Report: NBA grants Celtics $8.4M disabled player exception after Hayward injury
The Boston Celtics may have lost Gordon Hayward for what could be the remainder of the 2017-18 season, but they'll at least have some cap relief to acquire a replacement moving forward.
The NBA has granted Boston an $8.4-million disabled player exception (DPE) for losing Hayward to a fractured tibia and dislocated ankle, league sources told The Vertical's Shams Charania.
The DPE is an exception to the salary cap, and can be used on a player that has one year left on his contract.
Boston had to apply for the DPE, with a league-approved physician first needing to determine that Hayward is likely to be out of action through June 15, 2018.
The amount of the DPE is the lower figure of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (the $8.4 million), or 50 percent of the injured player's salary.
The exception - which can only be used to sign one player - will expire on March 10, 2018.
Hayward underwent surgery last week, with his agent later stating that his client will, in all likelihood, not take the floor again this season.
The 27-year-old sustained his injuries early in the first quarter of Boston's season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.