Bulls Receive Disabled Player Exception After Noa Essengue’s Season-Ending Injury
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The Chicago Bulls have been awarded a Disabled Player Exception valued at $2,714,760 after rookie forward Noa Essengue was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, according to The Athletic.
Under league rules, a team can request a DPE when a player is deemed unlikely to return before June 15 of the current NBA year. Chicago announced earlier this month that Essengue—the 12th pick in the 2025 draft—underwent shoulder surgery and will miss the balance of the 2025-26 campaign.
The exception does not add a roster spot, but it gives the club limited cap flexibility. The Bulls can use the DPE to:
- Trade for a player on an expiring contract,
- Claim an expiring contract off waivers, or
- Sign a free agent to a one-year deal.
The DPE amount equals the lesser of half the injured player’s salary or the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Because Essengue’s 2025-26 cap hit is $5,429,520, Chicago’s allowance is set at $2,714,760.
Chicago has yet to tap into its mid-level or bi-annual exceptions this season and still retains a portion of a trade exception, so the newly granted DPE could expire unused. However, the organization could employ it to absorb a smaller salary in a multi-player deal before the trade deadline, potentially creating a larger trade exception in the process.
Essengue logged six total minutes across two appearances before the injury. The Bulls expect the 19-year-old to be fully cleared in time for the 2026-27 season.
Source: Hoops Rumors
