Thunder Receives Disabled Player Exception Following Sorber’s Season-Ending Injury
thunder-receives-disabled-player-exception-following-sorbers-season-ending-injury
Oklahoma City, OK — The NBA has granted the Oklahoma City Thunder a disabled player exception (DPE) after rookie center Thomas Sorber underwent season-ending knee surgery, the team confirmed Tuesday.
The exception became available when league doctors ruled Sorber’s torn ACL is likely to keep him out past June 15. While the DPE does not provide an extra roster spot, it offers limited cap relief the Thunder can deploy in several ways:
- Trade for a player on an expiring deal
- Claim a player off waivers on an expiring deal
- Sign a free agent to a one-year contract
The amount of Oklahoma City’s DPE equals half of Sorber’s $4,655,040 salary, setting the exception at $2,327,520. The club has until March 10 to use it; historically, most DPEs expire unused, especially those valued near the league minimum.
Potential scenarios include signing a veteran to a rest-of-season deal above the minimum or acquiring a low-salary player who does not fit within the minimum-salary exception.
Sorber, selected 15th overall in the 2025 draft, sustained the injury during an offseason workout last month. For the second consecutive year, a Thunder first-round pick will miss his entire rookie campaign with an ACL tear; guard Nikola Topic sat out 2024-25 under similar circumstances.
Source: HoopsRumors
