The NBA has granted the Grizzlies‘ request for a second disabled player exception following Ja Morant‘s season-ending shoulder surgery, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The exception will be worth $12,405,000.
A disabled player exception gives an over-the-cap team some extra spending power – but not an additional 15-man roster spot – when it loses a player to an injury deemed likely to sideline him through at least June 15. As we explain in our glossary entry, the exception can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade.
The disabled player 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.
The exception is worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whichever is lesser. Since Morant is earning $34MM+ this season, the Grizzlies’ DPE is worth the amount of the non-taxpayer MLE.
Memphis had already been granted one disabled player exception this season — the team was awarded a $6.3MM exception following Steven Adams‘ season-ending knee surgery, as our DPE tracker shows. The Grizzlies will have until March 11 to make use of one or both exceptions.
Disabled player exceptions often expire without being used, but the Grizzlies have some breathing room below the luxury tax line and appear lottery-bound, so they could be a candidate to take on an unwanted contract along with an asset (such as a future draft pick or cash) to help another team trim payroll. They also have one available trade exception worth approximately $7.5MM.
For Jah? He should be banned anyway
Banned? lol.
Bruh, Ja is the dumbest player since Gilbert Arenas in terms of gun shenanigans, and even then, I wouldn’t ban him.
Who cares !!!!!
Only thing we wait to be awarded is a Lottery Pick ……
Big Baby comeback ??
Oh wait …
Only in the prison yard with Terrance Williams
The three exceptions of Memphis could be valuable towards the trade deadline.
$12,405,000 allows to take on a big unwanted contract.
The 6.3 million could also be used before the trade deadline.
And also the 7.5 million one.
The simple scenario is taking on salary into those exceptions, potentially sending back a contract and a trade exception to the other team.
Total added salary would have them stay under the tax line obviously.
There could be a nice sequencing of trades, where the trade exceptions help facilitating salary-matching in a multi-team trade.
They’ll work well hopping in on 3 team trades as a facilitator
Agree. Value there might be higher than a pure one-to-one salary dump.