After season-ending knee surgery for guard Spencer Dinwiddie, the Brooklyn Nets are expected to apply for a $5.7 million disabled player exception to use toward acquiring another player, sources told ESPN.

Once granted, the $5.7 million exception -- 50% of Dinwiddie's salary -- allows the Nets to trade for, sign or claim on waivers a player for the rest of the 2020-2021 season. Brooklyn would have to clear a roster spot to add a player.

Dinwiddie, a starting-level guard, tore the ACL in his right knee on December 27.

If the Nets use the full exception, it'll elevate the team's luxury tax bill to $43 million, although they'll further benefit from a projected tax credit based on declining revenues during the pandemic. What would've once been a $59 million luxury tax bill this season projects to $31 million now --- minus the potential use of the DPE.