The Chicago Bulls have been granted a DPE worth $10.2 million due to Lonzo Ball's season-ending loss for 2023-24

The Chicago Bulls get some relief out of Lonzo Ball’s expected season-long stint on the sidelines as he continues to recover from left knee surgery. Ball had a cartilage transplant surgery in March and hasn’t played since January 2022.

Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news:

“The NBA has granted the Bulls a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception for the season-ending loss of Lonzo Ball, sources say.”

Hours before the 2023 NBA Draft, Bulls vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas told the media that Ball will likely be sitting out next season. Back in March, the team announced that the point guard will undergo another surgery on his left knee.

The March surgery is his third on his left knee over the last 14 months. Ball played just 35 games during the 2021-22 season when he first suffered the injury. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals that season.

The No. 2 pick of the 2017 NBA Draft has transformed his shooting mechanics to become a threat from the perimeter. From 30.5% from deep in his rookie year, he has steadily increased it in each of the last four seasons. Ball shot 42.3% from behind the arc before he was shut down with an injury.

Ball’s presence was a huge reason why the Chicago Bulls performed well during the 2021-22 season. The UCLA product gave his team superb playmaking, defense and underrated shooting.

Without him, it wasn’t a surprise that his team struggled. The $10.2 million DPE will be huge as Chicago can add another player without getting hit with the salary cap.

Billy Donavan’s team is stacked with perimeter players. They recently added Jevon Carter and re-signed Coby White. The Bulls are also reportedly interested in bringing back restricted free agent guard Ayo Dosunmu.

Furthermore, Chicago could use the DPE to add size to their frontline. They have no depth behind Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond at center. The Bulls also lack a legitimate starting power forward.

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Will Lonzo Ball ever play again?

Lonzo Ball is only 25 years old, but there is real potential that his basketball days could be sadly over. His third surgery in 14 months is not something players usually undergo.

In the 'Organizations Win Championships' podcast, Dan Bernstein had this to say about the latest operation Ball had to go through:

“We heard about experimental cartilage replacement surgery. It is incredibly rare and is much more likely being done just for his quality of life off of the basketball court."

Ball is scheduled to earn $20.4 million this season and has a player option after that. If he opts into the final year of his deal, which will likely be the case, he will be paid $21.3 million.

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