Washington Wizards: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Ben Yokoyama
Trade rights to Aaron White to San Antonio Spurs for Davis Bertans
The Washington Wizards hopped into multiple trades this offseason and ended up benefitting greatly without giving up much of anything. This was one of those trades.
The San Antonio Spurs were looking to acquire DeMarre Carroll in a sign-and-trade, while the Brooklyn Nets wanted to unload his contract. Both teams allowed the Wizards to hop in and scoop up forward Davis Bertans in the process.
Bertans, who is 6’10”, was drafted back in 2011, but did not enter the league until the 2016-17 season. He is a terrific 3-point shooter, shooting 42.9 percent from downtown last season, sixth in the league, but scored only 8.0 points per game.
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Following the classic European mold, his shooting will space the floor and can make a lineup bigger by sliding up and playing either forward position. He will likely lock up a starting spot thanks to that shooting ability and surprising quickness for his size.
While the Latvian has just one year remaining on his contract, he could be an impactful player on this team and prove himself as more than a one-year rental piece. His $7 million contract is not a bad price to pay for a role player who will have to step up this year.
The Wizards gave up next to nothing in this deal. Aaron White was drafted back in the second round out of the University of Iowa in 2015 but never signed with the team.
He has remained in Europe ever since, though he is open to returning to the States to try his hand at the game’s highest level.