On Thursday, the NBA granted the Chicago Bulls a disabled player exception for injured guard Lonzo Ball. The exception gives the Bulls $10.2 million to either sign or trade for a player making equal to or less than what Ball will make this season.
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
The decision by the NBA to grant Chicago an injury exception is either a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Ball has already missed more than a season and a half of basketball and is expected to miss all of next season as well. That’s obviously bad.
When last healthy, the Bulls were 28-15 but have gone just 58-63 since then. They are unlikely to find a player as impactful at this point in free agency but having the ability to use up to $10.2 million is certainly better than just having Ball’s dead salary on their books.
Be that as it may, it is unclear what the Bulls plan to do with their newly acquired disabled player exception. There are still some interesting players available, but they may not impact winning as much as Bulls fans might hope. With that in mind, let’s look at potential options for the Bulls.
Way 3: Use the disabled player exception to sign a player.
Of the remaining free agent options, center Christian Wood’s name sticks out. The 26-year-old big man is known as a highly talented offensive player, though he has bounced around the NBA due to fit issues. With the Bulls able to offer a one-year deal worth up to $10.2 million, he might be a low-risk option to try and improve their roster.
At the moment, it’s unclear who would offer him more than the minimum, with most of the free agency money having already been spent. As a result, a short-term investment worth, say, $8 million would probably make sense for both Chicago and Wood.
Another option could be Bol Bol, who would be another high-upside flyer for Chicago. Bol was waived by the Orlando Magic and has yet to find a new team. Part of that might be due to the impending Damian Lillard and James Harden trades.
The involved teams don’t know what holes they will have to fill, leaving Bol to wait. Chicago could scoop him up, however, possibly without having to spend even half of the exception to do so.
Way 2: Use the disabled player exception to trade for a player.
In addition to potentially using the exception to sign a player, the Bulls could also use it to trade for a player. That would allow Chicago to take up to $10.2 million more back in a trade. Despite that, finding players who would fit both the team and the exception might be difficult.
Therefore, they could theoretically use that to take back another team’s unwanted player or players in exchange for a second-round pick or two. That wouldn’t move the needle, but it would help the Bulls replenish their draft pick stockpile.
Chicago could also wait until after the trade deadline, when teams begin waiving or buying out players. With most teams only having the minimum to offer, the Bulls could have their pick of buyout players.
Of course, Chicago would need to be good in order for them to want to sign a veteran to help them compete. Still, there are often good players available after the trade deadline that can help teams in the hunt for the playoffs, and they could benefit from waiting.
Way 1: Do nothing with the disabled player exception.
As surprising an option as this might seem to some, it’s probably the most likely option. After all, the Bulls are dangerously close to the luxury tax, and re-signing Ayo Dosunmu to much more than his qualifying offer and using even half of the disabled player exceptions would put them over the tax line. For a team that missed the playoffs last season and figures to be in the same boat next season, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to pay the luxury tax.
Instead, they can do what most teams do with an injured-player or trade exception: not use it. Doing so probably wouldn’t negatively impact their season too much, and it saves ownership money, so that would seem to be the most likely course of action. That might not sit well with Bulls fans, but barring a hot start to the season, the team may be sellers at the trade deadline.
In that case, they wouldn’t need the disabled player exception since they would be offloading their best players. On the off chance that they are good, Chicago would still have it in their back pocket, but history and luxury tax concerns suggest that they are unlikely to use the exception to improve their roster.