitchell Robinson yet, and it's likely they're not going to be able to because other teams around the league, they're going to price out New York. But now, even worse than that, Ariel Hukporti, he is leaving The New York Knicks. He is joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a one-year deal. Philly, they just stole New York's backup center, one of their insurance pieces that you know New York had a plan for. They were likely going to bring him back on a lower contract for more years. But now, they've lost that opportunity. Let's take a look at these following updates. Shout out to Sham Sharania for giving us this following information. According to him, free agent center Ariel Hukporti has agreed to a one-year, $3.4 million deal with the Philadelphia 76ers. Hukporti departs The Knicks after playing a reserve role on their title team, and gives the 76ers front-court depth and a high-motor athletic big man. And SNY, they also confirm this. Ariel Hukporti is leaving New York to join the Philadelphia 76ers.
According to NBA insider Ian Bagley, he states the following about Hukporti. On Ariel Hukporti, heard the sixers like what they see in the 24-year-old's potential and upside, particularly as a rebounder, rim protector and floor runner. They see the former Knicks skill set as complimentary to the way their guards push the ball and play with pace. While we wait for Mitchell Robinson's decision, Knicks will now have to find more depth at the center position with Hukporti in Philadelphia. Now, I know what you're thinking. What does this mean regarding the New York Knicks resigning Mitchell Robinson? Well, we have more information on that too.
Shout out to NBA Insider with Newsday, Steve Popper, for giving us this following information. At first, he states this, Hukporti could have been insurance for Mitchell Robinson. So that means, um, well, we don't know yet. He said that, then he followed up that tweet with this following response.
According to Popper, he says, Still seems like Mitchell Robinson will get a larger offer than what the Knicks can offer. But spots are filling up. And if the Knicks move a contract for future assets, like Dottier for a second round pick, it wouldn't rule it out yet. As I keep saying, this front office has surprised me with the ability to build and skim along the line of the second apron. But what if New York is not able to retain Mitchell Robinson, and as we just saw, they lost their backup insurance policy in Ariel Hukporti? What's their next move going to be? Well, shout out to James L. Edwards of The Athletic for giving us this following information. According to him, Hukporti couldn't pass up a deal for more than the minimum, which is all he was going to get from New York if he returned. If Mitchell Robinson doesn't come back, I assume the Knicks attacked the center depth with a cheap free agent and two-way contract.
I want to make this clear once again. New York currently has no other centers on this team besides Karl-Anthony Towns. They need to make a move. They need to do something. Now, like Steve Popper said, he would not be surprised if Leon Rose and this Knicks front office make a surprise move that we never saw coming. Everybody is telling us that Mitchell Robinson is likely leaving New York too, because he's going to get bigger offers either from the Lakers, the Celtics, the Kings or the Brooklynettes. And if he gets an offer around $15 million, it's unlikely that New York will be able to match that.