Report: NBA Denies Wizards' $9.2M DPE Request for John Wall's Achilles Injury

The Washington Wizards reportedly won't have as much financial flexibility as they hoped.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the NBA denied the Wizards' request for a disabled player exception for John Wall. Charania noted the DPE would have been worth $9.2 million and helped make up for Wall, who will miss the season as he recovers from a torn Achilles. 

Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington noted this decision from the league is "not surprising" since the typical recovery time for Wall’s surgery is 11 to 15 months. The Wizards would have needed to prove the point guard would be out until June 2020 to receive the exception, which would have been 16 months.

Fred Katz of The Athletic suggested this also is not "that big of a deal" for Washington.

He pointed out the team is approximately $7 million away from the luxury tax and would have needed to be creative to put the additional money to good use. He also added a silver lining for the team stemming from the decision:

Wall is under contract until 2023, although he has a player option for the 2022-23 campaign. Washington selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, and he quickly developed into the franchise cornerstone and a five-time All-Star.

However, the 29-year-old appeared in just 41 games in 2017-18 and 32 games last season.

Bradley Beal is the face of the franchise at this point after agreeing to a two-year, $72 million contract extension earlier this month.