NBA news: The Chicago Bulls were struck with some terrible news on the Lonzo Ball front after it was revealed that the 25-year-old is now expected to miss the entirety of the 2022-23 season due to a lingering knee injury. This serves as a major blow for Ball, who has played just 35 games for the Bulls since joining them in 2021.
Obviously, this is also an awful development for Chicago, who will now be without their 6-foot-6 point guard for the second consecutive season. The silver lining for them is that the NBA has now granted them a Disabled Player Exception amid Ball’s troubling knee injury.
NBA News: Bulls Granted $10.2 Million Disabled Player Exception For Lonzo Ball
NBA guru Shams Charania reported on Thursday that the NBA has ruled in favor of the Bulls with regard to their recent DPE application for Ball:
The NBA has granted the Bulls a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception for the season-ending loss of Lonzo Ball, sources say. https://t.co/6pJ3Lc78vY
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 14, 2023
In layman’s terms, this means that the Bulls will be able to sign one player by allocating this $10.2 million exception for his salary. This amount is half of what Ball is set to pocket in 2023-24, which obviously, Chicago will still need to pay. With the DPE, however, the Bulls can at least add another player via free agency, trade, or waiver claim.
NBA News: How Lonzo Ball’s DPE Impacts Bucks
The Bulls are one of the Milwaukee Bucks’ fiercest rivals in the Central Division. This favorable decision by the NBA is a major development in that they will be able to add a noteworthy player with this $10.2 million exception. It won’t be a superstar, but that’s still a considerable amount of money. For context, the veteran’s minimum in the NBA for a 10-year vet is currently upwards of $2.5 million. It is worth noting, though, that the Bulls can only use the entire $10.2 million exception on just one player.
Chicago is going to be a nuisance again in the Central Division, and along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, they could potentially challenge the Bucks for the top spot. Milwaukee is obviously still the favorite in the division, but this DPE could go a long way for Chicago.
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