Washington Wizards sharp-shooter Davis Bertans will skip NBA season restart
When the NBA season restarts, the Washington Wizards will be without one of their best players in Davis Bertans.
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Wednesday is the deadline for any NBA players to inform the league that they are choosing not to take part in the season restart on July 30 at Disney World in Orlando – if there even is a restart with the coronavirus spiking massively in Florida right now. One player didn't bother waiting until Wednesday to say he would not be taking part: Washington Wizards forward Davis Bertans.
It's possible that Bertans wins the NBA's Most Improved Player Award for this season (although maybe not now by skipping the final eight regular-season games). The 6-foot-10, 225-pound native of Latvia had become one of the league's top three-point shooters. The SportsLine Projection Model rates Bertans worth 3.4 wins to Washington over a full 82-game schedule.
He was hitting 42.4 percent from deep (tied for seventh in the NBA) while averaging 15.4 points (second on team) and 4.5 rebounds per game. A whopping 77.4 percent of his shot attempts this year were from three-point range. Bertans was a bit player his first three years in the league with San Antonio.
Bertans, 27, is healthy but doesn't want to risk injury ahead of unrestricted free agency. He suffered two torn ACLs earlier in his career while playing in Europe. The Wizards (24-40) are +2500 long shots on the William Hill moneyline odds to earn the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff seed. They are sitting 5.5 games behind No. 8 Orlando, so it would take a minor miracle to reach the postseason.
There are going to be other players who opt out, especially those who are set to become free agents. Bertans will forfeit $604,752 in regular-season salary by skipping those final eight games.
The NBA has previously said players would not be punished for skipping the restart, but they will not earn their salary. The Wizards say they support Bertans' decision and are hoping to re-sign him. The team will be allowed to sign a substitute player for the prorated minimum to replace Bertans in Orlando.
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