Cavs Granted Another Disabled-Player Exception

The Cavaliers have been granted a $3.17 disabled-player exception by the NBA, this one for the injury to guard Collin Sexton, per multiple reports.

When the league grants an exception, it’s generally because it means a player isn’t expected to return in the given season. So that would mean Sexton isn’t expected to return — not even if the Cavs hold serve and qualify for the playoffs.

The exception is for half of Sexton’s salary. It can be used to acquire one player on an expired/ending contract by March 10.

As RealGM explained, the Cavs “can sign a player to a remainder-of-season deal, trade for an expiring player or claim a player off waivers in the final year of their deal.” If they don’t use it by March 10, it expires.

This is all true. They need some extra scoring punch, they are trying to find it, and I’m guessing odds as 99.325% that Cavs make some sort of trade within next week. https://t.co/RdvrDknt8B

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) February 3, 2022

This is the second such exception granted to the Cavs this season. They also received a DPE of $8.9 million for Ricky Rubio, who like Sexton, is out for the year with a knee injury.

Cleveland has been dangling Rubio’s expiring contract of $17.8 million and its first-round pick in trade talks, as we relayed right here on Hoops Wire. The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 10 and the Cavs are expected to make a move for more backcourt scoring.

Sexton played in eight games this season, averaging a team-best 16.0 points at the time. Rubio had been scoring a career-high 13.5 points at the time of his injury in late December. Sexton will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season; Rubio an unrestricted free agent