The NBA has approved the Chicago Bulls' application for a $10.2 million Disabled Player Exception for Lonzo Ball's season-ending knee injury, Shams Charania reported Thursday. This move grants the Bulls extra cap flexibility for the 2023-24 season.

The Disabled Player Exception does not grant the Bulls an extra roster spot, and it won't grant the Bulls the full amount of cap space they would have had without Ball on the payroll at all. However, it does give them the opportunity to spend an extra $10 million against the salary cap. Chicago is free to sign a free agent to a one-year deal or trade for a player in the final season of his contract.

Ball underwent a cartilage transplant surgery on his left knee in March, and the Bulls ruled him out for the entire 2023-24 season. Reports also stated that the Bulls believe Ball may never play in the NBA again.

The 25-year-old signed a 4-year, $80 million contract with Chicago in 2021. Ball played 35 games in the 2021-22 season and hasn't played since. The surgery in March was his third in a 14-month span.

The disabled player exception helps, but the Bulls are still really going to miss Ball. At the time of his injury in January 2022, the Bulls had the best record in the Eastern Conference, at 27-13. He averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and shot 42% on three pointers in that run.

After losing Ball, Chicago wasn't the same. The Bulls went on to finish 46-36, sixth in the East. The following year, they went 40-42, finishing 10th before the Miami Heat eliminated them in the NBA play-in tournament.