NBA Rumors: Lakers Awarded Disabled Player Exception

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This is a sizeable exception for the Lakers to work with, however at this point of the season players worth that kind of money are not available. In fact, the kind of guys that the Lakers are looking at, probably won’t even require half of that exception in order to sign on the dotted line. Had they been awarded this exception in the offseason, it could have been a real difference maker for them. At that time, though, Nash was working his way to 100 percent health and confident that he was going to be able to be a contributor for the Lakers this season. Unfortunately, early on in preseason Nash was ruled out for the season due to nerve damage. He has been away from the team since, but is expected to rejoin them soon and have a role with the franchise in his post-playing career.

The Lakers have been looking at veteran frontline help primarily lately, working out Quincy Miller, Tyrus Thomas and Roscoe Smith. They have also taken a look at Gal Mekel, and could be a fit for Al Harrington as well, who was released from his contract in the CBA after a tremendous start there because his contract contains an NBA out and he’s receiving serious interest.

The Lakers recently lost Xavier Henry for the rest of the season due to a torn Achilles, but may not even bother applying for a disabled player exception for him as it would only be worth a little over $500,000. DPEs are worth half of the player’s contract that they are awarded for. They cannot be packaged with any other contracts either. Its only use is to acquire someone within its value.

Surprisingly, it was Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau who made the call to sit Rose after his brief stint against the Nuggets in a game that the Bulls would go onto lose. This come less than 24 hours after Thibodeau made a rare display of frustration over Rose’s inconsistent presence in the lineup.

You have to wonder if something went on behind the scenes after his comments, because he seemed intent on getting Rose to push himself a little bit more than he has been this season. Rose has already missed eight games this season due to ankle and hamstring issues.

Rose said that with the rest and rehab time available to him before the next game, he hopes to be available against the Boston Celtics.

Smith is familiar with the D-League stemming back from his time with the Portland Trail Blazers where they would assign him there to get some minutes as he struggled to earn playing time. He spent last season overseas and averaged 13.9 points and three assists for KK Cedevita. This year he was playing with Galatasaray, but was playing sparingly, which played a role in his split with the team.

With the 87ers, Smith stands a solid chance to end up getting called up by the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that is constantly shuffling through minimum-contract players the want to evaluate and see if they’re worth keeping long-term. As a combo guard with a well-rounded skill set offensively, Smith should thrive in the up tempo style of the D-League.