The NBA has granted the Orlando Magic their request for a disabled player exception for the injured Al-Farouq Aminu, who is expected to sit out the rest of the season as he recovers from a right knee injury.
The value of this DPE will be $4,629,000 (half of Aminu's salary).
Orlando can use it to sign a player for the rest of this season, or to trade for or claim off waivers a player on an expiring contract (without an option year for 2020-21). https://t.co/xaHEYs3DTY
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 22, 2020
The last we saw Aminu take the floor for the Magic was in late November. The 29-year-old suffered a torn meniscus, and initially opted not to have surgery to allow his knee to heal naturally. However, he suffered a setback in his recovery, which prompted him to undergo surgery a couple of weeks ago. It was later announced that he would be re-evaluated in three month's time, and at this point, the general belief is that Aminu will no longer suit up for the rest of the 2019-20 campaign. Prior to the injury, he was averaging 4.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 steals in 21.1 minutes off the Magic bench.
As for the Magic, this DPE is a welcome development in the midst of having to deal with the loss of one of the cogs of their second unit for the rest of the season. As mentioned in the above tweet, this should provide Orlando with a lot of flexibility to make the necessary adjustments they may require on their current roster.
At 21-23, the Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference and are making a strong push for a postseason berth. In this regard, the team are likely now looking at the market for a potential like-for-like replacement for Aminu — a veteran forward who can come off the bench to provide some quality minutes for the squad.
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