Ariel Hukporti News: Team option exercised Sunday

The Knicks exercised their $1.96 million team option in Hukporti's contract for 2025-26 on Sunday, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reports.

Hukporti will return to New York for a second season after appearing in 25 regular-season games (one start) last year, during which he averaged 1.9 points and 2.0 rebounds across 8.7 minutes per game. The 23-year-old isn't guaranteed significant playing time in 2025-26, though he could see a boost in minutes if Precious Achiuwa departs in free agency.