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The Washington Wizards are ponying up to keep Davis Bertans.
Davis Bertans was the most valuable sharpshooter on the NBA free agency market, but the Washington Wizards are bringing him back on a long-term contract.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wizards have agreed to pay a hefty sum of $80 million over five years to the 28-year-old marksman.
The deal is a handsome reward for Bertans after a career year, ensuring he wouldn’t entertain offers from other potential suitors.
Davis Bertans’ shooting was crucial for the Washington Wizards last year
Although the Wizards fell well short of the playoffs — or even qualifying for the bubble — last year, Bertans’ career year made him intrinsic to the team’s high-powered offense. Averaging a career-best 15.4 points and 4.5 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per game, the 3-point sniper was an absolute flamethrower off the bench, shooting 42.4 percent from downtown on 8.7 attempts per game.
For those who aren’t fond of math, that means 11.1 of his 15.4 points per game were coming from beyond the arc. Although he’s not much of a defender, Bertans’ 3-point shooting and floor-spacing is vital to the Wizards’ plans to return to the playoffs behind Bradley Beal and a healthy John Wall (or Russell Westbrook?) next season.
Five years and $80 million is quite a significant investment, but shooting is one of the most important skills to possess in the modern NBA, and it should translate as this contract extends into his early 30s.