Why the Washington Wizards are ‘rolling the dice’ on Davis Bertans

As was anticipated, the Washington Wizards did not deal Davis Bertans at Thursday’s trade deadline. Why are they gambling on a pending free agent?

Thursday’s trade deadline came and went, and to the surprise of few: the Washington Wizards did not trade the heavily coveted Davis Bertans. Washington’s 3-and-D specialist has been the talk of trade rumors for what seems like weeks, if not months.

But 3 p.m. EST came and went, and he remains with the Washington Wizards. Why, did Washington refuse to deal the pending free agent, when they no doubt received multiple offers?

A look at the Wizards’ gamble on Bertans, and why they’re hell-bent on retaining the swingman.

Three-Point Prominence

For an era in the NBA that features a higher percentage of 3-pointers than ever, players who’ve seemingly mastered that skill sure are hard to find.

And Bertans, well he nearly leads the pack. He’s tied his career-high with a .429 shooting clip from deep, and that ranks among the league’s best. Washington hasn’t had three-point capability the likes of Bertans for arguably the entire John Wall–Bradley Beal tenure.

Typically, if teams already have a 3-point marksman in-house, they value them highly. And that’s been the case with Washington and Bertans. In fact, at one point Thursday afternoon, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweeted that the Wizards had raised their asking price:

It’s very rare that a team will offer up two first-round picks for a player of non-All Star caliber. Washington knew this going into the deadline, and set the bar high, on the off-chance a contending team was feeling desperate for shooting.

And no doubt, teams continued to call. General manager Tommy Sheppard noted that when speaking with NBC Sports Washington about the Wizards’ moves at the deadline:

"“There was never a doubt in my mind that we wanted to keep him. But I promise you that the more you say you want to keep somebody, the more teams don’t want to believe you and they keep calling,” Sheppard said.”"

Alas, Bertans remains with the Wizards. And the Latvian Laser will continue firing on all cylinders from behind-the-arc for the rest of the 2019-2020 campaign, at least.

Reading the (Locker) Room

While Bertans has gotten a world of support from this Wizards roster, none has come stronger than from Wall and Beal; arguably the two most important players in the locker room.

Both have recently lobbied for Washington to retain the marksman, as they too believe he’ll be inclined to resign with the team in July.

Most recently, it was Wall who made public comments ahead of the trade deadline. When asked by NBCS Washington’s Chris Miller what he’s been most impressed with during a season spent on the sideline, Wall was quick to mention Bertans:

"“Bertans. I knew he could shoot the ball being with the Spurs, but I never knew he could shoot the ball that well. I think it’s very amazing if I get the opportunity to have him and Brad on both ends at one time,” Wall said.”"

And Beal, well, he’s been endorsing his teammate from the beginning. Back in December, the Wizards’ guard went as far as to say he’s the best shooter he’s ever played with, when speaking with Candace Buckner of the Washington Post:

"“Let’s see — probably No. 1, honestly,” Beal said after a thoughtful pause while considering whether Bertans is indeed the best shooting teammate he has had. “I think Trev [Ariza] had a really good year. Martell [Webster] had a good year one year, but in terms of the way [Bertans] shoots it, he’s No. 1, for sure.”"

In what has been a rough year for the Wizards and their stars, throwing them a bone in the form of their favorite teammate is a small task indeed. Because inspiring Washington’s star backcourt should be priority number one, in all aspects of the upcoming draft and offseason.

So, Washington will attempt to bring back Bertans, who’s expected to command as much as $15 million per year in free agency. Luckily, the upcoming free agent market is considered barren, and the Wizards hold the 27-year-old’s Bird Rights, which will allow them to exceed the cap if need be.

As of now, with their multitude of expiring deals, Washington is well poised to bring back the Latvian Laser. And for Wall and Beal, well there’s a hardly an outcome that would please them more.

The Washington Wizards retaining of Davis Bertans represents the continued hope that they are building a roster worthy of a playoff chase come next season. The only question now is whether or not the front office’s gamble will yield the requisite return.