Cavaliers granted disabled-player exception for Collin Sexton's season-ending injury

The Cavaliers have received a disabled-player exception as a result of Collin Sexton‘s knee injury, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The exception will be worth a little more than $3.17M, which is half of Sexton’s $6,349,671 salary this season.

Sexton has been out of action since suffering a torn meniscus in early November. He underwent surgery on November 19 and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. This is the second DPE of the season for the Cavaliers, who also received an $8.9M exception following an injury to Ricky Rubio.

The disabled-player exception can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers or to acquire a player in a trade. It can only be used on a single player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free-agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.

The exception also doesn’t open up a spot on the 15-man roster, so the Cavs would have to create a roster opening before they could use the DPE. Cleveland will have a March 10 deadline to use the exception before it expires.

Sexton has reported progress with his rehab and has expressed hope that he might be able to return for the playoffs. He will be a restricted free agent this summer if Cleveland makes an $8.56M qualifying offer.