Nets Rumors: BKN Expected to Apply for $5.7M DPE After Spencer Dinwiddie Injury
The Brooklyn Nets are expected to apply for the NBA's $5.7 million disabled player exception in the wake of Spencer Dinwiddie's season-ending injury, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Dinwiddie suffered a partially torn right ACL in December, wiping out the rest of his year.
Wojnarowski noted Brooklyn would need to release somebody from its roster to make use of the DPE, and using the full $5.7 million at its disposal would increase the franchise's luxury tax bill to $43 million.
The Athletic's John Hollinger raised a level of doubt as to whether the league would grant the exception at all:
"However, to qualify for the exception, the Nets would need to prove that Dinwiddie is likely to be out of the entire regular season and playoffs — extending to late July. Even if that ends up being the case, the Nets may have a hard time proving it right now. That’s also why it’s possible they could wait a while before applying. With the trade deadline not until March, they may have an easier time proving their case six weeks from now."
Upon learning of Dinwiddie's injury, Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News also questioned how much utility the DPE would carry for Brooklyn:
The $5.7 million can only be used in a trade for a player on an expiring contract or to sign a free agent, and there aren't many free agents who can help the Nets right now. The DPE will probably be at its most useful when teams inevitably buy out veterans on their roster after the trade deadline.
This is where Dinwiddie's team-friendly three-year, $34.4 million contract actually hinders the front office. The disabled player exception equals half of his relatively modest $11.5 million salary for 2020-21.
The Golden State Warriors, by comparison, got the maximum of $9.3 million to account for Klay Thompson's torn Achilles tendon.
Right now, Brooklyn needs whatever mechanisms it can find to improve its roster.
Dinwiddie averaged 20.6 points and 6.8 assists in 2019-20. The team is sorely missing his scoring and playmaking to supplement Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Nets are also 12th in defensive rating (107.3), per NBA.com. Rather than targeting a player with Dinwiddie's skill set, they could go after a more defensive-minded wing since perimeter defending will be critical come playoff time.
