The Nets are expected to apply for a disabled player exception following Spencer Dinwiddie‘s ACL reconstruction surgery, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). While Brooklyn hasn’t officially provided a timeline for Dinwiddie’s return, Woj refers to the injury as “season-ending.”
The disabled player exception is a salary cap exception designed to allow teams to add a replacement for a player who suffers a major injury and is deemed highly likely to be sidelined for the season and the postseason. It’s worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.
In this case, half of Dinwiddie’s $11,454,048 salary is $5,727,024, so that would be the amount of the Nets’ disabled player exception if their request is approved.
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. However, it can only be used on one 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.
A disabled player exception doesn’t give a team an extra roster spot, so the Nets would have to create an opening on their 15-man squad if they get a DPE and intend to use it. Any additional team salary would also increase the team’s already-substantial projected luxury tax bill.
So far this season, the Warriors (Klay Thompson) and Magic (Jonathan Isaac) have been granted disabled player exceptions. The deadline to use them is April 19.
