The Los Angeles Lakers need the NBA Disabled Player Exception because of the Cousins’ injury.
There will be a lot of false Lakers rumors over the next few weeks. One rumor that is definitely true is their desire to get Darren Collison away from the Los Angeles Clippers. The Lakers are capped out on the books and need the Disabled Player Exception to offer more money to Collison.
That Disabled Player Exception was granted to the Lakers thanks to the injury of DeMarcus Cousins. The exception is the only way the Lakers have to compete financially against the Clippers.
We had Darren Collision projected in the midlevel range ($8-10M) before he retired this summer. Both LA teams would need to clear a roster spot. Both teams have the prorated minimum and LAL also has a $1.75M Disabled Player Exception that expires on 3/10.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) January 1, 2020
Thanks to the money not being prorated, it allows the Lakers to offer more money without making any sudden moves to open cap space. This is the main reason why the Lakers won’t trade Cousins. Rob Pelinka is smart enough not to make a deal that messes up an opportunity to almost double whatever the minimum is for any other team for Collison.
The Lakers can potentially lose the exception waiting on Collison if Cousins is traded or returns to play this season. Plus, the Lakers players love him in the locker room, especially Anthony Davis. He is one of the locker room leaders and actually has LeBron’s respect.
If LeBron can admit that AD and Boogie jumped down his throat to play better in Miami, that shows he has earned some stripes.