Nets may use disabled player exception for Brook Lopez

The Brooklyn Nets are considering using the disabled player exception to replace center Brook Lopez, who they fear is out for the season with a fractured bone in his right foot.

The exception allows a team to replace a player who is out for the season, allowing them to sign a free agent the rest of the season. In Lopez’s case, the Nets would be able to sign a player for up to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, or up to $5.15 million.

But if the Nets added a player for that salary, it would cost them as much as $29 million in luxury tax payments with the NBA’s new punitive tax measures that punish teams for overspending. Even adding someone for the minimum salary would cost them over $5 million.

In a season that’s started 9-17 even with Lopez, the Nets may not consider that type of investment worth the price.