Bulls Rumors: Lonzo Ball Injury Exception Pursued by CHI; Worth $10.2M

Amid reports that Lonzo Ball is set to miss all of next season, the Chicago Bulls have applied for a disabled player exception worth $10.2 million to help upgrade their roster, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

After Ball missed the entire 2022-23 campaign with a lingering knee injury that has kept him out since January 2022, Chicago executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas said last week that the 2017 No. 2 overall pick likely won't be back next year either.

Ball originally suffered a torn meniscus and has undergone three different surgeries to try to resolve the pain, to no effect, most recently in February.

Nearly $37 million over the salary cap, the DPE would give the Bulls a lot more flexibility to continue improving their roster after they decided against starting a rebuild, re-signing Nikola Vucevic to a three-year, $60 million deal.

It is granted to teams that have a player who is more than likely set to miss the majority of the following season, like Ball. Before getting approval for the exception, it's up to an NBA-designated doctor or the league's Fitness to Play panel to determine the extent of Ball's injury.

The exception is typically worth half of the injured player's salary, with a max value of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception for that respective season, per Spotrac.

With Ball set to make $20.4 million next season, that'd give Chicago a $10.2 million exception.

Once granted, the Bulls could use the DPE to sign a player, trade for a player or to claim a player off waivers. It could only be used on one player.

Ball's injury history has put Chicago in a really tough spot, considering that he signed a four-year, $85 million contract extension with the organization after being acquired in August 2021 but has only played in 35 games in the Windy City.

Prior to getting injured he looked great, helping lead Chicago to a top seed in the Eastern Conference early in the season and had the Bulls looking like a real contender. He was averaging 13.0 points per game to go along with 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals on a career-high 42.3 percent shooting from three-point range.