Washington Wizards: Davis Bertans has played himself into a big payday

Davis Bertans, after a breakout season with the Washington Wizards, has aligned himself for a big payday this summer in free agency.

The Washington Wizards had an up-and-down campaign during the 2019-20 season. Even though they currently sit five games back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference in the hiatus, they weren’t nearly as bad as many projected them to be this season.

While that was in large part due to the continued emergence of Bradley Beal and an intriguing supporting cast, one player that enjoyed a breakout campaign was Davis Bertans. Washington acquired Bertans last summer in a three-team trade.

During his first three seasons in San Antonio, Bertans was a good 3-point shooter but nothing more than that. In his final season with the Spurs, Bertans averaged eight points and four rebounds per game in 22 minutes of playing time per game.

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In his first season with the Wizards though, Bertans showed that he can be much more than a specialized player. Averaging 15 points and five rebounds per game on 42 percent shooting from 3-point range (on more than eight attempts per contest), Bertans emerged as the Wizards’ second-leading scorer behind Beal.

Bertans averaged nearly 30 minutes per game off the bench and enjoyed his most productive season to date. Considering that he was one of the most sought after trade deadline targets, as an expiring contract, the rest of the league took notice.

However, instead of trying to get a return on their investment in the trade market, the Wizards elected that they’ll take their chances with Bertans in free agency in hopes of re-signing him. That could end up being a mistake, however.

Bertans could be in line for a big payday in free agency, especially considering that this is projected to be a relatively “weak” free-agent class. To say, there are the big-name free agents that are often associated with a usual NBA offseason – not to take away from the players that are free agents this summer.

Bertans could be in line for a contract in the line of $12-18 million per season, depending on how the market sets itself. He’s a perfect complimentary big for today’s game and has quickly become one of the better shooting bigs in the league.

There’s no question that the Washington Wizards would love to re-sign Davis Bertans, but there’s a very real chance that he’ll be beyond their pricepoint. From all indications, it appears Bertans has played himself into a very big payday this summer.