The Bulls have applied for a disabled player exception due to Lonzo Ball‘s knee injury, which is expected to sideline him for the entire 2023/24 season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Chicago confirmed the news (Twitter link via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago). VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas previously stated the team didn’t expect Ball to play next season.
Ball underwent a third left knee surgery in March — a cartilage transplant — after two previous surgeries were unable to clear up persistent discomfort when he tried to ramp up his on-court activities. The 25-year-old has been sidelined since January 14, 2022, when he originally tore his meniscus.
A disabled player exception grants an over-the-cap team some extra spending power when it loses a player to an injury deemed more likely than not to sideline him through at least June 15, 2024.
The exception is worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. In this case, Ball’s ’23/24 salary is $20.46MM, so Chicago’s DPE would be worth $10.23MM if the NBA grants the request.
As we explain in our glossary entry, the disabled player exception can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade. The exception can only be used on a single player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.
Although the disabled player exception gives a team extra cap flexibility, it doesn’t open up an extra spot on the 15-man roster. The club must have a roster spot available to use the DPE to add a player.
Ball holds a $21.4MM player option for ’24/25, the final year of his contract.
Bulls should of never bought into the hype…
No, they never should “have”.
No, they never should “have.”
Never, should they have
Meh… The moment you lot start spelling “favourite” or “colour” correctly I might think about your grammer needs…
The hype was real, kid just blew out his knee.
The hype was real for Brandon Roy and Greg Oden…
It was a mistake to buy into that hype as well…
Roy didn’t seem to have the major injury issues in college that Oden had
Surprising they even filed for it considering it would be absolutely shocking if they use it. If they use it, they would go into the luxury tax. Reinsdorf has only authorized to go into the luxury tax once so highly doubtful they use it. Feels like just a “we did our due diligence by filing for it to give us options” cover.
They might use it but not all of it, and stay under the cap.
Er, under the tax
Finally admitting the reality, but they should have done this months ago so they could use it now when FAs are available, not later when it is nothing but scraps
Apply this —————-
Quickley, Grimes, Fournier, #1 pick
For DeRozan ….
Except at this point they have too many guards. What they need is Randle.
Fournier and Hart and a two 2nd
1st* too
As a bulls fan I’d do it. But I just really want to have something to look forward to with this perpetual train wreck of a team
Save your $ and downgrade your lifestyle Lonzo because your gravy train is coming to an end.
Waiting for the Bulls news to drop and this is what I get. They do something they should of done last year. I don’t even think the Bulls can field a summer league team worth watching. This the most boring Bulls team ever assembled. No trades, No moves of any kind, No spending of any note and 5 guards who play defense and can’t shoot and only 1 PF who’s an underachiever and if he gets hurt it gets even more boring. Wow- I think I might need some pharmaceutical help after writing this.
This really is the most boring Bulls team I have ever seen. It hasn’t always been pretty, but I can’t remeber it ever being this stagnant and absent of any real hope for a brighter future for this play-in team.