Hoops Rumors Originals

Saturday, January 15 was the last day that a team could apply for a disabled player exception during the 2021/22 NBA league year.

A disabled player exception can be granted when a team has a player go down with an injury deemed to be season-ending (with the player more likely than not to be sidelined through June 15). The cap exception doesn’t open up an extra roster spot, but it gives the club some additional spending flexibility, functioning almost as a cross between a traded player exception and a mid-level exception.

We go into more detail on who qualifies for disabled player exceptions and how exactly they work in our glossary entry on the subject. But essentially, a DPE gives a team the opportunity to add an injury replacement by either signing a player to a one-year contract, trading for a player in the final year of his contract, or placing a waiver claim on a player in the final year of his contract.

Because the rules relating to disable player exceptions are somewhat restrictive and the exceptions themselves usually aren’t worth a lot, they often simply expire without being used. Still, it’s worth keeping an eye on which disabled player exceptions have been granted, just in case.

Confirmed disabled player exceptions

Based on reports to date, we only know of one application for a disabled player exception that has been approved this season. The Pelicans, as a result of Kira Lewis‘ season-ending ACL injury, were granted a disabled player exception worth $1,911,120.

There are usually a handful of DPEs handed out in a given season, and it’s still possible that more applications made by January 15 will be approved in the coming days. For now though, New Orleans’ DPE is the only one that has been confirmed.

Disabled player exception requests that have been denied

There are multiple reasons why an application for a disabled player exception might be turned down. One is that a league-appointed physician determines the injured player is unlikely to be sidelined through June 15.

That’s what happened to the Bulls, who requested a DPE in response to Patrick Williams‘ wrist injury, but were denied. Chicago hasn’t ruled out the possibility that Williams could return in the spring, so it makes sense that the team didn’t receive the DPE it sought.

The Pacers, meanwhile, applied for a disabled player exception after Edmond Sumner tore his Achilles in September. However, Indiana traded away Sumner just a few weeks later, with no indication that their DPE request had been approved in the interim.

When a team requests a DPE, the injured player must remain on its roster from the time the application is submitted until the time it’s approved. If Indiana traded Sumner before a decision was finalized, the DPE request essentially would’ve been voided. We’re assuming that’s what happened.

Other DPE candidates to watch

Although the deadline to apply for a disabled player exception has passed, it’s possible a team submitted an application by Saturday and it just hasn’t been reported. For instance, I’d be surprised if the Cavaliers didn’t request a DPE at some point following Ricky Rubio‘s season-ending ACL tear. If approved, it would be worth $8.9MM.

There aren’t a ton of other obvious candidates. It’s possible that players like Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Michael Porter Jr., and Brook Lopez won’t return this season, but at this point, we can’t consider them “likely” to be sidelined through June 15.

The same may be true of Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton and Suns forward Dario Saric. Sexton is recovering from November meniscus surgery, while Saric tore his ACL last July.

Solomon Hill is expected to miss the rest of the season with a torn hamstring, but he was just traded from Atlanta to New York, and the Knicks weren’t eligible to apply for a disabled player exception for a player who wasn’t on their roster when he sustained the injury.

Nuggets wing PJ Dozier, who tore his ACL in November, would be a clear-cut DPE candidate, but we haven’t heard anything about an application being submitted by Denver. It’s possible the team decided it wouldn’t be worth it for an exception that would only amount to $955,430.

We’ll be keeping an eye out for further news on DPE approvals in the coming weeks, since those exceptions could come in handy at the trade deadline or on the buyout market.

As we did with 2021’s offseason trades and the in-season swaps from 2020/21, we’ll be keeping track of all the NBA trades completed this season, updating this post with each transaction. This post can be found anytime throughout the season on our desktop sidebar under “Hoops Rumors Features,” or in our mobile menu under “Features.”

Trades are listed here in reverse chronological order, with the latest on top. So, if a player has been dealt multiple times, the first team listed as having acquired him is the one that ended up with him. Trades listed in italics have been agreed upon but are not yet official. For more details on each trade, click the date above it.

For more information on the specific conditions dictating if and when draft picks involved in these deals will actually change hands, be sure to check out RealGM.com’s breakdown of the details on traded picks.

Here’s the full list of the trades completed during the 2021/22 NBA season:

February 10

• Celtics acquire Derrick White.
• Spurs acquire Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, the Celtics’ 2022 first-round pick (top-four protected), and the right to swap 2028 first-round picks with the Celtics (top-one protected).

February 10

• Wizards acquire Kristaps Porzingis and the Mavericks’ 2022 second-round pick (top-45 protected).
• Mavericks acquire Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

February 10

• Sixers acquire James Harden and Paul Millsap.
• Nets acquire Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, the Sixers’ 2022 first-round pick (unprotected), and the Sixers’ 2027 first-round pick (top-eight protected).
• Note: The Nets have the option to defer the 2022 first-round pick to 2023.

February 10

• Celtics acquire Daniel Theis.
• Rockets acquire Dennis Schröder, Bruno Fernando, and Enes Freedom.

February 10

• Suns acquire Torrey Craig and cash.
• Pacers acquire Jalen Smith and the Suns’ 2022 second-round pick.

February 10

• Kings acquire Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Jackson, Trey Lyles, the Kings’ 2024 second-round pick (from Pistons), and the draft rights to David Michineau.
• Pistons acquire Marvin Bagley III.
• Clippers acquire Rodney Hood, Semi Ojeleye, and the draft rights to Vanja Marinkovic.
• Bucks acquire Serge Ibaka, either the Warriors’ or Cavaliers’ 2023 second-round pick (whichever is less favorable; from Pistons), the Trail Blazers’ 2024 second-round pick (from Kings), and cash ($3,285,000; from Clippers).
• Note: The Kings traded away their own 2024 second-round pick in a previous deal.

February 10

• Hornets acquire Montrezl Harrell.
• Wizards acquire Ish Smith, Vernon Carey, and the Celtics’ 2023 second-round pick (top-45 protected).

February 10

• Suns acquire Aaron Holiday.
• Wizards acquire cash.

February 10

• Raptors acquire Thaddeus Young, Drew Eubanks, and either the Pistons’ or Bulls’ 2022 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable).
• Spurs acquire Goran Dragic and the Raptors’ 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected).

February 10

• Magic acquire Bol Bol, PJ Dozier, the Celtics’ 2028 second-round pick (top-45 protected), and cash.
• Celtics acquire the Magic’s 2023 second-round pick (top-55 protected).

February 9

• Jazz acquire Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Juan Hernangomez.
• Spurs acquire Tomas Satoransky and either the Thunder’s, Rockets’, Pacers’, or Heat’s 2027 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable; from Jazz).
• Trail Blazers acquire Joe Ingles, Elijah Hughes, and the Grizzlies’ 2022 second-round pick (from Jazz).

February 9

• Thunder acquire KZ Okpala and amended terms of a first-round pick owed to them by the Heat.
• Heat acquire either the Thunder’s, Mavericks’, or Sixers’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is least favorable).
• Note: The Heat previously owed the Thunder their 2023 first-round pick (top-14 protected). They now owe their 2025 first-round pick (top-14 protected).

February 8

• Kings acquire Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb, and the Pacers’ 2023 second-round pick (56-60 protected).
• Pacers acquire Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, and Tristan Thompson.

February 8

• Pelicans acquire CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., and Tony Snell.
• Trail Blazers acquire Josh Hart, Tomas Satoransky, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Didi Louzada, the Pelicans’ 2022 first-round pick (top-four protected and 15-30 protected), either the Pelicans’ or Trail Blazers’ 2026 second-round pick (whichever is more favorable), and the Pelicans’ 2027 second-round pick.
• Note: The Pelicans had previously acquired the Trail Blazers’ 2026 second-round pick.

February 7

• Cavaliers acquire Caris LeVert and the Heat’s 2022 second-round pick.
• Pacers acquire Ricky Rubio, the Cavaliers’ 2022 first-round pick (top-14 protected), the Rockets’ 2022 second-round pick, and the Jazz’s 2027 second-round pick.

February 4

• Clippers acquire Norman Powell and Robert Covington.
• Trail Blazers acquire Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and the Pistons’ 2025 second-round pick.

January 19

• Nuggets acquire Bryn Forbes.
• Spurs acquire Juan Hernangomez, the Nuggets’ 2028 second-round pick (top-33 protected), and cash ($2.15MM from Celtics; $200K from Nuggets).
  
• Celtics acquire Bol Bol and PJ Dozier.

January 13

• Knicks acquire Cam Reddish, Solomon Hill, the Nets’ 2025 second-round pick, and cash ($834,589).
• Hawks acquire Kevin Knox and the Hornets’ 2022 first-round pick (top-18 protected).

January 10

• Pistons acquire Bol Bol.
• Nuggets acquire Rodney McGruder and the Nets’ 2022 second-round pick.

This trade was voided when Bol didn’t pass a physical with the Pistons.

January 4

• Thunder acquire Miye Oni and the Jazz’s 2028 second-round pick.
• Jazz acquire cash.

January 3

• Cavaliers acquire Rajon Rondo.
• Knicks acquire Denzel Valentine, the draft rights to Wang Zhelin, the draft rights to Brad Newley, and cash ($1.1MM; from Lakers).
• Lakers acquire the draft rights to Louis Labeyrie.

At the start of the 2021/22 campaign, we looked ahead and identified several dates and deadlines to watch on the NBA calendar this season. While that list covered the general highlights, it’s worth taking a closer look at some of those key dates to keep an eye out for in January, which should be a busy month.

Let’s dive in…

Non-guaranteed contracts become guaranteed

January 10 is the date that all non-guaranteed NBA contracts for 2021/22 will officially become guaranteed, but January 7 is really the day to watch. If a team wants to avoid having a salary become guaranteed, the player must clear waivers before January 10, which means he needs to be cut by January 7 — at the latest.

Many players without fully guaranteed salaries are in no danger of being waived by Friday, but some teams will take the opportunity to save a little money and open up a roster spot.

Teams can begin signing players to non-hardship 10-day contracts

There have already been far more 10-day signings completed this season than in a typical year, and technically the 10-day window hasn’t even opened yet.

The NBA has allowed teams this season to sign players to 10-day contracts using hardship exceptions when a club is missing players due to injuries or the health and safety protocols. As of January 5, teams will be able to sign players to non-hardship 10-day contracts, regardless of how many players are on the club’s injury report.

These non-hardship 10-day deals will count against team salary for cap and tax purposes and will require an opening on the 15-man roster to complete.

We extensively outlined the details of 10-day contracts and explained how they work in our glossary entry on the subject.

More players become trade-eligible

A huge percentage of the NBA’s offseason signees became eligible to be traded back on December 15, but there are still many players who can’t be dealt. By the end of the month, that list of players ineligible to be traded will shrink further, since there are 28 players currently on track to have those restrictions lift between now and January 31.

January 15 is the key date, with 19 players becoming trade-eligible as of that Saturday. That group includes some players who almost certainly aren’t going anywhere, such as John Collins and Jarrett Allen. But a handful of players on that list could be involved in trade rumors in 2022, including Talen Horton-Tucker and Josh Hart.

A number of other offseason signees have unique trade-eligible dates in January, since they were signed sometime after September 15 or inked an offseason extension. That list features names both big (Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Kevin Durant) and small (Ed Davis, Jabari Parker, and Armoni Brooks).

Other odds and ends

There are a few other dates in January that are worth mentioning, despite the fact that they’ll likely come and go without much fanfare.

On January 10, mid-level and room exceptions – along with other cap exceptions like the bi-annual exception – will start to prorate for the year, meaning a team with its full room exception available would no longer be able to offer the full $4.91MM amount to a free agent. Exceptions will decline in value by 1/174th per day, starting on January 10.

January 15 is the last day that teams can apply for a disabled player exception to replace an injured player who is deemed unlikely to return this season. A disabled player exception can give a club extra cap flexibility, though that team may still have to open up a roster spot to add a player using its DPE. Only the Pelicans have received a DPE so far this season.

In past seasons, January 15 was also the deadline for a team to sign a player to a two-way contract, but there’s no deadline for those deals this year. However, on January 20, all players on two-way contracts will have their minimum salaries for the season become fully guaranteed.

When a player signs a 10-day contract, his team can theoretically use cap room or an exception to pay him more than the minimum salary. However, in practice, that never happens — virtually every player that signs a 10-day deal receives a prorated portion of the minimum salary.

The minimum salary in a given season differs from player to player, based on his years of NBA experience entering the season. For instance, in 2021/22, a rookie on a full-season minimum deal will earn $925,258, whereas a 10-year veteran who is earning the minimum will make $2,641,691.

[RELATED: NBA Minimum Salaries For 2021/22]

The same is true for 10-day deals. A rookie will earn significantly less over the course of his 10 days with a team than a tenured NBA veteran will.

Because the 2021/22 season is 174 days long, a player’s full-season minimum salary can be divided by 174 to calculate his daily salary. From there, it’s just a matter of multiplying by 10 to determine his salary on a 10-day contract.

Using that formula, here’s the full breakdown of what salaries for 10-day deals look like in ’21/22:

Because the NBA doesn’t want teams to avoid signing veteran players in favor of cheaper, younger options, the league reimburses clubs who sign veterans with three or more years of experience to 10-day, minimum-salary contracts.

In those instances, teams are on the hook for $95,930, the minimum salary for a player with two years of experience, while the NBA covers the difference. So a team would pay the same amount whether they sign a player with three years under his belt or a player with 12 years of NBA experience.

Based on the new temporary roster rules agreed upon by the league and the players’ union, 10-day contracts signed via hardship exceptions don’t count against team salary for cap or tax purposes. So even though the team is responsible for paying $95,930 to a player signed to a 10-day hardship deal, that money won’t count against the team’s cap. Normally, the portion of the player’s salary paid by the team would be his cap hit, even if he’s technically earning a higher salary.

Here are a few examples based on 10-day deals that are currently active: